The Forebear
2019 The Forebear
The Forebear honours those who came before, their vision echoing through generations of Barossa winemaking families, exemplified by this circa 1850 Shiraz vineyard.
The Forebear Vineyard
The Forebear, a premium single-vineyard wine crafted from one of the oldest Shiraz vineyards in the world, pays homage to the pioneering families of the Barossa.
In 1849 Samuel Springbett, established ‘Hillside’ on the outskirts of Lyndoch in the southern end of the Barossa Valley. A small shiraz vineyard was established c.1850, starting a legacy of grape growing and winemaking across multiple generations and families.
In 2002 Torbreck purchased the Hillside Vineyard estate, remarkably still predominately in its original form, including a number of significant vineyards and the heritage-listed winery and cellars, and immediately set out on rejuvenating the ancient vineyards, implementing sustainable farming practices and restoring the estate's waterways and scrubland back to their natural state. The vines are from an ancient Heritage clone originally brought from Europe as cuttings and planted before the discovery of Phylloxera. These ancestor vines are embedded in soils of sand over deep loam and red clay.
The Forebear Shiraz
The Forebear is crafted from the original 12 rows of ancient Shiraz vines planted by the Springbett family which represent an irreplaceable link to the early history of the Barossa as a viticultural treasure from the first generation of European settlers. They are Torbreck’s oldest collection of vines from any single plot.
The cooler evening breezes that flow through the southern end of the Barossa produce an elegant style of Shiraz that is regarded for its distinctive aromatic, lifted floral notes and red fruit flavours, across a medium weight line intertwined with subtle rounded tannins.
The core of red berry fruit and texture derived from these very old and gnarly vines produce an unmistakable degree of finesse and complexity that was calling out to bottled as a single site expression, and a reflection of place. Torbreck chief winemaker Ian Hongell and viticulturist Nigel Blieschke, who have driven this project since 2014, were firm in their belief that this vineyard had a rightful place in Torbreck’s pursuit of single-site wines of significance and pedigree.
Winemaking
The winemaking honours the past custodians of the land; labour-intensive, with hand-harvesting, gentle processing, and 24 months aging in French barriques followed by a further three years of bottle maturation before release.
We chose the name 'The Forebear' to honour the pioneering spirit of the Springbetts and other pioneering families and their role in establishing the Barossa as one of the great winegrowing regions of the world. This wine is our tribute to those who came before us.
Ian Hongell, Chief Winemaker, Torbreck
I have never tasted the inaugural vintage of a wine to which I have given a perfect score. I hoped it would happen one day, and it took 38 years working in the wine trade for this to happen, and it happened with 2019 Torbreck The Forebear. 20++/20
Matthew Jukes | www.matthewjukes.com
2019 The Forebear
The 2019 Vintage
The growing season was defined by a continuously warm to hot summer with no effective rainfall, wind and hail at flowering, and followed with three major frosts - resulting in an earlier and much smaller harvest than average. These tough conditions produced smaller clusters of intensely dark berries with thick fleshy skins contrasted against brown mature stalks. Whilst yields were down, once these vineyards were fermenting in our cellar the concentration of colour, tannin and aroma of the 2019 vintage was revealed.
Tasting Notes
Deep crimson with brilliant hue. A wine of poise and nobility from some of the world’s oldest living Shiraz vines. A complex nose of mostly red berry fruits such as red currant, red cherry and cassis fill the bouquet, complemented by savoury notes of wild thyme, garrigue, graphite, and sandalwood. The palate carries a wonderful textural mouthfeel with enveloping soft, round tannins and cleansing acidity that balance the wines modern Barossa elegance with the power of the harvest from extremely low yielding vines. A wine that pays homage to its forebears and their vision for grape growing and dry farming from the 19th century.
Enjoy from 2026 and cellar to 2050+. Serve at 16C/60F with game, poultry or tuna steaks.
Download The Forebear 2019 Tasting Note
Purchase
$850 per 750ml bottle - limit 1 bottle
Contact Torbreck Cellar Door for large format purchasing, and shipping to international locations. Ph: +61 8 8568 8123 | E: theclan@torbreck.com
Forebear Annual Allocations
Never miss an annual release of The Forebear by securing your annual allocation
- 1 Bottle Allocation $850
