Winemaker Notes
No overt barrel-ferment characters apparent. Perhaps swamped by depth of fruit (black cherry), mocha, chestnut, aniseed and other derivatives? A spoil of charcuterie delights, primarily cold meats (‘raw’/carpaccio), shadow the more reticent panforte and cola notes that ever so slowly appear with aeration. A textural leaning towards velour/satin – a veneered smoothness, rather than a plush or penetrating mouthfeel – allied by velvety, rather than grainy tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
I genuinely thought Peter Gago said ‘I love you too’ but no, the words, or rather letters, were RWT – no longer the Red Winemaking Trial of the initials, but now a proven beauty of pure Shiraz polished by French oak. Intense floral and pepper aromatics accompany a rich, meat and spicy cassis fruit opulence, finishing on a satisfyingly savoury note.
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James Suckling
The Barossa Valley provenance to this wine is strong, where deep-set ripeness and a wealth of blackberries meet with smokier, tarry fruits and some redder notes too. Hints of vanillin-scented oak, dried autumnal leaves and purple florals. The palate rolls out evenly with impressive tannin ripeness, texture and build; they are a real feature of this wine and nicely defined. This is big on flavor without losing any sense of detail and nuance. Blackberry and plum-paste flavors run deep and long with mocha and sappy black cherries to close. This is a highlight of the 2016 releases. Best from 2020 and for two decades after that.
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Wine Spectator
Bright and juicy, with intense, ripe wild berry, licorice and black olive accents. The tannins are dense, velvety and mouthfilling, providing a terrific background for the focused and expressive flavors. Long finish. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2014 RWT Shiraz from the Barossa Valley offers cedar and cassis notes over a core of blackberry preserves, mocha and spice cake. Big, full, opulent and with notable notes of toasty oak, it has a solid structure and very long finish. Matured for 17 months in French hogsheads, 70% new, this baby needs a lot of time to integrate and shed some of its puppy fat.
Rating: 92+ -
Wine & Spirits
Peter Gago helped develop this Red Wine Trial (RWT) while working with then-chief winemaker John Duval in the 1990s. The wine presents an alternative shiraz style to Grange, using Barossa fruit aged in mostly new French oak. As chief winemaker since 2002, Gago finds this release of RWT as much about the vintage as the style. A season with above-average rainfall in winter built the reserves of moisture in the soil, the heat of the growing season ending in warm, dry days that allowed the fruit to retain freshness. This is a wine with pure depths of black cherry flavor, rich in fruit and generous in texture. It has the sleek, finely tailored length of a Penfolds red, set in motion for long development ahead.
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.