Torbeck Wines

Reviews

  • The Wine Companion
  • Steven Tanzer
  • The Wine Advocate
  • Wine Spectator Online
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Runrig - The Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)

1995 As a retrospective, the 1995 RunRig was looking very impressive.  Deep garnet in color a touch of brick in the rim, it gives pronounced earth aromas of forest floor, truffles and mushrooms over dried plums, creme de cassis, tobacco, sandalwood, aniseed, black olives and smoky bacon.  Rich and full in the mouth, it's holding strong to the layers of fruit with a medium level of silky tannins remaining and refreshing acidity.  Finishing very long and spicy, this wine should continue drinking superbly for another 7-10 years yet.
Drink:  2010-2020 | Date Tasted: Oct 10		 98
2007 Co-fermented with a splash of Viognier, the 2007 RunRig gives a very deep garnet-purple color and a perfumed nose of warm cassis, crushed blackberries, and blueberries over anise, cassia, cloves, tea leaves, rose hips plus earthy hints of black truffles and tilled loam.  The full-bodied palate offers rich, ripe but not over-ripe fruit with a taut structure of firm grainy tannins and crisp acid, finishing very long with a gamey/savory character coming through with some cedar and baking spices.  Not a style to be broached too early, consider drinking this from 2015-2025+.
Drink:  2015-2025 | Date Tasted: Oct 10		 98
2006 The flagship 2006 Run Rig is a blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Viognier. A saturated purple color, it sends up a complex bouquet of cigar box, Asian spices, incense, bacon, plum, and blueberry. On the palate it admirably combines power and elegance. Layers of succulent fruit are nicely complemented by the wine’s generous framework. Another 4-6 years of cellaring should fi ll it out with style.
Drink:  - | Date Tasted: Oct 09		 96
2005
Torbreck’s flagship is the 2005 Run Rig, a 97% Shiraz cuvee sourced from 120- to 160-year-old vines with 3% finished Viognier added before bottling. It spent 30 months in 60% new French oak. Opaque purple/black in color, it has a kinky, exotic bouquet of fresh road tar, smoke, lavender, black pepper, game, blueberry, and black raspberry. Full-bodied and opulent on the palate, the wine is dense, packed, and unevolved. It will continue to open up over the next 10-12 years and drink well through 2040 in the style of a Chapoutier Hermitage. If it develops as I think it will, it will be a candidate for perfection down the road.
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.
Drink: 2009 - 2040 | Date Tasted: Feb 09
98
2004 The flagship 2004 Run Rig is 96.5% Shiraz and 3.5% Viognier with the Shiraz component aged for 30 months in a mixture of new and used French oak. Yields were a minuscule 14 hl/ha (about 1 ton per acre). Saturated opaque purple/black, it has a remarkably kinky, exotic perfume of fresh asphalt, pencil lead, smoke, pepper, game, blueberry and black raspberry. Full-bodied and voluptuous in the mouth, the wine is dense and packed, with amazing purity, sweet tannins, and a complex collection of sensory stimuli. The wine demands 10 years of cellaring and will provide hedonistic delights through 2035+. 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.”
Drink: 2007 - 2035 | Date Tasted: Oct 07		 99
2003 The estate’s flagship cuvee is the virtually perfect 2003 Run Rig. Made from 8 separate Barossa vineyards (ranging in age from 94 to 158 years), it is primarily Shiraz with 4-5% co-fermented Viognier included in the blend. The wine was aged in French oak of which 60% is new. The sensational, inky/purple-tinged 2003 exhibits a stunningly sweet nose of blackberries, blueberries, litchi nuts, smoked meats, and a hint of apricots. Elegant yet super-powerful, rich, concentrated, and long, it is a tour de force in winemaking as well as a modern classic example of Barossa Shiraz. It should drink well for 20-25 years.
Drink: 2006 - 2031 | Date Tasted: Oct 06		 99
2002 The 2002 Run Rig (97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier aged in 100% new French oak) represents the essence of old vine Barossa fruit. Extraordinarily opulent and rich, but playing it closer to the vest than the 2001, it gets my nod as one of the most remarkable wines made in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. An inky/purple color is accompanied by a sumptuous bouquet of apricots, honeysuckle, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice, and a hint of roasted meats. The wood has been soaked up by the wine’s extraordinary concentration. Fashioned from four sectors of Barossa (Maranaga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock), it spent 30 months in primarily new oak, and was bottled without fining or filtration. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020+. David Powell, unquestionably one of the world’s finest wine producers, has an uncanny ability to discover old vine Barossa vineyards, and then secure long term contracts for their fruit. It is amazing that such high quality sources have not already been plucked by Australia’s giant wine corporations. Torbreck’s wines continue to get better and better, combining the old vine ripe fruit of Barossa with a European sensitivity to elegance and balance. The finest wines in this portfolio are pricy, but David Powell delivers some remarkable reds and whites at prices that are more than fair for the quality in the bottle.
Drink: 2007 - 2020 | Date Tasted: Oct 05		 99
2001 Constantly flirting with perfection, the 2001 Run Rig is a worthy successor to the blockbuster, surreal 1998. A blend of 97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier, this is Torbreck’s flagship offering. Sadly, there are only 1,500 cases produced. Sourced from old vines, some close to 140 years of age, it is fashioned from four sectors of Barossa – Marananga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock. It spends 30 months in 60% new French oak before being bottled without fining or filtration. The powerful, full-bodied 2001 exhibits aromas of creme de cassis, blackberry liqueur, ink, espresso, graphite, and apricot marmalade. The impression on the palate is one of marvelous richness, expansive texture, a multi-layered skyscraper soaring across the palate with no heaviness. It is a tour de force in winemaking, but give it 2-3 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 15-20+ years.
Drink: 2006 - 2024 | Date Tasted: Oct 04		 99
1999 There are 800 cases of the 1999 Run Rig, an unfined/unfiltered beauty of remarkable concentration and intensity. This Shiraz cuvee spends 30 months in 100% new French oak, and approximately 3% Viognier is added to the blend just prior to bottling (in contrast to The Descendent, in which 8% Viognier is co-fermented with the Shiraz). The Run Rig is a structured, muscular effort with phenomenal density, dry vintage Port-like concentration, and magnificent notes of smoke, blackberries, cassis, leather, and coffee. A hint of Viognier's sweet marmalade character comes through as the wine sits in the glass. This majestic Shiraz, one of the greatest wines made in the New World, should be cellared for 5-6 years, and drunk over the following 2-3 decades.
Drink: 2007 - 2037 | Date Tasted: Oct 02		 97
1998 David Powell's most expensive red wine is undoubtedly the 1998 Run Rig. However, it is not out of line with what wines of similar quality sell for throughout the world, unfortunately a reality. There are nearly 600 cases of the 1998 Run Rig, which is made from vines averaging between 50 and 130 years of age. It is a blend of 97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier, aged completely in French oak for approximately 18 months prior to bottling. The 1998 may well be the most concentrated Run Rig to date. The color is an opaque purple, and the bouquet offers an exotic concoction of tropical fruit, blackberry liqueur, creme de cassis, smoke, and honeysuckle notes. Once past the exhilarating fragrance, the wine is sumptuous and full-bodied, with a skyscraper-like profile of fabulous concentration and length that builds in the mouth. The black fruits galore scenario unfolds to reveal beautifully integrated wood, acidity, tannin, and alcohol (a mere 14.5%). The balance is virtually perfect, and the finish lasts for nearly a minute. This luxurious, compelling gem displays a level of complexity and delineation that is rare in a wine of such size. Anticipated maturity: now-2016. This wine not only makes for compelling drinking, but it is also a huge amount of fun, and isn't that what it's all about? If I had to give an award to Australia's finest winemaker in 2001, it would be hard not to consider David Powell.
Drink: 2001 - 2016 | Date Tasted: Jun 01		 99
1997 Torbeck's 1997 Run Rig is spectacular. I have been blown away by prior efforts, and this huge, exotic wine, which offers up blueberry liqueur, cassis, flowers, a touch of overripe peaches, and sweet vanillin, is a rich, full-bodied, supple-textured wine. It represents Australia's answer to Marcel Guigal's Cote Rotie La Mouline. I had a bottle of this sent to my French lawyer for a tasting with several top Medoc proprietors. After the tasting, I received a fax asking how many cases they could purchase! Two or three bottles a year is most people's allocation. The wine emerges from a vineyard ranging in age from 40 to 125 years, which was cropped at 1.25 tons of fruit per acre. The oak is beautifully integrated. The wine is low in acidity, and the impact on the palate is one of awesome levels of fruit, richness, and complexity. This amazing wine may even merit a perfect rating. It should drink well for 10-12 years.
Drink: 2000 - 2012 | Date Tasted: Feb 00		 98
1996 The spectacular 1996 Run Rig reminds me of some of Marcel Guigal's single vineyard Cote Roties. Made from 40-120-year old Shiraz vines with 3% Viognier added to the blend, this wine, which is aged for 30 months primarily in new French oak, with a touch of American wood, is spectacular in every sense of the word. Sensational aromatics leap from the glass, offering up cherry liqueur, smoke, pain grille, roasted herbs, and blackberry fruit. It is full-bodied, with exquisite concentration, an unctuous texture, low acidity, and beautifully integrated tannin and alcohol (14.5%). Yields were only 1.5 tons of fruit per acre, and production was a minuscule 150 cases. This staggering wine can be drunk now or cellared for 10-12 years.
Drink: 1999 - 2011 | Date Tasted: Apr 99		 96
1995 This exquisite wine, a blend of 95% Shiraz (70-100-year old vines) and 5% Viognier, is Australia's answer to Marcel Guigal's Cote Rotie La Mouline. Aged in new French oak, the wine has achieved 14.5% natural alcohol. It is a lavishly rich, compelling effort with spectacular aromatics as well as flavors. From the toasty vanillin, bacon fat, black raspberry, blackberry, and cassis aromas, to its full-bodied, stunningly proportioned, thick, medium to full-bodied flavors, this seamless, silky-textured, juicy, succulent wine is a total turn-on. With airing, some tannin emerges, and the wine still tastes youthful. I kept this wine for four days in the bottle without any traces of oxidation. It found its way down my gullet after I became bored with experimenting to see how much airing it could handle. The Run Rig can be drunk now, but it promises to evolve effortlessly for another 12-18 years.
Drink: 1998 - 2016 | Date Tasted: Jun 98		 95