Torbreck Wines > The Wines > The Struie

2007	The 2007 Struie is 100% Shiraz from Barossa and Eden Valleys. It spent 18 months in 20% new French oak. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it sports a nose of lavender, game, bacon, and blueberry. Medium to full-bodied, it is light on its feet despite its size, dense, and layered. It has enough fi ne-grained tannin to evolve for 3-4 years. It will offer a drinking window extending from 2012 to 2022. Drink: 2012 - 2022 \| Date Tasted: Dec 09
2006	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. Opaque purple-colored, it delivers a striking bouquet of lead pencil, game, mineral, blueberry compote, and blackberry liqueur. This is followed by a focused, elegant Shiraz with a plush texture, outstanding depth and grip, and 5-7 years of aging potential. It should drink well through 2026. 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 - 2026 \| Date Tasted: Feb 09
2005	The 2005 The Struie was sourced from cooler Eden Valley and Barossa Valley hillside vineyards. It is David Powell’s attempt to showcase the cooler side of the region. Vine age ranges from 46-110 years old. The wine was aged for 18 months in older French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. It delivers a splendid bouquet of lead pencil, game, blueberry muffin, and blackberry liqueur. This is followed by an elegant Shiraz which is nevertheless full-bodied, dense, and richly flavored. Plush on the palate, it has superior depth and length and the structure to evolve for 6-8 years. Drink it through 2027. 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: 2013 - 2027 \| Date Tasted: Oct 07
2004	The 2004 The Struie is 100% Shiraz from 40-60-year old and 120-year old vineyards. Half of the fruit is from the Eden Valley and half from the Barossa, and the wine spends 18 months in French oak (20% new). An exotic bouquet of blackberries and other sweet fruits is followed by a full-bodied, powerful, rich red with great purity as well as focus, a laser-like precision, huge intensity, and a blockbuster finish that lasts nearly a minute. It will be even better with 2-3 more years of bottle age, and should last for two decades. Drink: 2008 - 2026 \| Date Tasted: Oct 06
2003	The 2003 The Struie is a 4,000-case blend of cooler climate, high altitude Eden Valley fruit combined with small amounts of Barossa grapes. Aged 8 months in wood (20% new), it is a deep, chewy, fleshy effort displaying floral, peppery, incense notes intermixed with white chocolate, blackberry, and black currant characteristics. Consume it over the next 7-8 years. 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: 2005 - 2013 \| Date Tasted: Oct 05
2002	One of Torbreck’s newest offerings is the 2002 The Struie, a 100% Shiraz cuvee from the cooler climate, high altitude vineyards of Eden Valley blended with fruit from Barossa, which provides more power and intensity. This structured effort reveals a French-tasting profile, but with the noteworthy ripeness found in a great Barossa vintage. A blend of 40-year-old Eden Valley Shiraz vines and 80-year-old Barossa Shiraz, the 2002 was aged 18 months in a combination of French oak (80% old and 20% new). Its dense ruby/purple color is accompanied by a big, rich perfume of white chocolate intermixed with loamy soil, black cherry, blackberry, pepper, and currant aromas. Intense and medium to full-bodied yet elegant, it should drink well for 10-15 years. Drink: 2004 - 2019 \| Date Tasted: Oct 04
2001	A new offering, the 2001 The Struie is 100% Shiraz made from equal parts old vine Eden Valley and Barossa Valley fruit. It was aged 18 months in French wood of which 20% was new. A firmly-structured, chocolatey, earthy effort, it displays large-scaled flavors, good acidity, and high levels of firm tannin along with mouthfilling extract and substance. It is a big wine with a cooler climate character than Torbreck’s other offerings. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 12-15. Drink: 2005 - 2020 \| Date Tasted:Aug 03

The Struie - The Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)