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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(6x75cl) 2018Vinous (93)
Opaque ruby. Lush, dark berry and fruitcake scents are complemented by suggestions of candied flowers and backing spices. Sappy and focused on entry and then fleshier in the mid-palate, offering ripe blackberry, cherry and allspice flavors and a hint of cola. Closes very long and smooth, with slowly building tannins lending gentle grip.$242.00 -
(6x75cl) 2003Halliday Wine Companion (95)
Complex licorice, spice and sweet earth overtones to blackberry, plum, dark chocolate and licorice; medium to full-bodied; marvellous tannin management. Barossa/Eden Valley. High quality cork.$449.00 -
Matthew Jukes (19+)
My mind went into orbit when I tasted this wine. Tasting like a magical concoction of 4-parts Serralunga d’Alba and 1-part Bonnes-Mares (Morey-side), this wine’s 43% Eden Valley Shiraz component makes it the most energetic, challenging, and utterly mesmerising vintage I can remember. I have always been a Struie fan, but it often sits down in the pack alongside some of the more powerful Shirazes, so one has to look deep into the portfolio to truly appreciate its charms. In 2021, while it is not a bigger wine, it is undoubtedly more intense and aeons longer on the finish, so I can see it standing shoulder to shoulder with its more fêted siblings for years to come.$372.00 -
Matthew Jukes (19+)
2022 was a wonderful vintage for The Struie. I started to write notes about how this was a pretty boy, a Jude Law of a wine, but as the flavour grew in the glass the dimensions expanded and firmed up on the finish, and entirely different ideas formed in my wine brain. To fully understand this following fanciful description, we must start with this wine’s philosophy – literally its roots. The notion of blending Eden Valley fruit, taken from vineyards situated at 400-500m, with warmer Barossa Valley sites at 200-300m is not new. Many try to craft wines that marry freshness and spice with density and grandeur and fail to get the balance right. I do not want an ugly weld joining these two vehicles. I would rather experience the vinous equivalent of a top-of-the-range Bentley with its ostentatious frippery removed, roll bars fitted, and four-point racing harnesses and bucket seats in place of the kid leather chaises longues. Get rid of the B&O stereo – I want to hear the engine. Ditch the fridge and champagne glasses in the boot and pursue this weight-loss programme with the help of an adrenalin-fuelled mechanic until you have a Titanic engine supported by a lightweight but extraordinarily robust chassis. Remove any nomenclature on the boot and rename this vehicle The Struie. It is a perfectly dimensioned weapon – purring, ready to tear away from the blocks with the perfect balance of power and poise. Welcome to 2022 The Struie. The tech spec is above, and in place of a 0-60mph time, you have a more meaningful score to alert you to just how much I love this wine.$125.00
