Having
emerged from the Winter months, we couldn’t
think of a more appropriate cover feature than
the warm, sun-filled wines of Torbreck from
Australia’s Barossa valley.
Although
founded in 1994, Torbreck began in 1992, while
Dave Powell (right, pressing in 1994) was
working for Rockford Winery, one of the Barossa
Valley’s most highly-regarded estates. It was
during this time that Powell discovered and
nurtured back to health some neglected
dry-farmed old vines Shiraz in the valley and
began making a small amount of wine from the
grapes. Over time he secured a contract for the
supply of grapes from a run down ancient Shiraz
Vineyard and the rest is history.
Dave
decided to name his wine Torbreck (in 1995)
after a forest in Scotland where he had
previously worked as a lumberjack. Today, his
grapes are sourced from select vineyards within
the Barossa Valley and his wines are made from
Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre in keeping with
his love of the wines of France’s Rhone Valley.
His winemaking philosophy
focuses on the quality of raw materials coming
out of the vineyard and a minimal approach in
the winery to preserve the purity and character
of the Barossa Valley old vines fruit. As a
result, Torbreck has emerged as one of
Australia’s best and most highly regarded
wineries and we are pleased to share these very
special wines with you this month.
TORBRECK 2007 SEMILLON “WOODCUTTERS” $15.98
[#377558] Semillon was one
of the first white grape varieties planted in
the Barossa Valley over 160 years ago so it is
quite at home in the region. This wonderful
white is less lemony than its Hunter Valley
counterparts but the very old low yielding
Semillon vines produce grapes that result in
rounder, broader style wines. This enticing
white offers up wonderful aromas of smoked
hazelnuts and honeysuckle along with a creamy
yet fresh palate of spiced exotic fruit flavors
and a flinty minerality. An outstanding
introduction to Semillon.
TORBRECK 2006 SHIRAZ “WOODCUTTERS” $17.98
[#377455] Like the Semillon,
this wine is named for the period when Dave
Powell was working as a woodcutter in the
Torbreck forest in Scotland. It’s a perennial
customer favorite at Hi-Time and we continue
receiving requests for the wine throughout the
year long after it is sold out. "Woodcutters" is
one of the best values going and it
over-delivers in our estimation. Packed with
hand selected fruit, it’s brimming with fresh
ripe aromas of black raspberry, tea, white
pepper and spice and loaded with richly textured
and layered flavors of blackberry, bluberry and
plum. Powell ages this wine in large used oak
barrels and avoids the excessive oakiness found
in so many Shirazs in this price range. An
outstanding value not to be missed.
Robert Parker 92 points.
TORBRECK 2007 “JUVENILES” GRENACHE/ MOURVEDRE/SHIRAZ
$16.98 [#377715] Originally
“Juveniles” was made by Powell for an ex-pat
Englishman friend of his who operates a wine bar
in Paris of the same name. Like Dave, wine bar
owner Tim Johnston is a RhÙne wine devotee so
this wine was the perfect fit. Fortunately for
us, it’s been available in the US for several
years and this may be the very best yet. We were
immediately taken with its vivid fruit,
expressive flavors and wonderful balance and
cannot say enough about it. It’s very Rhone-like
with bright red fruits, white pepper spice and
meaty notes on the nose and impeccable balance
and freshness on the palate with juicy,
mouthwatering raspberry and Santa Rosa plum
flavors. We’re bullish on this one and urge you
to go big.
TORBRECK 2007 MARSANNE/ ROUSANNE $32.98
[#378160] This Rhone style
white is made from very low yield grapes from
the Descendant vineyard and combines barrel
fermented Marsanne with tank fermented Rousanne.
Since the grapes are picked fairly late, it’s a
bit lower in acidity but blessed with ample
texture and flavor. Floral blossoms,
honeysuckle, mandarin orange and minerals abound
on the nose while the palate is rich and opulent
making this an ideal wine with seafood and white
meats (or on its own!). Here’s a fantastic
alternative to Chardonnay that’s sure to please.
TORBRECK 2005 “THE STEADING” GRENACHE/SHIRAZ/MOURVEDRE
$31.98 [#377411] For Dave Powell, “'The Steading' is a labor
of love as this wine represents his ode to the
original ungrafted old vines of the Barossa
Valley. This special wine is the result of 45
separate parcels of fruit that are fermented and
aged separately prior to the final blending and
bottling. It’s a Chateauneuf-du-Pape style blend
that is rich and powerful yet balanced as it
avoids the portiness and excessive alcoholic
qualities of so many of its contemporaries. We
love this for its layers of black raspberry and
kirsch along with intriguing notes of garrigue,
spices and distinct earthiness. "The Steading"
is always one of our personal favorites that
combines New World fruit with Old World
sensibilities and it’s a tour-de-force
wine from start to finish.
Robert Parker 93 points.
TORBRECK 2005 “ THE STRUIE” $49.98 [#377314] "The Struie" seems
to get lost in the shuffle every year until
folks figure out how good it is. With this wine
the focus is on cooler climate Shiraz from
parcels in the Eden and Barossa Valleys. The
Eden Valley fruit is sourced from 44-year-old
vines located 400-500 meters above sea level.
These grapes ripen up to two weeks later than
most of the Barossa and result in wines with
distinctive cool climate characteristics that
are a bit more structured and tightly wound in
their youth. When combined with fruit from
80-year-old Barossa hillside vines, "Struie"
offers enticing aromas of blackberries, licorice
and pepper and an alluring palate of sliky
smooth black fruit with outstanding balance and
finish. Put this one in the cellar for a couple
of years and prepare to be impressed.
Robert Parker 94 points.
TORBRECK 2005 SHIRAZ “THE FACTOR” $94.98
[#377292] "The Factor" is
made from some of the finest parcels of old vine
Shiraz in the Barossa Valley. The yields from
these lots range from 1-1.5 tons per acre in a
region where 6 tons per acre is commonplace.
This truly is one of the great Australian
Shirazs in our estimation. Enough said.
Robert Parker 97
points.
TORBRECK 2006 SHIRAZ/VIOGNIER “DESCENDANT”
$96.98 [#377410]
"Descendant" is a single vineyard property
adjacent to the Torbreck Winery that was planted
by Powell in 1994 from cuttings off old Runrig
vineyards. As such, the wine bears the same
name. "Descendant" was the first co-fermented
Shiraz/Viognier in Barossa and many have
followed in recent years.
Powell likens this wine to a Cornas in that the clay soils here
yield rich, textured and savory grapes, but the
addition of Viognier adds a dimension of perfume
and palate texture not found in Cornas.
"Descendant" offers a unique combination of
spicy blackberry and mulberry fruit aromas with
earth and floral notes as well as a tightly
knit, ultra-concentrated palate of polished
black fruit with meaty nuances. There’s some
impressive structure here and this wine will
require some cellaring to be truly appreciated.
A world class Shiraz and a well-deserved
Robert Parker
97 points!
TORBRECK 2005 MATARO “THE PICT” $133.98
[#377321] We defer to Dave
Powell on this one: "The Pictish race, one of
the founding races of the British Isles, arrived
in Scotland from Brittany in about the 15th
century BC in what was known as the Heroic Age.
Migrating from Northwest France, they sailed
northward to Ireland where they were refused
permission to land. The Pict were fierce
warriors. In some old stories these
fearsome fighting men tear off their clothes and
rush into battle becoming so frenzied by
blood-lust that they chew holes in their own
shields... Made solely from a tiny, single plot
of ancient head-pruned, bush wine Mataro in the
sandy quartz soils of Northern Greenock, this is
about as rich and decadent a wine as you could
imagine-- easily enough to satiate a Pictish
warrior from the Heroic Age.
TORBRECK 2005 SHIRAZ VIOGNIER “RUNRIG” $189.98
[#378755] “Runrig” is the
flagship wine of Torbreck and considered one of
the top red wines of Australia. It’s a big,
focused and structured wine with near port-like
concentration and endowed with rich,
liqueur-like blackberry and cassis fruit. It’s
received 99 points from Robert
Parker the past four
vintages and we think this vintage will
merit much the same.
TORBRECK 2005 MUSCAT BLANC “THE BOTHIE” DESSERT
WINE $14.98 [#377557] In Powell’s words:
"A sweet wine at Torbreck was always going to be
something slightly different and we’ve been
tinkering away at it since 2001. Muscat Blanc a
Petit Grains from John Nietschke’s Ebenezer
vineyard is harvested in several stages to
achieve different levels of ripeness, creating a
myriad of potential flavors. "The Bothie"
typically displays lifted aromas of rose water,
honeydew melon, lime and geranium. It’s a very
versatile wine that can be enjoyed at the start
of a meal or nicely chilled at the end with
fresh fruit, ice creams or sorbets.”
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Hi-Time Wine Cellars | 250 Ogle Street | Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Store Hours: Sunday 10am -7pm | Mon-Wed 9am-8pm | Thurs-Sat 9am-9pm