2017 Penfolds Shiraz RWT

The 2017 Shiraz RWT, also known as the Bin 798, is all Barossa Valley Shiraz that’s always brought up in French oak, with 70% being new in 2017. It checks in behind the magical 2016, but nevertheless it’s still a beautiful Shiraz that offers everything you could want from this variety. Sporting a deep purple color as well as a beautiful perfume of crème de cassis, black raspberries, toasted bread, vanilla bean, white flowers, and plenty of spice, it’s full-bodied, elegant, and silky on the palate, and what it lacks in density and depth, it makes up for it with its incredible purity and elegance. It’s approachable today (give bottles an hour in a decanter), yet I suspect it will benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 15+ years or more. It’s a class act.

100% Shiraz. TA 6.9 g/l, pH 3.58. 15 months in French oak hogsheads (70% new and 30% one-year-old). Winter and spring rainfall were above the long-term average providing the vines with optimal soil moisture profiles. Most of the spring rain fell during September, with long-standing rainfall records broken. Windy conditions in October helped dry out the vineyards and ensured there were no significant frost events. November was cool with only a couple of minor frosts. The recorded temperatures over the growing season were generally cool, with only March above the long-term average, the second hottest recorded in 30 years. The prevailing cool conditions extended the growing season, with flowering and veraison both later than usual. Across the Barossa Valley, the Shiraz berry and bunch weights were above average with optimal flavour and bright, vibrant colour. Broad red-fruit aromas. Lots of sweet cough-pastille flavour with masses of tannins. Brilliant polish but lacking a bit of oomph. Bit austere. (JR)

Red raspberries abound on the nose of the 2017 RWT Shiraz, which—as usual—is all Barossa fruit aged in French oak (70% new). It's full-bodied and velvety, with appealing notes of dried spices, beef and plenty of red fruit. There's a cedary veneer to this vintage, which looks as if it will need a couple of years to come together, then drink well for up to two decades.