Torbreck Runrig Shiraz 2013

Torbreck is a winery on a mission to become one of the world's great wine brands. Since 1994, they have remained committed to creating exceptional Rhone-style red and white wines that reflect the very best vineyards in Australia's famous Barossa region. Provenance is everything to them, and they believe that the Barossa is the most exciting place to make wine in the world. With a European sense of tradition, Torbreck pays tribute to the vineyards with minimal intervention, creating wines of richness, structure and length that age gracefully. The multi-generational growers, whose descendants arrived here nearly two centuries ago, are the backbone of Torbreck's winemaking aspirations. They work in partnership with the people of the Barossa who grow their fruit, always aiming to get the very best out of their vineyard sites. At Torbreck, they constantly seek to understand the difference between all of these special places in the Barossa and how this combination of soil, climate and farming experience is reflected in unique grape flavors. They are simply custodians, enhancing the innate expressiveness of the wines and enabling them to reveal over time their individual origins and personality. Torbreck is actually named after the forest near Inverness, Scotland where the winery's founder, David Powell worked as a lumberjack after completing university studies.

The winemaking style at Torbreck is meticulous and dedicated to producing exceptional wines. They use carefully selected 225-litre oak barriques for maturation, known as Dominique Laurent 'Magic Casks'. The oak is personally harvested from Forêt de Tronçais in Allier, and the staves are aged for 48 to 54 months at an exposed location for maximum seasoning. The staves are then hand-made into barrels and heated over three differing flames for several hours, resulting in a gentle toast due to the remarkable density of the wood. Torbreck's winemaking style reflects their commitment to producing exceptional wines that reflect the unique terroir of the Barossa region.

The Torbreck RunRig Shiraz is a wine that pays homage to the Highland clans "RunRig" system of communal land distribution. This system emphasized the communal element of the whole rather than any one farm, and the RunRig Shiraz embodies this philosophy by blending Shiraz from old dry-grown vineyards with Viognier to complement the strengths and complexities of each individual parcel of fruit, giving the wine a further dimension. The resulting wine has often drawn comparisons with the beautifully fragrant and tautly structured wines produced from the steep slopes of the Northern Rhône Valley's Appellation of Côte Rôtie. With this wine, Torbreck has created a true masterpiece that embodies the spirit of community and the beauty of the land.

The Torbreck Runrig Shiraz 2013 is a rich and opulent wine that rewards those with patience. The low spring rainfall and volatile flowering period resulted in a low fruit set, but the overall quality was excellent with a near perfect balance of acidity and tannin. Upon opening, intense, lifted aromatics of dark cherry crème de cassis and hints of nutmeg are released with an underlying opulent fruit profile of black olive, cassis and plum. The palate is dark, rich and silky with deep red cherry fruits, clove, lavender and licorice all interwoven with hints of sweet spice and cinnamon. As the wine evolves in the glass, diverse fruit characters continue to evolve with anise, hints of almond, earth, blackberry and pepper becoming more apparent. The wine is a blend of 98.5% Shiraz and 1.5% Viognier sourced from six different regions. The fruit was gently de-stemmed into both wooden and concrete open top fermenters for 6-7 days on skins before being basket pressed and run directly into new and 2nd and 3rd fill French barriques to complete natural malo. The wine was then racked after six months but left on fine lees throughout maturation to enhance texture. After 30 months, the Shiraz components were blended into tank and a bench trial was conducted to determine the final percentage of Viognier.

Two and a half years in 50% new French oak.) Very deep, dark purple/red colour, with an amazing bouquet redolent of star anise, blackberry conserve, preserved plums, graphite and espresso coffee. The palate is staggeringly powerful, concentrated, dense and thickly textured, with a richness and density of licorice, blackberry conserve, black coffee, meaty charcuterie and toasty oak flavours that linger on and on. The length seems endless. The tannins are dense and thickly textured, with high extract lending it a striking texture. There's a lot of everything, and it's in balance. The wine is massive yet retains freshness. An awesome wine and an impressive RunRig. - Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 98 Points.

Tremendous, opening up with chocolate and cream details, offering wild raspberry and cherry flavors that expand to detailed notes of nutmeg, licorice and dried rose petal. Lingers on a smooth, velvety body. Shiraz and Viognier. Drink now through 2030. - Maryann Worobiec, Wine Spectator, 96 points.

The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Shiraz, Viognier
Country - Australia
Region - Barossa, South Australia
Vintage - 2013
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 15.5%