• CONTACT
Membership Login

Cart

Your cart is empty
2018 RWT Bin 798 Shiraz
Australian Release

2018 RWT Bin 798 Shiraz

Sale price$150
/ 750 mL

MEMBER PRICING
Join or log in for exclusive benefits.

This wine is imported from Australia. State import laws allow us to ship this wine to the following states: AK, CA, DC, FL, MA, MN, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR, SC, TN, WV, and WI.

Overview

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. The alphanumeric Bin designation 798 was bestowed upon the wine from the 2016 vintage. Its style is opulent and fleshy, contrasting with Grange, which is more muscular and assertive. 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.
2018 RWT Bin 798 Shiraz
2018 RWT Bin 798 Shiraz Sale price$150

Awards & Accolades

98

Joe Cerzinski, Robert Parkers Wine Advocate, July 2020

"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."

96

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, July 2020

“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."

"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, Penfolds Winemaker

2018 RWT Bin 798 Shiraz

Taste Description

PALATE

Viscous and lush. An immediate supple fleshiness, liveliness.

At release, during this primary fruit stage –berried ice-cream and black forest cake fruits unfold –redcurrant and blackberry.

Powdery tannins –silky and glossy –offer textbook velvet/cashmere texture. So smooth!

Dense, verging on unctuous, without any reliance or concession to alcohol or oak.

Wonderful length, depth, balance.

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.

The RWT Story

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. 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 portfolio. These wines have the precision, concentration, persistency and balance to age for many years. The best vintages should last at least thirty years.