Torbreck The Laird 2019

Maker:
Torbreck is a winery on a mission to become one of the world's great wine brands. Since 1994, they have remained committed to creating exceptional Rhone-style red and white wines that reflect the very best vineyards in Australia's famous Barossa region. Provenance is everything to them, and they believe that the Barossa is the most exciting place to make wine in the world. With a European sense of tradition, Torbreck pays tribute to the vineyards with minimal intervention, creating wines of richness, structure and length that age gracefully. The multi-generational growers, whose descendants arrived here nearly two centuries ago, are the backbone of Torbreck's winemaking aspirations. They work in partnership with the people of the Barossa who grow their fruit, always aiming to get the very best out of their vineyard sites. At Torbreck, they constantly seek to understand the difference between all of these special places in the Barossa and how this combination of soil, climate and farming experience is reflected in unique grape flavors. They are simply custodians, enhancing the innate expressiveness of the wines and enabling them to reveal over time their individual origins and personality. Torbreck is actually named after the forest near Inverness, Scotland where the winery's founder, David Powell worked as a lumberjack after completing university studies.

The winemaking style at Torbreck is meticulous and dedicated to producing exceptional wines. They use carefully selected 225-litre oak barriques for maturation, known as Dominique Laurent 'Magic Casks'. The oak is personally harvested from Forêt de Tronçais in Allier, and the staves are aged for 48 to 54 months at an exposed location for maximum seasoning. The staves are then hand-made into barrels and heated over three differing flames for several hours, resulting in a gentle toast due to the remarkable density of the wood. Torbreck's winemaking style reflects their commitment to producing exceptional wines that reflect the unique terroir of the Barossa region.

Vineyard:
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.

Wine Style/Cuvee:
Torbreck The Laird is the result of a rare and remarkable opportunity that Torbreck seized with passion and dedication. When presented with the chance to work with one of the most renowned vineyards in the Barossa Valley, they knew something extraordinary would be created. In 2003, Torbreck was approached by Malcolm and Joylene Seppelt, the fourth generation descendants of the Seppelt family, who entrusted their old Gnadenfrei vineyard in Marananga to Torbreck's winemakers. The vineyard, planted in 1958, spans five acres and is a treasure trove of traditional dry-grown vines sourced from original Barossa clones. Situated on the eastern side of a ridge between Seppeltsfield and Marananga appellations, the vineyard faces south and benefits from meticulous hand-tending, traditional farming methods and the expertise of a grower with a lifetime of experience in Western Barossa's unique dark clay loam and red friable clay soils. The meticulous care lavished upon these aged vines results in low yields of small, concentrated Shiraz berries that are the envy of winemakers throughout the Barossa Valley. When Torbreck first tasted the wine produced from this vineyard, it was clear that something truly exceptional had been created. Longingly, they watched as the wine was returned to the Seppelts, knowing that it was the best they had ever made. In 2005, Torbreck's unyielding belief in the potential of this vineyard led them to convince the Seppelts to sell the fruit, marking the birth of The Laird. Recognized as one of the world's greatest single vineyard Shiraz wines, The Laird solidifies its reputation as Torbreck acquired the Gnadenfrei vineyard in 2013, ensuring its legacy.

Deep crimson with aubergine core. Luxurious and alluring black and blue fruits such as satsuma plum, blackberry, black cherry and cassis fill the bouquet, complimented by savoury notes of, garrigue, tar, bay leaf, vanilla pod and sarsaparilla root. The wine has wonderful complexity and charm that excites the senses. Alluring spices such as cinnamon and liquorice meld further into the complexing amalgam of flavours. The palate possesses great fruit depth and a degree of elegance displaying wonderful harmony and posture with firm tight
tannins holding the fruit and the structure together. Not for the faint hearted it’s a wine that needs time to offer its best. A wine that will live for generations. Enjoy from 2026 and cellar to 2060+.

Tasting:
Nose - Lifted dark fruits, Juicy Plum, Sarsaparilla
Aromatic, lifted black fruits of blackberry, satsuma plum and black cherry then intertwined with liquorice, cinnamon and herbal notes of Bay leaf, vanilla pod and sarsaparilla root.

Palate - Full bodied, Round and Plush
Super rich, densely textured and possessing a liqueur like concentration, the palate is greeted with an engulfing tidal wave of blackberry, liquorice, black plum and black cherry fruits.

Finish - Complex, Textured, Firm Tannins
The palate has a multitude of complexities balanced by layers of silken like texture, firm tannins and a long finish.

A warm, low-yielding vintage. Sourced from vineyards dating from the 1960s, prone to cooling afternoon breezes that facilitate a long hang-time and supple tannins. Violet, clove and cardamom notes. A complex potpourri of spices confers savouriness to the blue and black fruit. The oak is toasty but well placed to corral and compress the fruit rather than overwhelm it. Drinkable now, but best from 2028. - Ned Goodwin, JamesSuckling.com, 96 Points.

It is an eloquent product of the dry 2019 season (300 or so days without effective rain!), and ultimately, it is this that makes the wine great - its ability to express the year and the vineyard with such expressiveness is thrilling. Actually, going back to the wine now, it is opening up (it was poured straight from bottle without decanting) and becoming more fleshy, defined by Satsuma plum and mulberry and detailed aromatically. This wine will evolve gracefully over the years. - Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate, 96 Points.

The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Shiraz
Country - Australia
Region - Barossa Valley, South Australia
Vintage - 2019
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 15.5%