Torbreck The Laird Shiraz
Torbrecks flagship wine, The Laird Shiraz is only produced in exceptional years. The fruit comes from one of the finest Shiraz sites in the Barossa valley; the dry grown Gnadenfrei vineyard dating from 1958. Matured for 36 months in special French barriques coopered by Dominique Laurent, the Laird is the ultimate expression of ultra-concentrated single vineyard Barossa Shiraz.
Château Trotanoy Pomerol
Château Trotanoy is one of the oldest and prestigous of any Châteaux on the Bordeaux's right-bank. Trotanoy consists of a tiny 7.5 hectare plot in Pomerol where Merlot is the dominant variety planted. In 2008, Pomerol was the best perfoming of all of the Bordeaux regions and was rated a brilliant 96 by Robert Parker Jr. Wonderfully complex and rich in fruit, this Trotanoy also has a brilliant structure and elegance that will medium-term cellar quite nicely.
Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir
Australian Pinot Noir does not get any better than the wines produced by Phillip Jones at the iconic Bass Phillip winery. A Pinot Noir of utmoust power and elegance, the rival to any great Burgundy. Rated in the top classification in Langton's Classification of Australian Wine, Bass Phillip Pinot Noir is riddled with complex flavours of strawberry, violets, rose petal and forest floor. The length of palate is immortal.
Glaetzer the Eye of Ra
2016 The Eye of Ra is a 100% Shiraz, using 100% French oak and all of the fruit comes from Ebenezer. This wine is made from the finest parcel of fruit that Ben has ever seen in his vineyard. Outstanding aromatics lead the way and the palate is nothing short of spellbinding. The finish has epic freshness and the tannins are like nothing I have encountered before from the great Glaetzer portfolio. The Eye of Ra is all about power countered with impeccable restraint and I can still recall all of its flavours several weeks later. It is one of a number of wines that I have seen lately which signal a new and fascinating epoch for Barossa Shiraz. I followed this wine over three hours that evening and it never stopped evolving in the glass. This celestial wine made a huge impression on me and it is hard for me to see how this wine can be bettered and so I am overjoyed to give it a perfect score. Rating: 20+/20
Torbreck The Forebear
Maker: 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 flavours. 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. Vineyard: The growing season was defined by a continuously warm to hot summer with no effective rainfall, wind and hail at flowering, and followed with three major frosts - resulting in an earlier and much smaller harvest than average. These tough conditions produced smaller clusters of intensely dark berries with thick fleshy skins contrasted against brown mature stalks. Whilst yields were down, once these vineyards were fermenting in our cellar the concentration of colour, tannin and aroma of the 2019 vintage was revealed. Wine style/Cuvee: Chief Winemaker, Ian Hongell, explains "we chose the name 'The Forebear' to honour the pioneering spirit of the Springbetts and other pioneering families and their role in establishing the Barossa as of the great winegrowing regions of the world. This wine is our tribute to those who came before us." The vines are from an ancient Heritage clone originally brought from Europe as cuttings and planted before the discovery of Phylloxera. These ancestor vines (125+ years old) are embedded in soils of sand over deep loam and red clay. The Forebear is crafted from the original 12 rows of ancient Shiraz vines planted by the Springbett family (1849) which represent an irreplaceable link to the early history of the Barossa as a viticultural treasure from the first generation of European settlers. They are Torbreck’s oldest collection of vines from any single plot. The cooler evening breezes that flow through the southern end of the Barossa produce an elegant style of Shiraz that is regarded for its distinctive aromatic, lifted floral notes and red fruit flavours, across a medium weight line intertwined with subtle rounded tannins. The core of red berry fruit and texture derived from these very old and gnarly vines produce an unmistakable degree of finesse and complexity that was calling out to bottled as a single site expression, and a reflection of place. Torbreck chief winemaker Ian Hongell and viticulturist Nigel Blieschke, who have driven this project since 2014, were firm in their belief that this vineyard had a rightful place in Torbreck’s pursuit of single-site wines of significance and pedigree. Shiraz comes from the Hillside Vineyard, planted c.1850. It undergoes 24 months in new French oak barriques (Troncais). Deep crimson with brilliant hue. A wine of poise and nobility from some of the world’s oldest living Shiraz vines. A complex nose of mostly red berry fruits such as red currant, red cherry and cassis fill the bouquet, complimented by savoury notes of wild thyme, garrigue, graphite, and sandalwood. The palate carries a wonderful textural mouthfeel with enveloping soft, round tannins and cleansing acidity that balance the wines modern Barossa elegance with the power of the harvest from extremely low yielding vines. A wine that pays homage to its forebears and their vision for grape growing and dry farming from the 19th century. Enjoy from 2026 and cellar to 2050+. Tasting: Aroma - Complex, Redcurrant, Ironstone Predominately red berry fruits, then cassis and savoury garrigue, wild thyme and sandalwood. Palate - Blood plum, Mulberry, Sumac Typical Barossan feel, ample but fresh. Baking spice, awash with dark fruits, a lick of aniseed, and forest accents. Finish - Chewy, Exotic Spices, Peppercorns Superb finish, long and with plenty of chewy tannin and flavour to sink your teeth into.
Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon
Henschke's flagship Cabernet is named after the late Cyril Henschke who purchased the Eden Valley property in the 1960s. Stephen and Prue Henschke then established the vineyard with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines which produces this intensely perfumed Cabernet. Matured in 100% new French oak for 18 months, this exceptional wine shows blackcurrant and cedar characters balanced with superb fine grained tannin.
Paul Jaboulet Aine La Chapelle
Powell & Son Kraehe Marananga Shiraz
Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz
Elegant and aristocratic kaleidoscope of aromas, an abundance of fruit flavours, blackberry, mulberry and blueberry with supporting complexity of mint, eucalypt, rhubarb, Turkish delight and cinnamon. The palate offers a rich tapestry of enjoyment and fulfilment of flavours of raspberry, strawberry and boysenberry to name a few. Made by Jim Barry.