04.26.10  Torbreck Wines

I had the immense pleasure of spending Monday afternoon with my wife Linda at the Allison Inn & Spa tasting through quite a collection of the Torbreck wines. We were hosted by Rob Moller of Merchant of Vino and we were joined by Andrew Tierney, Director of Sales & Marketing for Torbreck and about sixteen other members of the trade from the Portland area. It was a typical cool, wet spring day and the room was air conditioned to help show the wines at the optimal temperature, but the wines were warming and helped to reaffirm that Australia does make some incredible wines of distinction. 

First off, the setting - The Allsion Inn & Spa located in Newberg is the first luxury destination in Willamette Valley's wine country. Not even a year old The Allsion has garnered lots of attention and critical acclaim for the high level of service, beautiful surroundings and attention to detail. We arrived early so that we could have lunch in Jory, their signature restaurant that features inventive dishes made from local ingredients. Not having a reservation might be a problem on a warm summer afternoon, but on a cool spring day we were seated almost immediately at a table that gave us a great view of the valley to the south. Since this is meant to be about the wines I won't waste too much space about The Allsion, but suffice it to say that the service was impeccable and the food was delicious. I would highly recommend it to my friends. In fact we are going to go back as a group for one of their Sunday Family Suppers that features three courses for $29.

Our first flight of wines provided the insight that Torbreck isn't just about big, burly reds. The 2008 Woodcutter's Semillon exhibits a bright yellow-gold color and projects orchard fruits and citrus zest to your nose and on the palate adds some herbs on the back end. This will compliment almost any seafood and went beautifully with the prosciutto-wrapped grilled prawns provided - 89/100. Our second white - 2010 The Bothie, is a fragrant Muscat Blanc a Petite Grains that is made as a "vin doux naturel" style by the addition of grape spirit to the fermenting must to halt the fermentation leaving some significant residual sugar. The resulting wine was light-bodied, off-dry and quite refreshing. As pointed out by Andrew Tierney this would compliment a tray of fruit and cheese nicely on a warm summer afternoon, or offset a nice stinky blue-veined cheese after dinner - 88/100.

Before I launch into the red wines we tasted I think a general note about the winemaking philosophy at Torbreck is warranted: most of the vineyards they source from are old vines: 40-140 years old! Even their "young" vines are at least 20 years old and they keep crop levels very low - 1-2 tons per acre and in some vineyards not even 1 ton/acre. They harvest later than most Barossa producers because they want ripe phenolics (tannins) in the skins and the seeds and they aren't worried about how much sugar ends up in the grapes. They destem the bunches and carry out fermentations under controlled temperature conditions, typically in the 25-28 °C range (77-83 °F), which is quite cool. This helps to preserve the freshness of the fruit and limits the amount of extraction that takes place during fermentation. The barrel regimen differs depending on the wine, but only French oak is used (now) and they do not fine or filter their red wines before bottling. The resulting wines show an amazing purity of fruit, elegant balance of fruit & acid and a refined tannin structure. While I didn't go gaga over all of the wines, as a group they were very enjoyable and we learned that they are very ageable too. Now on to the wines.

2008 Cuvée Juveniles

The name might imply that young vines are the source here, but in fact the youngest are 40 years old and the oldest are 140 years old. This wine sees nothing but stainless steel so there are no oak influences, just rich, ripe Barossa fruit comprised of 60% Grenache and 20% each Shiraz & Mataro (Mourvedre), a GSM blend. Medium ruby-red color with alluring aromas of blueberry and black raspberry with a hint of dried herbs mid-palate, this is an easy-to-drink wine with a very supple finish - 90/100.

2006 The Steading

This wine has the same pedigree as the Juveniles - about 45 different sources of fruit, vinified separately and blended after each barrel has been assessed for its virtues. The assemblage was aged in older French Hogshead barrels (300 liters or ~79 gallons) for 24 months before bottling. Lovely aromatics of pie cherry, black raspberry, and a hint of dried herbs here too. Very open-knit and easy to approach The Steading has a long finish that gets tightened up ever so slightly by fine-grained tannins - 90/100.

2001 The Steading

This vintage was aged in older American and French barrels. Not as open aromatically as the 2006 but still very fresh and exciting with all of the power exhibited by the younger wine. This is very much like a great southern Rhone blend with aromas of garrigue, black pepper and raspberry reduction, still going strong but should probably be drunk over the next 3 years - 91/100.

2006 Les Amis

100% Grenache from a vineyard planted in 1901 aged in 100% new French oak. Dense ruby-red in the glass with rich aromas of black raspberry, black cherry and Asian spices followed by a hint of oak near the finish this is a beautiful wine that is just starting to emerge. This layered beauty is hiding its best for later and will reward a few years aging - 93/100.

2009 Saignée

Saignée (sane-yeah) is a French term that means "to bleed the vats". It's the most common way to make rosé wine. After a brief period of contact between the skins and the juice some of the juice is "bled" off of the must and then fermented separately, in this case in well seasoned 300 liter Hogsheads. This results in a medium watermelon-pink rosé that is very much like a Bandol rosé from the Provence region of France. Sporting a spicy nose of wild strawberries, dried herbs and dried cherry this is a serious  

rosé that will pair well with seafood - 90/100.

2006 The Pict

100% Mataro (Mourvedre) from a single plot of ancient vines aged in 100% new French oak for 24 months, this is not a wine for the faint of heart! A glass-staining deep purple color with scents of black currants, blueberry, blackberry jam and a certain musky herbal note that speaks of forest floor and mushrooms. This is dense, concentrated and a bit rustic. The finish goes on and on. I love it! - 94/100

2008 Woodcutter's Shiraz

This is the workhorse wine for Torbreck and they make some 30,000 cases of it. 2008 was extremely hot and was a drought year as well resulting in some very ripe grapes. As mentioned above Torbreck is accustomed to handling ripe grapes but in this case the alcohol was a bit more evident on the finish. On the nose I get plum, Asian spices, and blueberry. The wine exhibits a nice mouthfeel and a lengthy finish - 87/100.

2006 The Struie

The 2006 The Struie is 100% Shiraz, sourced from cooler, hillside sites, 70% from Barossa Valley and 30% from Eden Valley with vine age ranging from 46 to 110 years. It was aged for 18 months in 20% new oak. At this point the tannins are more prominent in this wine probably because the cooler sites provide more restrained fruit but give this baby another 4 or 5 years of cellaring and it will be incredible. Opaque purple in the glass with scents of blueberry, blackberry, and a whiff of minerals the fruit is balanced by dusty tannins on the lingering finish - 90/100.

2001 The Struie

The 2001 Struie has a similar composition to the 2006 and is surprisingly still very primary in its aromatic expression but there is a bit of meaty, gamey Syrah in there. Dense ruby color with aromas of red and black fruits intermingled with scents of violet and black pepper - 88/100.

2006 The Factor

One of my favorite wines of the tasting this 100% Shiraz is assembled from lots harvested from the oldest, most revered vineyards in the Barossa. It spent 24 months in 30% new oak and boasts a dense purple/black color in the glass. Aromas of violets, licorice, smoke and pepper lead to an explosion in the mouth of blackberry, licorice and slowly unfolding red fruits mid-palate gliding into a very persistent finish. Still very youthful, very Barossa-ish but not at all overdone - 94/100.

2003 The Factor

This version is still inky purple in the glass and just now starting to show some of the secondary characteristics of Syrah that reveal themselves as a slightly sweet & sour element. I first detected blackberry and cherry notes followed by plum and a hint of espresso. After about 15 minutes in the glass I got some tar and spice aromas along with more blackberry and plum framed by fine-grained tannins - 93/100

2007 Descendent

This vineyard was planted by Dave Powell in 1994 with cuttings off old RunRig vineyards - some of the oldest genetic material in Australia. The Barossa's first co-fermented Shiraz/Viognier, Descendant has been joined by many more in the last couple of years - a testament to its success. Composed of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier sourced from a single vineyard this dense ruby-red beauty displays an explosively perfumed bouquet of violets, cherry, black olive and a hint of vanilla. The powerful aromas are echoed on the palate along with currant and black pepper. A very powerful, intense and concentrated but elegant expression of Barossa fruit - 94/100.

2001 Descendent

92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier sourced from a single vineyard as above that gets aged in 2.5 year old barrels previously used for RunRig. This elegantly styled effort exudes power without being heavy. Aromatically it opens with blackberry, cassis, licorice and Asian spices followed on the palate by silky tannins framing lush cassis, raspberry and a hint of coffee. Seemless and elegantly delicious - 95/100.

1997 RunRig

Still sporting a saturated black-ruby color in the glass this is the flagship offering from Torbreck. Made with select lots of fruit harvested from 80-140 year old vines and aged for 30 months in 100% new French oak. After thirteen years there is no oak present in the aromatic profile or on the palate. The 5% Viognier that is added right before bottling adds a pleasant aromatic lift but doesn't get in the way of the voluptuous, dense black fruits. Aromas of cassis, blackberry, licorice and bitter chocolate flow onto the palate where this superconcentrated wine persists for more than a minute after you swallow. This seems like it still has another decade of life left in it. Liquid silk - 95/100.

1999 RunRig

Dense ruby-purple color in the glass. Very powerful in a restrained style. Scents of plum, cedar and chocolate open up to reveal pepper and black raspberry. Cassis, blackberry and tar flavors are framed by fine-grained tannins that give way to a peppery, chocolatey finish. Very concentrated without being heavy. Ready to drink now - 95/100.

2001 RunRig

Inky ruby-purple color. Concentrated scents of blueberry, plum and baking spices are echoed on the palate along with black raspberry and chocolate. Immensely satisfying and lengthy finish where you barely detect any tannins but the wine is not at all fat, but rather harmonious and full-bodied - 94/100.

2002 RunRig

Also inky-purple in the glass. A little more of the viognier element is exhibited here as apricot and honeysuckle notes. Aromas of blackberries, licorice, violets and chocolate. On the palate the wine is amazingly complex with dense layers of blueberry, plum, licorice and coffee surrounded by silky tannins. Incredibly lengthy finish that lasts for over a minute - 94/100.

2005 RunRig

I didn't care for this wine as there was obvious volatile acidity. One of the members of the tasting group, Riggs Fulmer, commented that he liked the wine because it was a "little naughty" and he isn't put off by such things. I like a bit of Brett in some of my wines and I can get behind some funk too, but this just didn't appeal to me. It may have been this specific bottle because the wine received rave reviews from the press...

2006 RunRig

Glass (and tooth)-staining purple color. High notes from the Viognier show themselves early but are overtaken by black and blue fruits in the form of blueberry pie, black raspberry compote with a pretty, savory note thrown in for good measure on the persistent finish. While still very primary in its evolution this was my second favorite wine of the tasting. These RunRig wines exhibit incredible power but remain perfectly balanced and elegant - 96/100.

Thank you to Rob Moller and Andrew Tierney for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and a closing note. While many of these wines are expensive and out of reach for most consumers, they demonstrate that meticulous farming and fastidious winemaking can result in wines that exhibit power, grace and elegance even in the land of Yellowtail Shiraz!