Torbeck Wines

Reviews

  • The Wine Companion
  • Stephen Tanzer
  • The Wine Advocate
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Roussanne Marsanne - The Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)

2009 Blended of 55% Roussanne, 35% Marsanne and 10% Viognier, Torbreck's 2009 Roussanne Marsanne Viognier offers a lovely peachy, floral nose with notes of frangipani, tropical fruit salad, guava and green mango plus a whiff of honey.  Medium to full-bodied with a nice silky texture, good mid-palate and medium-high acid, the finish is long and yeasty.  Drinking now, it should remain fresh to 2014.
Drink 2010 - 2014 | Date Tasted: Oct 10		 90
2008 The 2008 Viognier (50%)-Marsanne (40%)-Roussanne (10%) reveals a fragrant perfume of spring fl owers, mineral, honey, wax, and stone fruits. Ripe on the palate with spicy, savory fruit, it has considerable complexity and a lengthy, fruit-fi lled fi nish.
Drink it over the next 3-4 years.
Date Tasted: Dec 09		 91
2007 The 2007 Roussanne-Marsanne was selected from numerous lots that received elevage in either stainless steel or neutral oak. Light gold-colored, it has a captivating bouquet of floral notes, honey, melon, roasted nuts, and tropical scents. On the palate it is ripe and round, smooth-textured and impeccably balanced. It might well evolve for several years in the style of Hermitage Blanc.
Torbreck, under the leadership of owner/winemaker David Powell, remains a Barossa Valley benchmark as well as one of the world’s leading wine estates.
Date Tasted: Feb 09		 90
2006 The 2006 Roussanne-Marsanne (55% of the former, 45% of the latter) does a fine impersonation of a top-quality white Hermitage. The Roussanne was tank-fermented and aged while the Marsanne was barrel fermented in old oak using native yeasts where it remained until the two components were blended after 10 months. The wine is medium straw-colored with an enticing bouquet of mineral, wax, honeysuckle, citrus, and roasted nuts. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, ripe and round, while maintaining a certain elegant restraint in its seamless personality. This nicely crafted wine clearly has more nuances to reveal with additional bottle age but it can be enjoyed now with richly sauced shellfish. Torbreck also produces a small quantity of 100% Muscat Blanc in the style of a southern Rhone Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Torbreck, under the leadership of owner/winemaker David Powell, remains a Barossa Valley benchmark as well as one of the world’s greatest wine estates. The top cuvees are limited production and expensive but there are also some outstanding values in the portfolio. With regard to the current vintages for the Barossa red wines, David Powell states “2004 is more savory while 2005 has more purity and definition. 2004 is more classic, 2005 will take longer to come around.”
Date Tasted: Oct 07		 91
2005 The 2005 Marsanne/Roussanne (65% and 35% respectively) is stunning. The Roussanne is aged in tank, and the Marsanne in neutral wood. The result is a white Hermitage look-alike from the Barossa. A crisp, elegant, honeyed nose reveals hints of wax, buttered citrus, roasted nuts, and a touch of fino sherry. In the mouth, orange zest and honeysuckle also emerge. Enjoy this terrific effort over the next 1-2 years.
Drink: 2006 - 2008 | Date Tasted: Oct 06		 91