Bin 798 RWT Shiraz 2020 Penfolds

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97p by Ken Gargett
97p by Pekka Nuikki / Editor of the Fine Wine Magazines and Champagne Magazine
98p by Pekka Nuikki / Editor of the Fine Wine Magazines and Champagne Magazine
95p by Jeff Porter/Sommelier
97p by Pekka Nuikki / Editor of the Fine Wine Magazines and Champagne Magazine
96p by Andrew Caillard MW / BWW2024 Finalist
95p by Dannika Wright / Langtons
97p by Robert Lam

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Written Notes

RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2020 (A$200) – The team is pushing hard to convert its image in the minds of consumers from RWT to Bin 798, but I fear they face an uphill task. Sure, how long can you have a ‘trial’ (the first vintage was 1997, so apparently for several decades at least), but I doubt very many consumers, even lovers of this wine, could tell you what RWT stands for – red winemaking trial. It has been 798 since the 2016 vintage. Yet to take.

Barossa Shiraz, 16 months in French oak hogsheads, 51% new and the remainder one-year-old. For me, one of the most dense and powerful expressions of RWT (or indeed, 798) we’ve seen. Earth, chocolate, ashes, graphite, black fruits, black olives and delicatessen meats. Concentrated, big and powerful it may be but it also remains finely balanced. A supple texture and great length. Even as it maintains that intensity on that very long finish, the balance remains immaculate. A cracking, if somewhat more powerful than usual, example of RWT/798. This has 25 years ahead of it, if well cellared. 97.

- Ken Gargett

Penfolds RWT 2020 is a full-bodied Shiraz produced in the Adelaide region South Australia. It is seen by many as the counterpart to the celebrated Penfolds grange. Its style is opulent and fleshy, compared with the bold and muscular style of Grange. RWT is made from fruit selected for its aromatic qualities and plush texture. In operation since 1844 at the Magill Estate near Adelaide, Penfolds is the sine qua non of Australian wine. The winery team is led by the masterly winemaker Peter Gago. The initials RWT stand for ‘Red Winemaking Trial’, the name given to this wine when development work began in 1995.

- Pekka Nuikki / Editor of the Fine Wine Magazines and Champagne Magazine

Extra full-bodied, very tannic, dark plum notes, blackberry notes, blackcurrant notes, spicy, oak notes, multi-dimensional, long

- Jeff Porter/Sommelier

Deep colour. Beautiful blackberry, blackcurrant, dark chocolate, roasted chestnut, hint marzipan. Lovely plush concentrated wine with smooth blackberry, dark plum fruits, fine loose knit slinky/ graphite tannins, underlying roasted chestnut oak and fresh mineral acidity. Finishes velvety firm with some mocha notes. Very good density, fruit richness and vigour. The Penfolds winemaking stamp nicely balanced with the opulence and beauty of ripe Barossa shiraz. 16 months in French oak (49% new, 51% one-year-old) oak hogsheads. Drink 2024 – 2045 14.5% 96 points

- Andrew Caillard MW / BWW2024 Finalist

Mocha chocolate, olive and vanilla spice on the nose. The palate is plush with plums, mulberries and weighty darker fruits. Very long and fresh on the palate. A well made wine all about balance with bold spices that fill out the mid palate before finishing fresh zingy red raspberry acidity.

- Dannika Wright / Langtons

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