External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 52 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by kimcot on 4/9/2022 & rated 93 points: After over 1 1/2 hours this wine isn't disappointing me at all. More berry flavours noticeable now and spicy plum. And chocolate coffee flavours too. A little hint of vanilla, but only just. But the finish ... very generous, the flavours just linger in the mouth with a touch of tannin puckering. Not sure why three bottles have already gone from the box as this is peak drinking now, and will be for a few more years. (1267 views) | | | Tasted by Freestringy on 8/17/2021: Cork broke off, wine over due but drinkable (1877 views) | | | Tasted by Gaurav_Tiwari on 6/4/2021 & rated 93 points: Drinking beautifully right now. Complex wine with melting tannins, dried red and blue fruits, game, black and white pepper and silky mouth feel. Amazing long finish that kept going over a minute. Delicious expression of Syrah from an iconic producer. (2008 views) | | | Tasted by RD59 on 5/29/2021 & rated 91 points: Plenty of fruit, smooth as silk, structure, depth is fading I feel. Ready to drink and I would another today. (1926 views) | | | Tasted by Renevin on 5/8/2020 & rated 94 points: Nez complexe, boisé, réglisse, cuir. En bouche, tout en équilibre, ample, puissant et longue finale sur le fruit et le cuir. Devrait tenir encore plusieurs années (2705 views) | | | Tasted by jlgnml on 5/1/2020 & rated 92 points: Wonderful color, lots of mature berries, all together really good. (1911 views) | | | Tasted by SimonPh on 10/2/2019 & rated 92 points: Excellent well balanced Barossa shiraz, with French oak adding elegance. At a plateau but no signs of weakening. (1992 views) | | | Tasted by Argrath on 5/18/2019 & rated 92 points: (Blind tasting)
Full, deep nose. Ripe plum, almost jammy. Oaky. Vanilla and coconut. Some tertiary hints of tobacco.
Full and concentrated palate. Extremely fruity on the verge of jammy, but gives way at the last second. Tell-tale eucayptus, oak, cedar, nuts and violets. Still youthful, up-front fruit. Wait for more complexity.
We have been impressed with RWT in the past, but this was more caricature Barossa shiraz. But the quality is there. (1709 views) | | | Tasted by Mascarello59 on 11/25/2016 & rated 93 points: Dense sweet nose of blue/black fruit, vanilla, spices with great maturity barnyard complexity. Full bodied, almost oily with great fruit and vitality. Hints of salt licorice, earth. Lovely lingering finish. Great but on the heavy side of things. 92-93p (4521 views) | | | Tasted by johnrm on 11/11/2016 & rated 92 points: Becoming paler with age when compared with the 2012 but still a vibrant colour. Like all the reds tasted together, the wine had been double decanted 2h before but there were still some slightly vegetal hints on the palate at first. These cleared in the glass and the palate showed attractive dark fruit with soft maturity. Leathery, savoury characteristics developed. A classy wine that still has life. There was some variation among the 6 bottles opened on the night. 92-
Tasted at Grand Union Wine Society with Sam Stephens, EU Brand Ambassador, Penfolds Wines. (3743 views) | | | Tasted by Neecies on 11/3/2016: Better than our last bottle 18 months ago. Seems a bit more lifted, vibrant. Nose of smoke and blueberry pie with black raspberry fruit and bacon on the palate. Am hopeful that this can become more interesting with further maturity. (3771 views) | | | Tasted by rikipedia on 9/5/2016 & rated 91 points: Terroir-istes International - Australia-Penfolds Mini Verticals (Klein Constantia): (Tasted Blind): A deep black-red wine with a purple rim. Complex aromas of blackcurrant, earth, black plum and redcurrant mingled with secondary notes of caramel, toffee, oak and vanilla.
Enters the palate with a silky texture, concentrated fruit, and integrated acidity. It has lovely development with powdery tannins, a lengthy mid-palate and a vibrant fruit character. The alcohol was warming on the finish, which was a little distracting. Powerful wine. (156 views) | | | Tasted by Whistler Whino on 10/20/2015 & rated 96 points: Welcome to Primetime! All the top review sites are claiming this 2000 RWT (Red Winemaking Trial) to be at the end of its life, however I'd have to disagree. Though it may not be improving anymore I don't see how this won't be great in another 5 years. Oozing huge blueberry notes right off the bat, this Aussie Shiraz is here to party. Dark fruits/berries, BBQ meat and tar reign supreme. This is a huge wine but very polished and well rounded. (5330 views) | | | Tasted by Neecies on 3/2/2015 & rated 83 points: Good plummy color with plum and vanilla on the nose with a bit of smoke. Strong, jammy fruit on the palate that turns especially sappy on the low-acid finish like the aftertaste of one of those chocolates with the runny cherry center. Couldn't drink a second glass. (5457 views) | | | Tasted by SadEdjo on 7/19/2014 & rated 91 points: Impenetrably dark colour. No bricking, some transparency on edge. Youthful plum, cedary nose. Plush, well integrated, satiny smooth entry. Dark fruit, suitably restrained fruitcake and lingering finish. Tannins well-integrated. Still youthful with many years ahead of it. (4453 views) | | | Tasted by elsonyeung on 12/13/2013 & rated 94 points: 2-3 hours and was ready, opened right up. Full, not too much spice. A great wine. (5216 views) | | | Tasted by Jeremy Holmes on 12/13/2013: Forward, generous and ready to rock. Has sweet blueberry and currant fruit. The oak has a little vanilla to it and there's a hint of earthy development. It is full, sweet and accessible with decent length. (5573 views) | | | Tasted by greavsie on 11/18/2012 & rated 93 points: Finally come of age..great drinking now (5857 views) | | | Tasted by Scruff on 9/16/2012 flawed bottle: corked.. after 8 years in the cellar :-/ (6011 views) | | | Tasted by mjf@ulkner on 3/27/2012 & rated 91 points: A bit of bricking at the edges. Very pleasantly aeromatic nose- cedar and white truffle. Smooth as silk on the palate. The fruit has begun to fade a bit, allowing some nice earthy, leathery flavors to come through. Almost delicate for a shiraz. Very nice. Drink up. (4922 views) | | | Tasted by Preed on 8/4/2011 & rated 94 points: Complex. Smooth. Velvety (5041 views) | | | Tasted by BigJ on 7/31/2010 & rated 92 points: in lieu of writing a full note, I agree pretty much completely with Graeme G! (5636 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 7/5/2010: NobleRottersSydney - Penfolds & Henschke - Top Shelf Shiraz (Alio's, Surry Hills): [14%, cork] {Gordon} Opened just prior to dinner. For all Penfolds vast Barossa resources, even they can’t escape the vagarities of vintage. Resolutely ruby in colour. The nose here is dominated by confected-smelling, stewed & sweet strawberry jam notes, with underlying cedary oak aromas. There is youthfully ripe fruit on the palate, although with a brittleness to it; there’s a vaguely green note that seems to run beneath the fruit flavours. Oak is more dominant on the palate than the nose, and as flavour rather than texture, even if the chalky tannins are nicely scaled. Otherwise the wine is generally medium in scale, and ought to keep for another 5-10 years; it’s hard to escape the conclusion that it will never really amount to very much. My advice is to drink up. (5221 views) | | | Tasted by rikipedia on 6/7/2010 & rated 92 points: Terroir-istes International - Australia-Penfolds (Rodwell House): 60% new french oak. Mid-deep garnet, the aromas are deep and gently perfumed with white and milk chocolate, tar, white pepper, mint and eucalypt.
A more elegant wine given the context, there is a brightness to the entry, savoury edges of an old world yet full and robust of Australia. The wine is quite extracted, richly texture and filled with chocolate, black fruits and baking spices. Great length, layered, profound almost? (430 views) | | | Tasted by WildeMeeuw on 4/10/2010 & rated 83 points: Penfolds Grange among Australias greatest (Heemstede - Rest. Southern Cross): 2000 Penfolds Shiraz RWT (Australië, South Australië, Barossa, Barossa Valley) Kleur: Vol robijnrood Aroma / bouquet: Super uitgesproken en krachtig, kruidig, donker gebrand fruit, beetje 'soepig', gekookte groenten, Smaak / Afdronk: Zwoel-zoetig, zacht zuur, ronde / krachtige tannines. Algemeen / potentieel: Mooi 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 8 + Smaak / Afdronk: 13 + Algemeen / potentieel: 7 = 83/100 (5716 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Campbell Mattinson
The WINEFRONT (1/1/2005)
(Penfolds RWT Shiraz) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeremy Oliver
Vinous, July/August 2003, IWC Issue #109
(Penfolds Wines Shiraz RWT Barossa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Halliday
Halliday Wine Companion (4/28/2003)
(Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz) Subscribe to see review text. | By Lyle Fass
Rockss and Fruit (6/8/2003)
(Penfolds RWT) Ya, wanna go to Hedonism Jamaica, mon. Well you don’t have to. Save yourself the money for a plane ticket and plop down $60-$80 and buy yourself a bottle of this. Redcurrants,coffee, chocolate, oak, oak and more oak .. . but I don’t mind it. And I usually mind oak. Mint, cinnamon, cherry extract, incense. Very deep nose, gets to the top of the nostrils. Super ripe palate but with supporting structure for all that hedonistic fruit. Succulent fruit. Spicey and peppery on the finish with long lasting fruit. Will age too. Super-fine grained tannins. Great stuff. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of The WINEFRONT and Vinous and Halliday Wine Companion and Rockss and Fruit. (manage subscription channels) |
| Penfolds Producer website
Producer Cellar Door - Barossa (Google Maps)
About Us
Australia's winemaking history of less than two hundred years is brief by European measures though, like Europe, punctuated by periods of extreme success and difficult times. From the earliest winemaking days Penfolds has figured prominently and few would argue the importance of Penfolds’ influence on Australia’s winemaking psyche.
Without the influence of Penfolds the modern Australian wine industry would look very different indeed. Sitting comfortably outside of fad and fashion, Penfolds has taken Australian wine to the world on a grand stage and forged a reputation for quality that is without peer.
Penfolds’ reputation for making wines of provenance and cellaring potential might suggest a mantle of tradition and formality is the preferred attire of a company with so much history to defend. But to label Penfolds as simply an established and conventional winemaker, would be to confuse tradition with consideration and to overlook the innovative spirit that has driven Penfolds since its foundation, and continues to find expression in modern times.
If there is anything traditional about Penfolds, it is the practice of constantly reviewing the wines it already does well, and continuously evolving and refining styles as vineyards mature and access to ever older and more varied vineyard sites improves.
Making The Best Possible Wine
At Penfolds, the role of the winemaker is to make the best possible wine within the constraints of each vintage. Penfolds’ house style emerged from a fortified-wine producing culture and evolved as a winemaking philosophy – a way of making wine – which has had a profound effect on the entire Australian wine industry.
The concept of multi-regional and vineyard blending, a feature of the Penfolds house style, is an amplification of the ‘all-round wine’. Without the constraints of a single vineyard, winemakers could choose the best possible fruit with the outstanding characteristics of each vineyard.
While American oak has played a central role in the development of Penfolds red wines, French oak has been increasingly used in the evolution of new wines – particularly RWT and Yattarna. Maturation in oak, which follows fermentation, is also key to the Penfolds house style.
The Penfolds approach to winemaking has percolated through the entire Australian wine industry over the last 50 years. The techniques employed in research and development of Penfolds wines are remarkable and many of the discoveries and innovations have had a lasting impact on winemaking thinking.
Winemakers
In Max Schubert, Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, Penfolds has nurtured four of Australia's great winemakers. They have passed the Chief Winemaker’s baton of responsibility for crafting some of Australia's most iconic wines, down through the past six decades.
Joining Peter Gago in the Penfolds winemaking team are Senior Red Winemaker Steve Lienert, Senior White Winemaker Kym Schroeter, and Red Winemakers Andrew Baldwin, Adam Clay, Stephanie Dutton and Matt Woo - also the Penfolds Fortified Winemaker. All members of the Penfolds winemaking team ensure that Penfolds’ reputation for outstanding quality is upheld.
Vineyards
Barossa Valley
Penfolds draws fruit from a combined vineyard area of 618 hectares in the Barossa region of South Australia. The Barossa is about 70 kilometres north of Adelaide and in 1911 Penfolds established a winery at Nuriootpa, completed in time for the 1913 vintage. The Barossa region is known for its relatively low rainfall with many vineyards dry grown on single wire trellising.
Magill Estate
The historic and heritage-protected Magill Estate Vineyard was established in 1844 by Dr Christopher Rawson and Mary Penfold—just eight years after the foundation of Adelaide. It was originally known as the Grange Vineyard, named after their new homestead ‘The Grange’, a cottage which still stands intact amongst the vines.
Eden Valley
Joseph Gilbert planted the first vines in the Eden Valley in 1842 and since that time the region has become synonymous with producing elegant riesling and complex shiraz. While its name suggests a concave nature, Eden Valley is actually a wide ridge, situated east of the Barossa Valley with an altitude ranging from 440 – 550 metres.
McLaren Vale
McLaren Vale is located approximately 40km to the south of Adelaide, with the vineyards in the region located between 6 and 15 kilometres from the Gulf of St Vincent. The elevation ranges from 50 to 350 metres above sea level. Penfolds has company owned vineyards throughout the region, using the fruit as blending components for premium red wines such as Grange and Bin 389.
Coonawarra
Penfolds has had a long history with the Coonawarra region, dating back to their first vineyard purchase in 1960. It is one of the most famous red wine regions in Australia with weathered limestone terra rossa soils, relatively cool climate and overall water availability. Coonawarra has played a significant role in many of Penfolds' multi-regional wines as well as the single region wines such as Bin 128.
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion Winery Of The Year 2014: Penfolds
Penfolds is Australia’s foremost winemaker, with an unbroken line dating back to its establishment in 1844 when medical practitioner Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold and wife Mary purchased ‘the delightfully situated and truly valuable of Mackgill … Comprising 500 acres (202 hectares) of the choicest land’. Here they built the house that still stands today, and within a few years had begun the winery and cellar on the site of today’s buildings at Magill Estate.
Mary took charge of winemaking, initially producing grenache prescribed by her husband as a tonic for anaemic patients. By 1870 she, son-in-law Thomas Hyland and cellar manager/winemaker Joseph Gillard had formed Penfolds & Co. With markets in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, their wine production was over one-third of South Australia’s total.
Growth continued unabated, and in 1945 Penfolds acquired the jewel of the Magill Vineyard, at that time the largest vineyard in South Australia. It now has 2100 hectares of vineyards, the largest share of Australia’s total. Two men came together in the 1950s to lay the foundation of Penfolds today: winemaker Max Schubert, and research chemist Ray Beckwith (who died shortly after his 100th birthday in 2012); indeed, their contribution transcended Penfolds to the entire Australian wine industry.
The architecture for the Penfolds wine portfolio of the twenty-first century was established in the 1960s, half a century ago. There has been growth, both in the range of labels and their price points, but it has been cleverly – indeed sensitively – managed; demand-driven growth has been achieved without any quality compromise whatsoever.
There is no possibility that the pre-eminence of Penfolds will ever be challenged by any other Australian wine business. Equally certain is that the Penfolds brand value will continue to gain ground on the world stage of all consumable products. If proof be needed, the overall quality of the wines in this Wine Companion is the best Penfolds has ever presented to the markets of the globe.
Author: James Halliday Jul 2013Shiraz Varietal article (Wikipedia) | Varietal character (Appellation America)RWTPenfold's Rewards Of Patience
http://www.grange.biz/library/rewards/rwt-barossa-valley.pdf
Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia)Barossa Barossa Wine (South Australian Tourism Commission)Barossa Valley Barossa Valley |
|
