This wine is heralded as the beginning of a “new chapter” for Penfolds in France. It is 100% sourced from vineyards across the Haut-Médoc and carries the FWT (French Winemaking Trial) moniker, a sibling of the RWT (Red Winemaking Trial) series from Penfolds. Immediately, FWT 585 has a presence. Boasts a Penfolds feel to it, both in the precision oak – a mix of French and American barriques, new and seasoned – and the seamless blending of a number of parcels of fruit. Bright blueberry fruit, blackberry and a host of dried herbs, tilled earth and leaves launch the bouquet. On the palate they are set into a firm, fine tannin framework, mixing with complex flavours, some of them oak-derived, of bitter chocolate, black licorice and a light nutty savouriness. This is one wine that changed and evolved in the glass, stamping its presence and interest. A wine of poise and elegance. The Penfolds FWT series is off and running with a top-notch quality red. Can’t wait for the next instalment.

95 points, Wine Pilot (July 2022)

Penfolds love an acronym, this one standing for French Wine Trial. The wine was made at Cambon la Pelouse with Penfolds winemaker Emma Wood regularly on the ground, in the vineyards and cellars, steering the ship admirably through the house style channels. The assembly here is 53% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot and 13% petit verdot, coming together with pure Bordeaux elan, all the dark fruits and kitchen herbs associated with the region and varieties: sage, bay leaf, purple florals like lavender and violets. There’s even some gingery spice to tease and entertain, as crumbled earth and minerals weave through the palate, classic stylistic tannins playing in the background before feathering outward in the finish. Intriguing and satisfying.

95 points, Wine Pilot (July 2022)

In making its own classic Bordeaux blend (53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 13% Petit Verdot) from Haut-Médoc grapes, Penfolds pays due homage and respect to the home of claret in this French Winemaking Trial (FWT). It’s a pretty wine – the Petit Verdot and Merlot fragrance dances lightly on the nose and slides through the mid-palate with graceful ease. Wild brambly fruit and bright redcurrant tones are lean, cased in a savoury frame and dusted with spice, leading to a keen, persistent finish, like an athletic middle-distance runner.

94 points, David Sly, Decanter (June 2022)

Made in France, from Bordeaux material at the Cambon de la Pelouse (in Haut Medoc) facility, the 2019 French Winemaking Trial (FWT) is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 13% Petit Verdot. This is vibrant and spicy, with layers of silty tannins and bright fruit. There are notes of dark forest berries, tobacco leaf, juniper, cassis, licorice and star anise. The French Winemaking Trial is exotic and fine—not a big wine actually at all—with lovely balance. It is supple and detailed. I love the tannins—a web of them in the mouth. The wine is chewy and savory, very good indeed. This is modern and captures the essence of Bordeaux but does it in a Penfolds way. I guess that's the point. Nailed it.

94 points, Wine Advocate (July 2022)

FWT = French winemaking trial. A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot and 13% Petit Verdot, ‘sourced from exceptional vineyards across the Médoc’. 14 months in French (44% new) and American oak (14% new) barriques. Made at Treasury Wine Estates’ recently (2019) acquired Ch Cambon La Pelouse, ‘introducing Australian methods such as headboards, barrel fermentation etc’ according to Gago, who described it as ‘the most interesting wine in a way because it’s Bordeaux fruit and Australian methods’. Bottled in France. TA 5.83, pH 3.6.
Very luscious start and a little less tannic than the average bordeaux. Great undertow of subtlety as well as all that fruit. Impressively long. I prefer this to the much more ambitious and expensive II that is a blend of Bordeaux and Australian fruit. 14%

17 points, JancisRobinson.com (July 2022)

Rusty, leathery, dark berried flavours come floated with vanilla and woodsmoke. This feels both the same-same and different, in a Penfolds context; different fruit flavours matched to cuddly, creamy, familiar oak. The bay and general herb notes here work beautifully, the tannin assertive but not intrusive, a subtle but certain de-emphasis of the fruit entirely welcome. Penfolds-tax is the only thing stopping me here; otherwise it’s a lovely wine to drink, with just-enough character and just-enough plushness to sink into.

93 points, The Wine Front (July 2022)

Deep, bright purple-red colour with a lifted fragrant nose of blueberry, violet and raspberry. An overtone of humus. Very fruit driven and bright, not especially Penfolds in style. Good intensity of fruit underlined by some grippy tannins with a gentle bitterness. A fairly straightforward wine but quite pretty and already approachable, although the tannins tend to build a lot of dryness on the follow-through. (53% cabernet sauvignon, 34% merlot, 13% petit verdot from the Haut Medoc)

92 points, The Real Review (June 2022)

FWT is French Winemaking Trial, which begs the question of whether its name will stick for decades after it is no longer a trial (as is still the case for RWT). A Bordeaux blend, this is a classic claret style that captures the crunchy, dark berry fruits and herbal overtones of a warm season on the Haut-Medoc and frames them in firm, fine fruit tannins and high-class oak support. Fine-boned and framed for the long-haul, it captures a vision of classic Penfolds winemaking on the landscape of Bordeaux.

93 points (July 2022)