Ranked #1 of 180 2016 Shiraz from Barossa Valley
98/100
5 Stars
Huon Hooke
Deep, dense, almost inky purple/red colour, with a glorious bouquet of mocha, grilled nuts of various kinds, great concentration and density, which saturates the palate and lasts for minutes on the aftertaste. Smoky, toasty, nutty, graphite and roast meat aromas; charcoal and bitumen, but not fruit! The fruit is there in spadefuls but it is submerged behind a curtain of complexity. An enormously impressive wine, the texture almost improbably supple and smooth in spite of the welter of tannin. Outstanding wine. (Bin 798 has been added to the label this year)
Tasted: 03/10/2018
Drink: 2021 to 2046
97 Points Robert Parker
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.
Published: Oct 04, 2018 Drink 2020 - 2035.
Source: Robert Parker.