Professional reviews
Robert Parker (92)
Having spent nine months in French oak barriques (82% new), the naturally fermented 2014 Reserve Bin 14A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay opens with a pronounced tropical fruit and apricot-laced nose with plenty of meal and cashew hints plus pleasant whiffs of struck match and cedar. The palate reveals wonderful intensity and a satiny texture packed into an elegant light body with layered stone fruit and nut characters and a good long finish.
James Suckling (96)
Nougat and curd, with some cinnamon spice from the oak. Tangerine, pistachio, granny smith apple and kumquat, segue to glazed quince. Tighter than the 311 with less stone fruit allusions, but not necessarily a better wine. It will impress the acid hounds and critical cavalry given the rapier-like intensity. Some oatmeal to bread crumb leesiness, offering subtle mid-palate generosity. Long and steely. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. Screw cap.
Jancis Robinson (18)
The initials RWT stand for ‘Red Winemaking Trial’, the name given to the project internally when developmental work began in 1995. Naturally, now no longer a ‘trial’, RWT Shiraz was launched in May 2000 with the 1997 vintage. The alphanumeric Bin designation 798 was bestowed upon the wine from the 2016 vintage. Its style is opulent and fleshy, contrasting with Grange, which is more muscular and assertive. RWT is made from fruit primarily selected for its aromatic qualities and plush texture. RWT wines are built for the long haul, with the precision, concentration and balance to age for many years. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.59. Aged for 16 months in French oak hogsheads (64% new and 36% one-year-old). Rainfall in autumn was below average, a trend that continued into the early weeks of winter with only 25% of the long-term average achieved in June. Increased rainfall occurred in the second half of winter, with vines entering the growing season with moisture profiles well into the root zone, down to one metre. Conditions favoured canopy development in spring, initially dry before plentiful rainfall in November. Temperatures warmed substantially through spring boosting vine growth and rushing the vines through flowering. Summer was dry, with no recorded major rain events. This carried into January with a heat spike around veraison causing vines to stall, pushing the start of vintage out by a week or so. The warm, dry weather carried into autumn, setting up an Indian summer with favourable conditions for ripening grapes. A very strong vintage for Barossa Valley Shiraz.
Lustrous dark purplish crimson. Smell of rather damp oak(!) to me. Very distinctive! And certainly no longer a trial. Camphor and very obvious ripeness on the nose. Round and very gently handled. I could almost drink this tonight! Transparent and lively. Tastes as though it has been moved along the spectrum a bit further from the Grange concentration model. Appetising and dry on the end. Almost as light as claret-like in build. A charmer. Great balance.
Decanter (96)
Plush and opulent, this bombshell in a striking oak corset makes an exuberant entry, striding down the red carpet with its ample fruit talking in a bright, effusive voice. After that brassy entry it settles in the glass, its blackberry and brulée flavours singing softly atop a bed of powdery tannins, and the nutty, cedar tones framing a long finish. Having changed so much since its inaugural 1997 vintage, RWT ('Red Winemaking Trial') has never presented its fruit so voluptuously and immediately, with oak now part of the supporting cast rather than playing the star role.
Falstaff (93)
Light yellow-green with silver reflections. Delicately smoky, flinty notes on the nose marry with inviting yellow tropical fruit and floral nuances - a Burgundian bouquet. Complex and juicy on the palate, with more tropical hints of passion fruit and a finesse-rich structure. Good length to the mineral finish.
