Decanter | Sarah Ahmed | April 2024
Crowned by The Laird and Runrig, the bold, plush ageworthy reds from Torbreck in the Barossa Valley are among Australia's most collectable wines. Sarah Ahmed meets chief winemaker Ian Hongell and tastes the winery's latest releases alongside some older vintages.
The Laird 2019
Potent and precise, the densely layered taffeta tannins sheathe and support brooding crème-de-mûre and dark compote fruit, yet there is a blossom fragrance and enticing savoury detail, with earthy loam, black truffle, cep powder and gunmetal, together with chocolate, nutmeg and toasty oak. Beautifully controlled, with the energy, muscle and persistence to go long distance. Hails from the Laird vineyard (previously called Gnadenfrei) in Marananga, planted in 1958.
The Forebear 2019
Earth, mocha and black truffle to nose and attack give way to a languorous swathe of sweet plum, strawberry, kirsch and Black Forest gateau on the mid-palate, then boomerang back on a long, arcing finish as a soft web of silty, insinuating tannins seductively captures and shapes the fruit. Liquorice and smoky espresso lend spicy, smoky resonance. A singular, voluptuous expression of Hillside vineyards original 12 mid-19th century rows.
RunRig 2021
Seamlessly crafted from six vineyards with a splash of Viognier, the slate and graphite tannins dynamically weave in and out of scented blackberry and raspberry fruit like a needle sewing thread. Thyme, blossom, cedar, baking spice and bitter chocolate notes bring lift and nuance, with saturating, fruity acidity and powdery tannins. Long and fine, but focused, with a beguiling flow. Expressive and harmonious, it reflects a mild, even growing season.
Les Amis 2021
The Slade vineyard in Greenock produces this atypically dense, well-structured Grenache, with a firmer acid and tannin profile than most. In a milder vintage and with a little whole-bunch ferment it throws long and reveals a little more of itself when, sometimes, Les Amis can feel impenetrable. Nonetheless, it retains savoury nuance, with medicinal, cough sweet herbaceousness and a touch of eucalyptus to the red-fruited, warming kirsch core.
The Gask 2022
Wonderfully fragrant, fresh Shiraz from Eden Valley in a mild season, with ethereal violets and summer truffle, lifted raspberry, a hint of mint julep, black berries, black cherry and espresso oak. Gently mouthcoating, crystalline graphite tannins put the fruit on a rail. Building to a delicate fretwork finish, they stopper the genie in the bottle, as if saving some magic potion for later.
The Factor 2021
Boom! Tightly coiled, a bullet of black fruit, taut acidity and a firm backbone of chiselled tannins propel the palate along with deadly focus and no shortage of pace. Such a tensile wine, with a trail of blackcurrant and dry extract in the form of bitumen, crushed stones and graphite in its wake; with air, liquorice and vanillin oak. Somewhat inscrutable now, it hails from four vineyards grown in tough, rocky growing conditions.
Descendant 2021
Co-fermenting with 8% Viognier skins (not juice) adds a distinct apricot tang to the blackberry, raspberry liqueur and firmer cherry stone fruit. Dynamic iron filing tannins rise alongside inky florals. Opening up, it reveals exotic blood plum, star anise and cut finger on the finish. Long and persistent, with a spatial quality and lovely fluidity and freshness, Runrig's old-vine cuttings (grafted in 1994) account for this single-vineyard Shirazs moniker.
The Struie 2022
Thoroughly charming and a smart buy, seamlessly and seductively combining Eden Valley top notes of black pepper and florals with the savoury, earthy cep powder and chocolate loam complexity of the Western Ranges. Lovely complexity and layering, with joyous, juicy blackberry, bilberry and blueberry fruit, cool mineral acidity, a shower of gunpowder tannins, then cut finger notes and charcuterie oak undertones to the finish.
The Steading Blanc 2022
Torbreck was a pioneer of this blend in the Barossa, first planting Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier at the Descendant vineyard in 1994. The Marsanne and Viognier were oaked and, bottled under screwcap, it is backward now, its green pineapple fruit on the back foot. A creamy texture and a crisp acid line bring tension, while fennel, mineral and sandy humus notes lend interest. Scope to develop and improve.
