VINTAGE CONDITIONS:
The 2016 Barossa Valley harvest was outstanding, for both yield and quality. Autumn and winter were dry and cool with the Barossa Valley 100mm down on the long-term average winter rainfall. Record low rainfall and much warmer weather prevailed through September to December. The vines were given some relief in January and February when cooler conditions were recorded. The relatively mild ‘Indian summer’, characterised by an absence of extreme heat, ensured the fruit was able to ripen evenly, developing desirable flavours and firm tannins.
COLOUR:
Deep magenta, purple on rim
NOSE:
Alluring, invoking.
Sweet, aromatic, spicy (cardamom, cinnamon, lavender) … can aromas of butter chicken be mentioned in this context,
in a tasting note?!
Ascent of tangelo/blood orange spikes – propelling a chinotto/citrus lift.
Dusty white chocolate, cocoa butter, and Italian temptations – panna cotta, zabaglione … and what can only be an illusion of tiramisu!
Oak – bound to be lurking there somewhere! Camouflaged? Decant more aggressively to reveal?
PALATE:
Conceded. It is: glossy, flamboyant, ostentatious. Is not: over-ripe, alcoholic, extracted.
Thereby hits the stylistic Barossa/shiraz bulls-eye … with a little help from fastidiously selected French oak.
This oak tightens/focuses/encapsulates. Simultaneously structurally tackled by embracing, ripe tannins.
This fruit is then surely shrouded, submissive? Never. Archetypal blueberry bavarois and blackberry fruits brazenly strut across the palate.
Dense, bountiful, and was there mention of lengthhhhhhhh …?!
- Alc/Vol: 14.5%
- Acidity: 6.8 g/L
- pH: 3.72
The 2016 Shiraz RWT is a brilliant, brilliant wine, and I suspect the finest version of this cuvee ever produced. Thrilling notes of black raspberries, creme de cassis, toasted spice, mint, and espresso all emerge from this deep, rich, powerful Shiraz. With massive concentration, it still glides across the palate with no sensation of heaviness or rusticity, building, perfectly ripe tannins, and incredible opulence and intensity. It shows more grilled meat notes with time in the glass and is a monumental Barossa Shiraz that flirts with perfection. - Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points
The 2016 RWT Shiraz is Penfolds’s embodiment of Barossa Valley Shiraz. Aged in French oak (72% new), it offers hints of vanilla and cedar, but more than anything, it showcases the region’s bold berry and plum fruit. Full-bodied and rich, verging on decadent, yet firmly structured and long on the finish, it’s a powerful yet elegant wine that is capable of being consumed young or aging up to two decades. Having embarked on a career in the wine business right around the time the first RWT was released, it’s a treat to see how the latest version is showing. It’s a relative bargain among the Penfolds upper echelon. - Robert Parker 97 Points
Developed in 1995 from a red winemaking trial, hence RWT, this is the quintessence of Barossa Shiraz, albeit in 72% new French rather than American oak, which brings a finesse of mouthcoating texture to the wine. It has depth of colour, aromas of liquorice, spice and mocha, and concentrated black fruits on the rich, sumptuously opulent palate. It’s all underpinned by French oak polish along with a freshness and fine-boned structure that should see this sleek beauty last two decades if kept in good condition. If this were a Bordeaux it would be a second growth, and apart from Grange this is the star of the show this year. It should be great with a roast rib of beef. - Decanter Magazine 96 Points
Barossa Valley shiraz meets French oak (72 per cent new) in a warmer vintage and delivers a wine that sits right in the pocket of elegance and richness combined. Aromas of redder fruit with raspberries and red plums, as well as black tea and a smoky, coal-dust edge. Boysenberries, too. This is complex. The palate has commanding length and depth with succulent, powerful yet fine and compressed tannins at its core. Both the length and balance are impressive. A great RWT! Try from 2022 and for at least two decades after that. Should peak after 2030. - James Suckling 96 Points
Striking, with polished, fine-grained tannins that provide a velvety background for a complex array of flavors. Sandalwood, chai tea, gingerbread and white pepper notes mingle with supple raspberry, black cherry coulis, spiced plum and red licorice flavors, with a hint of white truffle. Concentrated and harmonious. The finish goes on and on. Drink now through 2039. 765 cases imported. -MW - Wine Spectator Magazine 94 Points
