Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2018
Style: Red Wine
Variety: Shiraz
Closure: Cork
Penfolds RWT Shiraz 2018
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Producer: Penfolds
Country: Australia
Region: Barossa Valley
Vintage: 2018
Critic Score: 99 and 19/20
Alcohol: 14.5%
Size: 750 ml
Drink by: 2050
Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating
Penfolds RWT Shiraz presents an admirable alternative to the multi-regional sourcing and American oak maturation that are hallmarks of Grange, expressing instead, single-region Barossa Valley Shiraz matured only in French oak. The initials RWT stand for 'Red Winemaking Trial', the name given to the project internally when developmental work began in 1995. Naturally, now no longer a 'Trial' RWT Shiraz was launched in May 2000 with the 1997 vintage. Its style is opulent and fleshy, contrasting with Grange, which is more muscular and assertive.
"Ethereal aromas. Voluminous and animated wine with dense saturated blackberry dark chocolate fruits, plentiful fine velvety tannins and superb integrated roasted chestnut, mocha vanilla oak complexity. Elemental, powerful and seductive with years ahead of it. Should develop into a classic." Andrew Caillard MW
RWT is typically inky and deep in colour, with sumptuous fruit sweetness, mouth-filling flavours, underlying spice, savoury nuances and chocolaty tannins. The wine is matured in new and seasoned French oak for around 12 to 15 months. The result is a wine that helps to redefine Barossa shiraz at the highest quality level.
The 2018 Penfolds RWT Shiraz is a 100% shiraz from premium vineyards in the Barossa Valley. The wine was matured for 16 months in French oak hogsheads (64% new and 36% 1-y.o.).
"Deep crimson. Opulent dark plum, mulberry, blackberry fruits with mocha and praline notes. Richly flavoured and gorgeously saturated with luxuriant dark plum and mulberry fruits, supple fine-grained/velvety textures and roasted chestnut, dark mocha oak. Finishes chocolaty firm and long with aniseed, herb garden notes. A wonderful vintage with superb density, buoyancy and attack. Peak drinking 2028 to 2050 and beyond.
Vintage Conditions: Rainfall in autumn was below average, a trend that continued into the early weeks of winter with only 25% of the long-term average achieved in June. Increased rainfall occurred in the second half of winter, with vines entering the growing season with moisture profiles well into the root zone, down to one metre. Conditions favoured canopy development in spring, initially dry before plentiful rainfall in November. Temperatures warmed substantially through spring boosting vine growth and rushing the vines through flowering. Summer was dry, with no recorded major rain events. This carried into January with a heat spike around veraison causing vines to stall, pushing the start of vintage out by a week or so. The warm, dry weather carried into autumn, setting up an Indian summer with favourable conditions for ripening grapes. A very strong vintage for Barossa Valley shiraz." Penfolds
Expert reviews
"Deep crimson. Opulent dark plum, mulberry, blackberry fruits with mocha and praline notes. Richly flavoured and gorgeously saturated with luxuriant dark plum and mulberry fruits, supple fine-grained/velvety textures and roasted chestnut, dark mocha oak. Finishes chocolaty firm and long with aniseed, herb garden notes. A wonderful vintage with superb density, buoyancy and attack. Peak drinking 2028 to 2050 and beyond." Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating
"Deep crimson. Ethereal pure blackberry pastille roasted chestnut mocha aromas with hint ginger notes. Voluminous and animated wine with dense saturated blackberry dark chocolate fruits, plentiful fine velvety tannins and superb integrated roasted chestnut, mocha vanilla oak complexity. Finishes chocolaty firm. Elemental, powerful and seductive with years ahead of it. Should develop into a classic." Andrew Caillard MW - 99 points
"This is a spectacular RWT and this vintage is so well suited to fully ripe, densely packed Barossa Shiraz it is insane. This is a grand wine and I noted Cabernet balance and sheen here, by which I mean that this is not a forceful, muscle-bound wine but a very elegantly proportioned creation. There are ostentatious flourishes which come from the highly polished fruit in conjunction with the gloriously perfumed oak, and these exotic touches excite the senses greatly. It never steps over the line into flamboyance, managing to keep its eagerness and poise in place and for that reason, I think it is one of the standout wines of the collection." Matthew Jukes - 19+/20 points
"Very deep, glass-staining purple/red colour. The bouquet is also very intense and concentrated, essency and profound, loaded with toasty-charry oak and mocha, espresso coffee, dark chocolate aromas, the palate formidably powerful, concentrated and intense. The flavour tracks the bouquet precisely and the tannins and extract give the palate a massive density and breathtakingly mouth-coating texture, the whole entity combining in a mighty crescendo that roars through the finish to a very long aftertaste. The density of the wine is rare indeed: you almost feel you could stand a spoon up in it. Drink: 2020–2045." Huon Hooke, The Real Review - 98 points
"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." Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate - 98 points
"A wine that was launched in 2000 with the 1997. There have been some outstanding wines under this label but I'm not sure I tasted better. Essential difference from other Penfolds shiraz being that it gets all French oak of which 64% was new. The difference is striking. This has such energy and brilliance. The scented aromas are exquisite with floral berry notes and a trace of cedar. The palate is seamlessly structured yet powerful and elegance. This is style with a capital S. The palate pulls you in then gradually releases layer upon layer of deep and compelling flavours. A classic." Ray Jordan, The West Australian – 98 points
"It has impenetrable purplish colour and a seductive nose of crushed black fruits, jam, spice, mocha and toasted cedar. Everything is seamlessly woven together into a palate of extraordinary depth and richness, velvety flow, solid backbone and super-long finish. A magnificent wine that should develop superbly over many years. Drink: 2020–2045." Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Real Review - 98 points
"All Barossa fruit, cited and sourced for its opulence as an over-riding extension of the Penfolds style. Florals meld with the sort of dark, creamy and concentrated fruit that stains every nook and cranny of the palate. Blueberry, mulberry and vanilla pie. Unashamedly full-bodied. A power house!" Ned Goodwin MW – 96 points
"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." Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com – 96 points
"Plush and opulent, this bombshell in a striking oak corset makes an exuberant entry, striding down the red carpet with its ample fruit talking in a bright, effusive voice. After that brassy entry it settles in the glass, its blackberry and brulée flavours singing softly atop a bed of powdery tannins, and the nutty, cedar tones framing a long finish. Having changed so much since its inaugural 1997 vintage, RWT ('Red Winemaking Trial') has never presented its fruit so voluptuously and immediately, with oak now part of the supporting cast rather than playing the star role." David Sly, Decanter – 96 points
"Lustrous dark purplish crimson. Smell of rather damp oak(!) to me. Very distinctive! And certainly no longer a trial. Camphor and very obvious ripeness on the nose. Round and very gently handled. I could almost drink this tonight! Transparent and lively. Tastes as though it has been moved along the spectrum a bit further from the Grange concentration model. Appetising and dry on the end. Almost as light as claret-like in build. A charmer. Great balance." Jancis Robinson MW – 18/20 points
"The warm summer of 2018 plays to Penfolds mandate for RWT to be 'opulent, fleshy, aromatic and plush' (by contrast to the Grange aspiration of 'muscular and assertive'), making this a very easy wine to blend for the Penfolds team. 'Such was the calibre of our A2 grade shiraz – the core of RWT and St Henri – that we almost nailed the blend right from the outset during classification!' Peter Gago revealed. And opulent it is, a deep well of magnificent, sweet, ripe black fruits of enticingly glossy appeal, painted in rich strokes of French oak dark and milk chocolate, underlined by polished, firm fine tannins that draw the finish out long, full and strong. A quintessential RWT for the medium-term, guaranteed to turn heads and win hearts." Tyson Stelzer - 95 points
Awards
Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel 2021 - 5/5 rating
The story of rwt
Penfolds RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz, first made in 1997, was released after several years of red winemaking trials from which the wine takes its name. Since the 2014 vintage it has been allocated Bin number 798, based on the alpha-numeric telephone punch dial, to reflect its established status within the Penfolds wine portfolio.
The fruit is sourced exclusively from the best vineyards in the Barossa Valley, where ripening conditions particularly suit the Penfolds House Style. These include the Kalimna, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, Marananga and Ebenezer vineyards. The overall winemaking process is almost identical to Grange, however, unlike Grange, it is matured only in French oak. The maturation includes partial barrel fermentation for 12 to 15 months in 50-70% new French oak hogsheads (300 litres). These wines are built for the long haul, with the precision, concentration and balance to age for many years – the best vintages will last at least 30.
"RWT Bin 798 celebrates Barossa bloodlines and the graceful elegance of French oak. This is no longer a trial but a stand-alone Penfolds red that embodies regional provenance and now has its own track record" Andrew Baldwin, Winemaker
“An ode to the Barossa with all that beautiful power and depth.” Nick Ryan, Penfolds Rewards of Patience tasting panel member
Peter Gago
The following text is taken from an article by Ken Gargett in Quill & Pad, https://quillandpad.com
Peter Gago has what many people in the wine world think is the best job on the planet. He is chief winemaker for Penfolds, based in South Australia and one of Australia’s oldest wine producers.
Max Schubert created Grange with the experimental first wine, the 1951, after he returned from Bordeaux and wanted to establish an Aussie First Growth. The story of Grange has been told many times, and as fascinating as it is I won’t rehash it again. Schubert ruled at Penfolds right through to the 1976 vintage, when he handed the reins to Don Ditter. Ditter made the wines right through to the 1986 vintage when John Duval stepped up. Duval was chief winemaker until the 2002 vintage, when he left to do his own thing, very successfully.
Since that time, Peter Gago has been the chief winemaker. It should be noted that although the role of chief winemaker at Penfolds will always be inextricably linked with Grange, there are a great many other wines in the portfolio for which this position assumes ultimate responsibility.
Alongside the winemaking, in which he is still heavily involved, a usual week in non-Covid times sees Gago flying around the world to tastings, dinners, events, festivals, and promotions. I suspect that only David Attenborough (outside of pilots and crew) has racked up more flying miles. I remember seeing him one day when he seemed even more pleased with the world than usual. Turns out he’d just run into his wife, Gail, now retired but a long-term and highly regarded member of the South Australian parliament, at the airport. Gago had not been aware that they would both be in the same country that week, let alone cross paths, such is his usual peripatetic lifestyle.
Gago has friends and admirers all around the globe, from the rich and famous to young, aspiring wine lovers, and will spend time talking to them all. I suspect that if he wanted to start dropping names, the din would reverberate for days, but you could not find a humbler man. Gago is a serious music buff and you’d be amazed at the number of rock stars who revere him, much in the way their fans might do for them (for instance, after crawling over broken glass to get a ticket to a Bruce Springsteen concert I saw Gago sitting in prime seats with Springsteen’s family, after which they went for dinner and knocked off a few bottles of Grange).
Gago is probably as close to a rock star himself in the world of wine, although perhaps more modest rather than flamboyant. And I have no idea if he can sing.
The thing that most amazes me with Gago is that every time you talk to him, he is bubbling with genuine enthusiasm, not just for Grange but for all his wines. He just loves what he is doing. One gets the feeling that every morning he wakes up and pinches himself to make sure it is real.
Among his many attributes, Gago has the gift of the gab like few others. Only once have I ever seen him lost for words and caught off guard. Many years ago, at the annual release – held in a very fancy location near the shores of Sydney Harbor; it is always a fancy location somewhere and also always includes great champagne to kick off the day as Gago is fanatical about the world’s best bubbles – the then current chairman or CEO of whichever corporate entity was then the owner of Penfolds attended the day. Forgive me for my failure to remember just where the corporate snakes and ladders left Penfolds that day and for failing to remember the relevant gentleman’s name. He had only been appointed as a temporary executive while the search for a more permanent one was ongoing, but unlike any of the CEOs before and after, this man had a genuine interest and came to a couple of tastings to learn.
Anyway, as we sipped our champagne on the lawns overlooking Sydney Harbor and chatted, our friend suddenly posed a question to Gago. He had been meaning to ask, he said, just how much Grange the company made. There were five or six writers in this little group and suddenly, every single one of us had pad and pen poised. The production of Grange is a national secret that is not to be disclosed under pain of death (general consensus puts it at, depending on the vintage, between 5,000 and 15,000 cases, with most releases in the mid range, but this is pure speculation).
Gago was at a loss. The boss of bosses had just asked him a direct question and Gago is far too polite not to answer but knew he couldn’t give that information out in public. He managed a fair bit of mumbling and generalizations and I think he suggested they meet later. Pads and pens all went back into bags, and we could not help grinning while Gago looked like he’d just swallowed a bad oyster.
Gago was born in England in 1957, but his family moved to Melbourne when he was only six years of age. Originally a math teacher (teaching is still a passion), he undertook a science degree at the University of Melbourne and then attended Roseworthy College, a famous Australian winemaking college, graduating as Dux (the highest ranking academic performance -ed), which will surprise no one.
In 1989 he joined Penfolds as a sparkling winemaker, working with Ed Carr, who has established a career in sparkling wine (now with Arras) as successful as Gago’s is with table wines. He moved to reds and quickly rose through the ranks until succeeding Duval in 2002. In the 73 years since Schubert was first appointed, Gago is only the fourth chief winemaker.
During his tenure, he has stacked up an extraordinary array of bling, as has Penfolds under his stewardship (Gago heads a team of eight winemakers for table wines and a couple more for fortifieds). He has several “Winemaker of the Year” awards from different entities and publications, both from Australia and abroad, but the accolades go well beyond that.
In 2017, in what is termed “the Queen’s Birthday Honors List,” he was awarded the highly prestigious Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to the wine industry. For non-Aussies, that is a big one! A year later, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia and named the Great Wine Capitals Ambassador for South Australia.
Very recently, Gago was awarded perhaps the most prestigious honor of all in the wine world: admission to the Decanter Hall of Fame (previously they honored the Decanter Man – or Woman – of the Year, but that changed). Decanter is a highly respected English wine magazine that established its hall of fame in 1984 with Serge Hochar from Château Musar in Lebanon the first recipient. There is only a single addition per year. Gago is the fourth Australian following Max Schubert in 1988, Len Evans in 1997, and Brian Croser in 2004. That two of the four chief winemakers from a single producer have made this list (Schubert and Gago) is unprecedented but shows just where Penfolds sits in the pantheon of wine producers around the globe.
And should you still remain unconvinced then take a moment to look at some of the names Gago has joined: Parker, Spurrier, Tchelistcheff, Robinson, Moueix, de Villaine, Antinori, Lichine, Gaja, Symington, Loosen, Guigal, Torres, Draper, Peynaud, Mondavi, and so many more. There is no question that the name Peter Gago sits very comfortably alongside them all.
What is most important is that across the board the Penfolds wines have never been better, and while it is a team effort, in the end we can thank Gago.
The winery
After the success of early sherries and fortified wines, founders Dr Christopher and Mary Penfold planted the vine cuttings they had carried on their voyage over to Australia. In 1844 the fledging vineyard was officially established as the Penfolds wine company at Magill Estate.
As the company grew, so too did Dr Penfold's medical reputation, leaving much of the running of the winery to Mary Penfold. Early forays into Clarets and Rieslings proved increasingly popular, and on Christopher's death in 1870, Mary assumed total responsibility for the winery. Mary's reign at the helm of Penfolds saw years of determination and endeavour.
By the time Mary Penfold retired in 1884 (ceding management to her daughter, Georgina) Penfolds was producing 1/3 of all South Australia's wine. She'd set an agenda that continues today, experimenting with new methods in wine production. By Mary's death in 1896, the Penfolds legacy was well on its way to fruition. By 1907, Penfolds had become South Australia's largest winery.
In 1948, history was made again as Max Schubert became the company's first Chief Winemaker. A loyal company man and true innovator, Schubert would propel Penfolds onto the global stage with his experimentation of long-lasting wines - the creation of Penfolds Grange in the 1950s.
In 1959 (while Schubert was perfecting his Grange experiment in secret), the tradition of ‘bin wines' began. The first, a Shiraz wine with the grapes of the company's own Barossa Valley vineyards was simply named after the storage area of the cellars where it is aged. And so Kalimna Bin 28 becomes the first official Penfolds Bin number wine.
In 1960, the Penfolds board instructed Max Schubert to officially re-start production on Grange. His determination and the quality of the aged wine had won them over.
Soon, the medals began flowing and Grange quickly became one of the most revered wines around the world. In 1988 Schubert was named Decanter Magazine's Man of the Year, and on the 50th anniversary of its birth, Penfolds Grange was given a heritage listing in South Australia.
Despite great success, Penfolds never rests on its laurels. In 2012 Penfolds released its most innovative project to date - 12 handcrafted ampoules of the rare 2004 Kalimna Block Cabernet Sauvignon.
Two years later, Penfolds celebrated the 170th anniversary – having just picked up a perfect score of 100 for the 2008 Grange in two of the world's most influential wine magazines. Today, Penfolds continues to hold dear the philosophies and legends – ‘1844 to evermore!'.
South Australia
South Australian is responsible for more than half the production of all Australian wine. It is home to more than 900 wineries across 18 wine regions. The regions are Adelaide Hills, Adelaide Plains, Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Currency Creek, Eden Valley, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Mount Benson, Mount Gambier, Padthaway, Riverland, Robe, Southern Fleurieu, Southern Flinders Ranges and Wrattonbully.
Many of the well-known names in the South Australian wine industry established their first vineyards in the late 1830s and early 1840s. The first vines in McLaren Vale were planted at Reynella in 1839 and Penfold's established Magill Estate on the outskirts of Adelaide in 1844.
South Australia has a vast diversity in geography and climate which allows the State to be able to produce a range of grape varieties - from cool climate Riesling in the Clare and Eden Vallies to the big, full bodied Shiraz wines of the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Two of Australia's best-known wines, Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace, are produced here. There is much to discover in South Australia for the wine lover.