"Every now and then, in life and in wine, we are presented with
unique opportunities to express ourselves and create something
truly remarkable."  David Powell

In the Scottish language, 'The Laird' refers to the Lord of the Manor. This single vineyard Shiraz comes from Malcolm and Joylene Seppelt's old Gnadenfrei vineyard in the sub-region of Marananga in the Barossa Valley.

In 2003, Malcolm asked Dave Powell if Torbreck would make the wine under contract for him. For the next two years, each time Dave gave the wine back to Malcom, he felt he was returning the best parcel of Shiraz Torbreck made from that vintage - head and shoulders above the RunRig components. Dave coveted this vineyard for 15 years before finally getting the opportunity to purchase the fruit for Torbreck in 2005.

Around the same time, Dave was also approached by the Tardieu Laurent negociant house in France to purchase their barrels. These barrels are known as "Magic Casks". Normal barrique staves are between 22 and 27mm thick. These are 45mm, perfect for long term wood maturation and are made from oak exclusively from the Tronçais forest, ideal for aging Shiraz. Over the three years The Laird matures in them, these barriques give a level of oak flavour and integration Dave once thought impossible.

This vineyard is perfect in every way. It is South East facing, completely dry grown, meticulously hand tended, farmed by a grower with a lifetime's experience, on typical Western Barossa soil - brown loam over red clay over limestone - and planted with one of the original Barossa clones. However, this vineyard also has an "X factor" which gives the wine an extra something that cannot be fully explained. The resulting small, concentrated berries produced consistently on the property make it the envy of all the winemakers in the valley.