WINE ADVOCATE | APRIL 2026

99

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Forebear 2021

The 2021 The Forebear hails from the Hillside vineyard, and the vines that service this wine are old, planted in 1850. While the first two vintages of this wine—2019 and 2020—were both hot, dry vintages and very low yielding. The 2021 season was mild, long and dry, and the yields were healthy, which was a blessing for growers in this region after years of tiny quantities. In the mouth, the wine is rocky and mineral, fresh and full—this is a wine with concentration off the charts. To put it in context with other world wines of similar density, this is driven by the age of the ancient vines and grown like this. These are ancient soils—the northern end of the Barossa is around 450 million years old, while the southern Barossa soils are up to a billion years old; and in many cases, they are supporting ancient vines, and the power and concentration of the fruit is at times difficult to understand without experiencing it in person. This vineyard is the single oldest site that Torbreck owns and sources from. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

98

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Laird 2021

The 2021 The Laird is from the Laird vineyard, planted in 1958. This is dark, dense and brooding in its styling, showcasing a depth that the Forebear expresses differently. The latter vineyard (the Hillside vineyard) is almost a hundred years older than the Laird, and I find this to be a curious and interesting fact that bears little on the quality of the wine but heavily impacts/defines the character. The first time the fruit was sourced was in 2004, but it was 2005 that the first Laird was produced; the vineyard was finally purchased in full by Torbreck in 2014. The vineyard is split in its soil types, with black and red clay east to west, and the two sections are picked at different times, as the fruit ripens differently. So, to the wine. Aromatically the wine leads with cocoa and cigar, armchair leather and old books. The palate follows this same smoking-room character and veritably stains the palate in flavor and length. This is a wine of enormous impact, one that lingers and stays in the mouth for ages after the wine has gone. The wine is moody and late-night in its vibe. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

97

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

RunRig 2023

The 2023 RunRig came from a cool, wet and late season, and the wine tastes so clearly both like RunRig and like 2023. It is savory and dense, powerful and concentrated, and the 1% Viognier (added, not co-fermented) contributes a gentle sway of flowers and dried apricots to the mix. This is a wonderful wine, one that ages with grace and ease. Last year, I did a vertical of the RunRig back to the first vintage, 1996, and the wine revealed itself to be sensitive to vintage variation yet true to its regional sourcing and identity. The fruit for this wine comes from six old-vine vineyards in the Barossa, each chosen for its textural, structural and flavor attributes. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

94

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Les Amis 2023

The 2023 Les Amis Grenache is the highest in elevation of the three single-vineyard Grenache vineyards. It is planted on bluestone and ironstone gravels in clay soils, and the vines were planted recently—some time in the 1980s. The vineyard is exposed and the soils shallow, so the vines work hard here. In the mouth, this is spicy and medium-bodied, with an attractive freshness that has nothing to do with the ripeness nor, upon questioning, the pH or total acidity, as the numbers relate pretty similarly to the other Grenache wines on the bench. The cooler, wetter season may play a part. In short, this is a lovely wine! 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

96

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Factor 2023

he 2023 The Factor is a celebration of old-vine vineyards in the Barossa Valley, and this sourcing philosophy is clear in this wine. The Barossa is capable of great density, power, intensity and focus, and this wine here shows all of these things. The cool, wet and late season that was 2023 has yielded a wine of saturated red fruit flavor and freshness. I like it so much. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

96

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Descendant 2023

The 2023 Descendant is a single-vineyard wine composed of co-fermented Shiraz (96%) and Viognier. The vineyard was planted in 1994 for Torbreck, and the old cuttings used for the planting were from great old heritage blocks around the district. Aromatically, the wine is classically Descendant—meaty, floral, savory and earthy, with mineral tannins and sandalwood as well. There is a fresh juniper character alongside the dark fruit. The intensity of tannin endures long beyond the flavor. The cool season has birthed a wine of great concentration and length, which demands time. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

95

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Struie 2024

The 2024 The Struie is from Barossa Valley (70%) and the balance Eden Valley. The blend composition changes year to year. This is silky and dark, velvety and intense in the mouth. I love the hedonistic way of this wine—it carries the alcohol and the weight with ease. While ripe and powerful, it feels effortless and polished. The blue fruit/graphite component contributed by the Eden Valley fruit is an important part of the way this wine tastes. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

93

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Steading 2024

The 2024 The Steading is complex and full of flavor but not weight on the palate. This is a wine that shows ripe, dense fruit, with blood plum, pomegranate, blackberry and dark chocolate in profusion, alongside notes of licorice, clove and star anise. This is very good and has fine tannins. This is a blend of Grenache (50%), Shiraz (30%) and Mataro/Mourvedre (20%). There is sweet fruit on the mid-palate. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

96

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Pict 2023

The 2023 The Pict Mataro is the yin to the Kyloe Mataro's yang. While the latter is lean, firm and light in body, this is stylistically richer, earthier and more robust. This wine smells as if you can taste the soils and the place. It has notes of dark chocolate, meat broth, sandalwood, clove, licorice and mulberry. I have always liked this wine; Mataro can be a beast, as this is, but it is distinct and precise in its flavor and texture expression. I respect the clarity of identity of this variety in this place and in the hands of this maker too. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

97

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Gask 2024

The 2024 The Gask hails from the Eden Valley—one of my favorite places in this beautiful region—and it leads with graphite, jasmine tea, blueberry, raspberry, pomegranate and shale. The fruit from here brings with it a shiny polish, a glittery sort of profile, while being underpinned at all times by a profusion of earthy, savory tannins. I love this contrast that this growing area can provide. It has power and detail, freshness and depth. This is excellent. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

93

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Hillside Vineyard Grenache 2023

The 2023 Hillside Vineyard Grenache leads with dark fruit and spice, dark chocolate, bone broth and forest floor. This is a ripe, savory, powerful wine, with pomegranate molasses and burnt dark sugar. This is the closest I've tasted to Southern Rhone Grenache in a long while, in the context of Australian (and specifically South Australian) Grenache, and I find that to be a small surprise for me today. It's very interesting. It's mineral and rocky, with notes of white pepper and roasted meat. This bush vine black was planted in 1949. The 2023 season was cool, wet and late, akin to 2017 but, in my opinion, better managed by most. This was made with 10% whole bunches. The fruit was handpicked, hand sorted and hand selected. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

92

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Woodcutter's Shiraz 2024

The 2024 Woodcutter's Shiraz is juicy and fruit-driven, despite being structurally endowed and shapely as well. In the mouth, the wine is sweet and abundant in both flavor and weight, yet it retains a freshness and inherent drinkability that has founded and maintained its reputation over time. This is an impressive wine and excellent value for money. It speaks of both place—Barossa Valley—and variety in equal measure. 15.4% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

96

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Grower's Cut 2024

The 2024 The Grower's Cut is a Shiraz this year, and this is relevant because the wine is selected blind from the best grower samples each year. The growers this year are Kate and Trevor Hongell—Trevor is the brother of winemaker Ian Hongell; and the vineyard provides fruit to several excellent producers, so the inclusion is no surprise. As with last year's selection, this is powerful, intense and inky, with saturated red fruit and spice. I love this wine; the intensity and bloodiness of it is unreal. It has rose petals to close. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

92

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Harris Grenache 2024

The 2024 Harris Vineyard Grenache is from a small 12-acre block that yielded just four tons in 2024 —i.e., less than one ton per hectare. This vineyard is a bush vine vineyard just up the road from the winery here in the Barossa, and it was planted in the 1960s—young by Barossa standards. The wine in the mouth is savory and ripe, with notes of pomegranate molasses and licorice, dried herbs and green olive tapenade. This Harris vineyard is 100 meters higher in elevation than the Hillside vineyard, and it is planted on red clay, with "loads of ironstone gravel and big rocks below," says winemaker Ian Hongell. The higher alcohol is evident here, and it is in many of these wines; but the fruit integrity remains in tact, and the wine has freshness. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.

93

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Hillside Vineyard Shiraz Roussanne 2024

The 2024 Hillside Vineyard Shiraz Roussanne is both meaty and floral. It was co-fermented, and the Roussanne—8% of the total blend—behaves in a similar way to the way Viognier might in the blend, albeit with a little softer impact. It has notes of white flowers, raspberry, cranberry and strawberry top, with blackberry, mulberry and licorice. There is a 2025 of this wine, but there may not be a 2026. 15% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

91

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Cuvée Juveniles 2024

The 2024 Cuvée Juveniles leads with pomegranate and strawberry, licorice, dried bay leaf and tapenade. In the mouth, the wine is pretty, fresh, a little slippery and loaded with flavor, driven by savory tannin. Medium-bodied, spicy and fine, it's a blend of 48% Grenache, 31% Mataro (for those playing at home, i.e., not Australia or Portugal, this is Mourvèdre or Monastrell), 10% Carignan, 6% Counoise and the balance Shiraz. The wine was matured in large-format older oak and stainless steel where possible in order to maintain and protect the freshness and detail in the fruit. 15% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

90

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Kyloe Mataro 2024

The 2024 The Kyloe leads with kirsch and pomegranate, cranberry and licorice in profusion. This is savory and earthy, with mulberry and clove, nori and tapenade. The wine is lean and mineral while also being ripe and savory. There is a lot going on here. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

94

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Cuvée Juveniles Blanc 2025

The 2025 Cuvée Juveniles Blanc leads with white flowers and beeswax, green apple and brine. In the mouth, the wine is texturally chalky, fine and fresh. The 2025 season was another drought year, drier than 2024, but it didn't get as hot as 2026 has. It has white pepper and cheesecloth to close. This is crunchy, fresh, attractive and very, very pretty. It's an important style for a warm and dry region such as the Barossa. The wine comprises a blend of 40% Marsanne, 32% Roussanne, 18% Grenache Blanc, 9% Clairette and the balance Viognier. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

93

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

The Steading Blanc 2025

The 2025 The Steading Blanc comprises a blend of Roussanne (60%), Marsanne (37%) and Viognier (3%) and will be released on March 1, 2026. The wine spends a year in barrel, with a small percentage new. This is floral and juicy, full on the middle palate and rich in flavor but not heavy. It's a wine that shows the personalities of its varieties but is not defined by any one of them. It has notes of white pineapple, green apple, cheesecloth, wet chalk, layers of wax and pressed flowers. This is a truly successful blend. It's classy. 12.2% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

94

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Viognier 2025

The 2025 Viognier is layered with apricot and white peach, crushed nuts, spring flowers and sweet summer nectarine. Despite the richness of the fruit—and there is a profusion of it—the wine remains fresh and saline. Historically sourced from a single vineyard in the Eden Valley, the vineyard was hit with severe frost in September 2024, reducing the proportion to just one barrel, with three from Barossa Valley (the Descendent vineyard) to make up the shortfall. Generally, I find Viognier a little too rich to consider enjoying more than a glass, however this is deeply satisfying. This is a very well rounded and balanced wine that offers immense pleasure. 13.6% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

92

Erin Larkin
WINE ADVOCATE

Woodcutter's Semillon 2025

The 2025 Woodcutter's Semillon comprises fruit from four old-vine vineyards, ranging from 1890, 1919, 1910 and the youngest planted in the 1960s. Sixty percent of the wine is picked early (around 11 Baumé) and fermented in stainless, and the balance is picked at 13 Baumé and fermented in old oak barrel. As with the Juveniles Blanc, this wine makes sense for this area—it's grassy, crunchy, textural, waxy and wide. It's a richer, weightier wine than the aforementioned, and in its singular way, it is focused and linear. This is very good. 12.3% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.