Torbreck
About Torbreck
Established in 1994 on the Western Ridge of the Barossa Valley in an appellation named Marananga, Torbreck is the brainchild of former lumberjack David Powell. A former lumberjack, he named the estate after a forest in Scotland. The estate's first release in 1997 gained magnificent praise. In 2002 they acquired their historic property in Lyndoch, and then in 2008, the estate was bought by Pete Knight. Today, with the prodigious stewardship of Ian Hongell, this estate has rapidly ascended into the Australian elite.
Torbreck "has it all" - it has some of the finest terroirs in Barossa, a superstar winemaking team and multiple vineyards planted exclusively with vines well over 100 years old. To this day, Torbreck sources much of the fruit used to produce its incredible wines from selected farmers throughout the region - a continuation of David Powell's early belief in the concept of "shared farming". The team at Torbreck are highly involved in the farming regimes at their contractors' sites, but the belief that generational growers can coax the best out of their family terroirs is firmly held by Ian Hongell et al.
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South Australia | 1 | 96 (HWC) | $535.00 | |||||
Halliday Wine Companion (96)Deep colour and hue; highly fragrant, spiced blackberry aromas; the intensity of flavour hits the mouth like a gale, the inbuilt tannins neither hard nor dry. Controlled oak. The '04 should be celestial. Cork. |
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South Australia | 2 | 96 (HWC) | $1,090.00 | |||||
Halliday Wine Companion (96)Deep colour and hue; highly fragrant, spiced blackberry aromas; the intensity of flavour hits the mouth like a gale, the inbuilt tannins neither hard nor dry. Controlled oak. The '04 should be celestial. Cork. |
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South Australia | 1 | 96-98 (JD) | $1,295.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (96-98)Unbelievably rich and decadent, the 2005 Torbreck Run Rig shows bright, slightly volatile aromas of dark fruit, meat, blood, campfire, chocolate and sweet oak. The slight volatile notes detract but the overall size and intensity here is something. On the palate, the wine is perfect with full body, massive fruit, stunning balance and precision, perfect structure and a long, long finish. |
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South Australia | 2 | 98 (WA) | $1,580.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (98)The 2012 RunRig is silky and seamless, akin the 2010 tasted alongside. RunRig was not made in the 2011 vintage, due to the cold and wet conditions (which did suit some varieties, and some terrific wines were made). Aromatically, the wine is all about garden roses and tapenade, roasted meat and sweet summer tomatoes. This is a beautiful wine. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. |
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South Australia | 1 | 96+ (WA) | $1,100.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96+)The 2015 RunRig is dark and brooding, with tar and resin, asphalt and tapenade. In the mouth, the fruit is sweet, feathered by vanilla pod and medjool date, mulberry, blood plum and sweet licorice. The length is phenomenally long, and the future will be just as long. The wine is so closed at this stage, and yet it has all the hallmarks required for long aging. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. |
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South Australia | 1 | 96 (VN) | $1,330.00 | |||||
Vinous (96)Inky ruby color. Expansive aromas of dark fruit liqueur, incense, candied flowers, Indian spices and vanilla. Has a smoky mineral quality that gains strength as the wine opens up. Fleshy, sweet and broad on the palate, offering impressively concentrated yet lively blackcurrant, boysenberry and violet pastille flavors that are lifted and sharpened by a smoky mineral flourish. Smooth, seamless and appealingly sweet on an extremely long, floral-dominated finish that"s framed by suave, well-knit tannins. |
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South Australia | 2 | 99 (WA) | $1,160.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (99)The 2018 RunRig is perfectly eloquent of the 2018 vintage. It was warm and dry, and the reds produced both in Barossa and Eden Valleys were of very high quality. Here, the 2018 could be stylistically compared to 2016, however the 2018 offers tremendous chisel and definition of both the tannins and the nuanced fruit profile. This is a brilliantly polished and sleek wine that, while approachable and ready for drinking now, offers none of the gracious complexity that it will no doubt develop with patient cellaring. Should you wish to see the potential of this wine, plan to open a bottle in 2040. Should you feel impatient, opening a bottle now will suffice—it is very good today. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. |
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South Australia | 1 | 96+ (WA) | $1,240.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96+)The 2019 RunRig hails from a hot, dry vintage, and the wine here is brooding, structurally firm and savory. The wine is thoroughly black, both in the glass and in its nature—black fruit, black spice, brooding tannins. While the 2018 may be open for business now, this should remain closed for some time yet—2030 as a minimum would be the recommendation. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. |
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South Australia | 1 | 98 (WA) | $486.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (98)The 2004 Descendant, an old oak-aged blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier from a 12-year old vineyard, offers up notes of blackberries, ink, sweet truffles, and acacia flowers. There are 1,000 cases of this full-bodied, intense, rich blockbuster. It will drink well for 10-15 years. |
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South Australia | 1 | 97+ (WA) | $115.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (97+)2019 followed the warm (but excellent) 2018 in the Barossa, and was marred by low yields and very concentrated fruit. 2020 was another step further down that low-yielding, dry track, completing a trio of concentrated, brooding vintages that are, as the years go by, harder and harder to get ahold of. So, the 2019 Descendant includes Viognier skins in the ferment, usually around 2%, and the fruit is sourced from vines planted from cuttings from the RunRig Vineyard. A baby Runrig, if you will. So, this is silky, slippery, tannic and intense, with layers of vibrant raspberry, jasmine tea, red licorice, jelly snakes and deli meat. As usual for the Torbreck reds, the texture of the wine is velvety, plush, intense and enveloping. This ages very well, we know it does, but if you must drink it early, decant it! |
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South Australia | 1 | 95 (WA) | $123.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (95)Aged in 50% new oak, Tobreck's 2017 The Factor boasts hickory-like smoky aromas, plus plum and blackberry fruit. It's full-bodied and firmly built, finishing with hints of chocolate, licorice and dusty tannins. Give it another 2-3 years in the cellar, then drink it over the next decade and a half. |
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South Australia | 1 | 96 (WA) | $122.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96)This is quintessential Barossa. The red dirt in the ground rises up in the glass and transports me right back there: middle summer, hot, spicy air blowing across the tops of old vines. It's evocative. This 2019 The Factor is Port-y, concentrated and savory as all hell, with charred barrels, lamb fat, black pepper, salted licorice, pomegranate molasses and aniseed. This is about as big as I can cope with and still enjoy it; it takes density and intensity to a whole new level—no surprise for the vintage, the region and the producer. A perfect storm of thunderous strength. Like staring into the abyss . . . a little bit scary, but transfixing nonetheless. |
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South Australia | 1 | 98+ (WA) | $1,615.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (98+)Very deep purple-black colored, Torbreck's 2010 The Laird offers an extraordinary perfume of Chinese five spice, sandalwood, rose petals, espresso and licorice over a core of prunes, dried mulberries and blackcurrant preserves plus a touch of cloves. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and packed with dried black fruits and exotic spice flavors, the generous fruit is structured with velvety tannins and just enough freshness. It finishes with commendable persistence. |
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South Australia | 1 | 98+ (WA) | $1,650.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (98+)Very deep purple-black colored, Torbreck's 2010 The Laird offers an extraordinary perfume of Chinese five spice, sandalwood, rose petals, espresso and licorice over a core of prunes, dried mulberries and blackcurrant preserves plus a touch of cloves. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and packed with dried black fruits and exotic spice flavors, the generous fruit is structured with velvety tannins and just enough freshness. It finishes with commendable persistence. |
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South Australia | 1 | 100 (WA) | $861.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (100)Deep garnet colored with a touch of remaining purple at the rim, the 2012 The Laird is one of those wines you could just go on smelling all day. It opens with a complex perfume of kirsch, dried mulberries, blackberry tart and spice cake over cloves, mocha, dusty earth, incense, star anise, yeast extract and aged beef. The full-bodied palate is drop-dead seductive, unfurling in the mouth to reveal exotic spice, meat, earth and berry preserves layers, supported by firm, velvety tannins and seamless acid. The finish seems to go on forever—and this is exactly what you want it to do. Stunning. |
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South Australia | 1 | 97 (WA) | $1,900.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (97)There's no denying the power and concentration of Torbreck's 2013 The Laird. The fruit is impressive, the oak luxurious, the texture velvety, yet I can't help but wonder if it needs to spend that extra time in barrel. Complex notes of baking spices, licorice and pepper add nuance to the Christmas-cake flavors and somehow emerge savory on the long finish. It's a wonderful wine, but would I rather have three bottles of RunRig? Without question. |
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South Australia | 1 | 98 (JS) | $1,600.00 | |||||
James Suckling (98)A single plot, planted by Malcolm Seppelt in 1958. A very complex and intense array of tarry dark-plum, clove and cardamom aromas. Plum paste, currants, blueberries and black cherries, too. There’s a load of dark spice here. The palate has a very intense delivery of such concentrated and intense dark, ripe plum and blackberry-essence flavors. Aged for 36 months in new French oak barriques. Extended flavors, a dark-chocolate note and emulsified tannins. Unique and complex wine. Best from 2025. |
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South Australia | 3 | 98 (JS) | $1,795.00 | |||||
James Suckling (98)A single plot, planted by Malcolm Seppelt in 1958. A very complex and intense array of tarry dark-plum, clove and cardamom aromas. Plum paste, currants, blueberries and black cherries, too. There’s a load of dark spice here. The palate has a very intense delivery of such concentrated and intense dark, ripe plum and blackberry-essence flavors. Aged for 36 months in new French oak barriques. Extended flavors, a dark-chocolate note and emulsified tannins. Unique and complex wine. Best from 2025. |
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South Australia | 1 | 99 (JS) | $2,190.00 | |||||
James Suckling (99)A distinctive and very concentrated, single-parcel shiraz that offers a rich plum and raisin nose with plenty of tarry notes and a swathe of baking spices. The palate is packed with rich, dark-plum and black-fruit flavors and the long, strong hold on the finish lasts for minutes. So intense, this is their finest Laird to date. Best from 2028. |
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South Australia | 1 | 95+ (WA) | $613.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (95+)A new offering, the 2004 The Pict, is a 220-case cuvee of 100% Mourvedre that tips the scales at 13.2% alcohol. Reminiscent of a 1998 Domaine Tempier Cuvee Speciale (a great vintage for that estate), it boasts an inky/blue/purple color, phenomenally intense blueberry and blackberry fruit characteristics, and hints of black truffles as well as fresh mushrooms. Deep and full-bodied, with superb fruit and the right amount of sweet tannin (a rarity for Mourvedre), this beauty should evolve slowly, and drink well for 15 or more years. |
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South Australia | 4 | 93+ (VN) | $198.00 | |||||
Vinous (93+)(100% mataro) Glass-staining ruby. Powerful scents of blackcurrant, dark cherry, olive tapenade and incense, with a musky herbal undertone. Broad, palate-staining dark berry compote flavors are framed by velvety tannins and pick up notes of licorice and bitter chocolate with air. Pretty wild stuff, boasting excellent concentration and finishing sweetness. There are plenty of tannins here but the fruit seems to suck them up. Give this another four or five years in the cellar. |
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