Penfolds : RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023

The 2023 RWT Bin 798 hails from the Barossa Valley, and the wine expounds the virtues of the place there: earthy tannins, powerful and robust fruit and great length of flavor. There is elegance here, but it is couched within structure and thrust. Dryness in the form of cedar and sweetness in line with woody sandalwood back the fruit and form of the wine. It matured for 14 months in French oak hogsheads, 69% new. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

Even though this wine earned its Bin status with the 1997 vintage, the Red Winemaking Trial acronym has stuck. Always a generous, polished, modern take on Shiraz (and always matured in French oak hogsheads, here 69% new, for 14 months), in this tricky growing season it is more composed than its usual blockbuster style, thanks to a crunchy seam of acidity that gives real energy and focus. But RWT fans will still find those plush tannins and dense, chewy, concentrated fruit core they love: black brambles, Turkish coffee, Black Forest gateau, steak seasoning and root beer sweetness. Time will soften the still quite present oak, and it will reward over the next two decades. Released at £125.

The 2023 Shiraz RWT Bin 798 has a charming, open-knit generosity of fruit, bursting with layers of fruit pastilles and new leather lifted by cherry and a well-balanced but rich helping of French oak. The youthful energy here is captivating, with subtle savory tones sitting in the background. This will build over time. It is an outlier in the RWT lineage with excellent integrity and potential.