Winemaker Notes
RWT is made from fruit primarily selected for its aromatic qualities and plush texture. The result is a wine that helps to redefine Barossa shiraz at the highest quality level. RWT wines area built for the long haul, with the precision, concentration and balance to age for many years.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Sourced only from the Barossa Valley, RWT is aged exclusively in French oak, giving it two major points of difference from the rest of the Penfolds range. Always a sexy, voluptuous wine (and admittedly a personal favorite), the 2018 RWT Shiraz ratchets that up to new heights in a great Barossa vintage, boasting layers of berry-like fruit, refined vanilla shadings and baking-spice notes, plus more exotic elements like star anise and cocoa powder. It's full-bodied and plush without being unstructured in any way, with a lingering, complex finish and the concentration to age two decades or more.
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James Suckling
This has a very attractively fresh, showy feel to the nose with aromas of ripe red cherries, blackberries, goji berries and redcurrants, as well as red plums and some wild-herb and licorice notes on offer, too. Very expressive and fragrant. The palate has a super intense and powerful delivery of ripe red-cherry and plum flavors and immaculately fresh French oak (64% new) that really clasps and holds the finish long. The tannins are so ripe and well positioned. Drink over two decades.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine offers layers of appealing aromas straight off the bat, from black cherry and currant to cedar, mocha, graphite, herbs and black olive. Concentrated yet impeccably balanced, the palate is smudged by savory tannins while spice and dark berry flavors weave seamlessly together. This delivers power and polish. Drink now–2040.
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Wine Spectator
Complex and intense, starting with a core of juicy crushed raspberry, cherry puree and huckleberry flavors, oozing with details of Earl Grey tea, vanilla bean, sandalwood and anise that swirl around on the long, expressive finish, backed by dense, muscular tannins. Powerful, but showing plenty of restraint and promise for the cellar. Drink now through 2045.
Since 1844, Penfolds has been grounded in experimentation, curiosity and uncompromising quality. Their success has been driven by a lineage of visionary winemakers. It began with Dr. Christopher and Mary Penfold, the pioneers who dreamed big, inventing tonics, brandies, and fortified wines made from grapes and Australian sunshine. It continued with celebrated winemaking legends including Max Schubert, who pushed the development to extraordinary, bold new heights. It is this pioneering spirit and curiosity that still rings true after nearly two centuries, it is what has helped Penfolds become one of the most celebrated winemakers in the world today.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.