Torbreck Wines > The Wines > Runrig

2006	(95% shiraz and 5% viognier) Glass-staining ruby. Heady aromas of black raspberry, blueberry pie, potpourri, sandalwood and patchouli, with a strong mineral quality adding urgency. Completely stains the palate with deep black and blue fruit flavors but possesses uncanny energy, picking up smoky mineral and Asian spice nuances with air. At once creamy and nervy; this hits every corner of the palate. The floral element returns on the finish, which features sappy boysenberry and candied licorice qualities and leaves nervy spice and mineral notes behind. Where are the tannins? Offers an extraordinary combination of concentration, power and elegance.
2005	95% Shiraz and 5% Viognier. Glass-staining violet color. Explosively and seductively perfumed, displaying potent dark berry and floral aromas along with Indian spices, pipe tobacco and incense. Deeply concentrated, ripe blackcurrant and bitter cherry flavors are framed by silky tannins, picking up suave spices and candied flowers on the back end. This hits every square inch of the palate and lingers endlessly on the finish, with the dark berry and floral qualities repeating. Showing extremely well today, with the fruit strongly to the fore.
2004	Inky ruby. Hugely aromatic, pungent bouquet of dark berries, kirsch, fresh flowers, licorice and minerals. Expansive dark fruit flavors completely suffuse the palate and are brightened by vibrant notes of fresh flowers and graphite. Wonderfully creamy in texture, with no rough edges. Tannins slowly sneak in on the finish, adding structure to this dramatically concentrated, sappy shiraz. The persistence of fruit here is amazing.
2003	Inky violet. Explosively aromatic nose offers the full range of red and black fruits, along with notes of candied violet, cinnamon, mace, star anise and exotic tobacco. Hugely concentrated and velvety but also remarkably precise and energetic, with very pure flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, plum preserve and kirsch Ripe, explosive and deep on the back; as rich and sweet as this is, it's not at all thick or cloying. A real balancing act of power and purity. The tannins are completely buffered by the wine's sheer concentration of fruit. I'd give this at least five years of cellaring to gain in complexity. As impressive to my palate as the superb 2002 version.
2002	Saturated, inky, opaque ruby. A ripe, roasted, porty black hole of a nose. Impossibly ripe, musky, dense aromas of dark cherry, cassis compote, blackberry confit, molasses, fruitcake, violet pastille, licorice and candied rose petal. Thick to the point of being a solid, or at least a colloid, with dense, inky, even resinous flavors of bitter chocolate, creme de mure, coffee liqueur, licorice and black cardamom, accompanied by a spice rack of accents. The finish seems to never let go, which in this case is a good thing. Sticky, palate-staining and amazingly dense, a monument to this style of syrah.
2001	Full medium ruby. Aromatic nose combines black raspberry, cassis, chocolate, pipe tobacco, flowers and fruitcake. Huge, thick and dense, with superripe yet bright flavors of crushed berries complicated by a saline quality. Superconcentrated shiraz with terrific depth and sweetness of flavor. Finishes with sweet tannins and superb persistence. A very impressive shiraz that's kept fresh by a piquant note of cranberry. Particularly strong in the context of the vintage. (The Australian Wine Connection, Carlsbad, CA)
1999	Dense red-purple color. Heady, highly concentrated peppery aroma steeped in dense, dark plum and cassis and backed by assertive yet harmonious oak notes of cedar, chocolate and vanilla. Robust and very concentrated yet finely tuned; dripping with layered, juicy, essence-like dark shiraz fruits and wrapped in velvety but firm tannins. Shows a polished but perhaps slightly raw influence of new oak. (Best Connect, Aspen, CO)
1998	Saturated dark ruby to the rim. Flamboyantly nuanced nose combines cassis, black raspberry, peat, bitter chocolate, baking spices and suggestions of exotic fruits. Silky and glyceral in the mouth but with a firm spine of acidity giving the wine freshness and structure. Very complex flavors of crystallized berries, violet and game are lifted by the wine 3% viognier component. Truly coats the entire palate, with the thoroughly ripe tannins spreading out horizontally and the superripe but fresh fruit and floral flavors going on and on. An extraordinary shiraz that appears to be built to age. (The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA)
1997	Saturated black-ruby. Liqueur-like aromas of cassis, graphite, bitter chocolate and charred oak. Like liquid silk in the mouth: superconcentrated, creamy and thick, with extraordinary sweetness that refuses to go sloppy. This may be more a meal substitute than an accompaniment to food, but it boasts incredible texture and chocolatey length. Has a firm tannic spine. (The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA)
1996	Bright saturated ruby. Superripe aromas of blackcurrant, lead pencil and mint. Fat, ripe and impressively concentrated; dark berry flavors are framed and carried by sound acidity. At once dense and penetrating. Ripe tannins are subsumed in fruit on the very long finish.

Runrig - Steven Tanzer (IWC)