TORBRECK
Woodcutter's Shiraz 2020
100% Shiraz
RSD 3,780
AWARDS
92 Points - Wine Enthusiast (for 2019 Vintage) - Editor's Choice
90 Points - Robert Parker (for 2019 Vintage)
PROFILE
This wine reflects the up and coming Shiraz vineyards of the Barossa, rather than the battle hardened old vines that make up the core of our other cuvee’s. But like all Torbreck wines, Woodcutter’s - Shiraz receives the very best viticultural and winemaking treatment. Although this wine is constantly praised for its succulence and richness, there is also a complexity and texture which is rarely found at this price.
VINTAGE
Strong winds at flowering at the beginning of the growing season reduced berry and bunch count in many vineyards. The difficult seasonal conditions continued up to harvest- a dry winter and spring were followed by very hot and dry December and January. 2020 was a difficult season to manage for both grower and winemaker with yields much lower than anticipated. Older vineyards with deeper roots remained steadfast under these conditions and produced small volumes of deeply concentrated wines from the lower yields. Semillon and Viognier were the starring whites, with delicate flavours and aromas. While the yields have been small, the overall quality has created deeply coloured and textured wines that resonate their place of origin. Harvest is from 2nd March to 3rd April 2020.
WINEMAKING
12 months in well-seasoned French oak hogsheads and Foudre.
TASTING NOTES
Full of freshness and bright youthful fruits, the 2020 vintage of Woodcutter’s Shiraz possesses no small amount of exuberance and personality. Aromatic plum and black cherry with dark chocolate and intensity, yet refined. The balanced palate has a round central core of black and blue fruit that gives way to a complex mid-palate. While offering immense pleasure in its youth, the 2020 Woodcutter’s Shiraz will certainly develop into an impressive wine with a few more years in the cellar. A fantastic introduction to the Torbreck range.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Region: Barossa Valley, Australia
Alcohol: 15.0%
Acidity: 6.30 g/l
pH: 3.56
Residual Sugar: N/A
TORBRECK
The Struie 2019
100% Shiraz
RSD 6,695
AWARDS
94 Points - Robert Parker (for 2019 Vintage)
94 Points - Wine Enthusiast (for 2019 Vintage)
92 Points - James Suckling (for 2019 Vintage)
PROFILE
The name Struie originates from a mountain in the rugged highlands of north-east Scotland, which overlooks Torbreck forest near Inverness. The view from the Struie down across the Dornoch Firth is as inspiring as that of the Valley floor from the Barossa Ranges. While the Eden Valley region is most associated with the white wine variety, Riesling, it also produces elegant, tautly structured Shiraz which is highly prized by winemakers. This Torbreck Shiraz cuvée is a skillful blend of fruit from a single vineyard Eden Valley Shiraz and old vine Shiraz from the Barossa Valley’s Western Ranges – a marriage of elegance and intensity. Average age of vines is 50 years.
VINTAGE
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. Harvest time is from 2nd March to 3rd April 2019.
WINEMAKING
20 months in new (20%) and seasoned French oak.
TASTING NOTES
Dark violet with purple rim. Lifted aromatics of plum, black fruits, mineral and graphite. Plush, dense and textural with a long finish. The tannins are soft yet concentrated and they will hold the powerful structure and fruit weight together for many years. The Struie is a wonderfully aromatic and deeply concentrated wine produced from the harmonious combination of both regions, delivering layers of dark chocolate characters and defining structure. Nuances of plum, black and blueberries, violets and hidden spice characters all further enhance the natural elegance and tension from old vines. The Struie will reward for 15-20 years.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Region: 92% Barossa Valley and 8% Eden Valley, Australia
Alcohol: 15.0%
Acidity: 5.87 g/l
pH: 3.61
Residual Sugar: N/A
TORBRECK
The Factor 2018
100% Shiraz
RSD 16,440
AWARDS
98 Points - James Suckling (for 2018 Vintage)
96 Points - Decanter (for 2018 Vintage)
96 Points - Robert Parker (for 2018 Vintage)
PROFILE
The manager on a highland estate is referred to as The Factor. Many of these vineyards were planted in the 19th century and because of South Australia’s far-sighted quarantine policy, were not affected by the phylloxera outbreak that ravaged the vineyards of the world in the 1880s. They survive on their own roots more than a century later as clonal time capsules. The reputation of the Barossa as the pre-eminent red wine growing region of Australia rests firmly on wines such as this.
VINTAGE
An above average winter rainfall led into a below average spring and summer rainfall, producing small bunches and small berries, leading to a reduced yield. Quality was certainly high, particular amongst our red varieties of Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro. 2018 wines will be remembered for their impressive colour, structure and longevity. Harvest is from 15th March to 4th April 2018.
WINEMAKING
24 months in a combination of new (50%), second fill and seasoned French oak barriques.
TASTING NOTES
The Factor is predominantly from the Gomersal and Marananga sub-regions of the Barossa, providing dense texture and richness to the palate with subtle notes of olive tapenade, saddle leather and minerals. Ripe aromas of Satsuma plum, wild blackberries, dark chocolate and five spice entwined with a dark core of espresso roast, ripe mulberries and saltbush. Brooding and densely packed, this lavish wine has ample generosity to cellar for more than 20 years, where it will slowly unravel its beguiling riches.
James Suckling (98)
A pristine nose of ripe and intense blackberries, blueberries and redcurrants, as well as some sanguine, rust-like notes. This is an excellent edition of The Factor. I like the power and focus this wine delivers and, in 2018, it is a wine of great length and presence. Abundant ripe blackberries bathe the palate. Try from 2025.
Decanter (96)
Chock full of flavour, this charismatic Shiraz oozes Barossa from every pore. Fine tannins tightly frame black cherry-berry fruit, cep powder, cocoa and iron filings for a dry profile and compelling tension. In and among it all, notes of smoked meat, espresso, cedar, graphite, garrigue and violet creams snag the attention. Incisive acidity enhances length and drive.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (96)
Aged in about 50% new French oak and built for cellaring, the 2018 The Factor is a concentrated, structured Shiraz that should age well for up to two decades. Scents of cedar shavings and vanilla mark the nose, while the full-bodied palate folds in notes of ripe blackberries and mulberries, plus hints of baking spices. Complex, firm and age-worthy, with a long, focused finish, it should be at its best after about five more years.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Region: Gomersal, Krondorf, Marananga, Ebenezer - Barossa Valley, Australia
Alcohol: 15.0%
Acidity: 5.97 g/l
pH: 3.60
Residual Sugar: N/A