Torbreck Old Vines Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvèdre 2018 (Barossa) - Wine Review

After enjoying the lovely 2017 Torbreck Old Vines Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvèdre last August, tonight's red wine review is the next vintage of this lovely GSM blend from Australia that is coming to the LCBO this weekend as part of the July 16 LCBO VINTAGES Release.

Founded in the Barossa Valley in 1994 by David Powell, Torbreck Vintners was named after a forest in Scotland where David worked as a lumberjack. After gaining his winemaking experience at various Barossa wineries, David was inspired to create his own label and began to share-farm vineyards in order to obtain fruit from some of the Barossa Valley's very best vineyards.

Torbreck Vintners is owned today by Proprietor Peter Kight with a continued focus on the classic Rhône (and Barossa) varieties - Shiraz (Syrah), Grenache and Mataró (Mourvèdre) - all three of which make up this red wine. Torbreck considers Barossa to be the most exciting place to make wine in the world with its gentle Mediterranean climate and 175 years of Silesian and English commitment to grape-growing and winemaking. Torbreck works with multi-generational winegrowers whose ancestors arrived here nearly two centuries ago and have great knowledge of the seasons and soils, while working the vineyards with minimal intervention and aiming to get the best out of each vineyard site.

Compared to the previous vintage, the 2018 edition of this wine contains a little bit less Grenache (59%) and Syrah (19%), and more Mourvèdre (22%). The grapes were hand harvested from vines as much as 100 years old from the red earth sub-regions of Marananga, Gomersal, and Ebenezer of the western Barossa Valley. It was fermented in a combination of open top cement and wooden vats, as well as stainless steel tanks, followed by aging in well-seasoned French oak hogsheads for 24 months. Each parcel of grapes was vinified separately until the final stage of blending and bottling.

The 2018 growing season started with above average winter rainfall, which led into below average spring and summer rainfall, producing small bunches and berries. In the Barossa it was reasonably hot and caused considerable heat stress to some vines. However, once temperatures eased off, the dry and mild conditions allowed the fruit to fully ripen slowly, with both Shiraz and Grenache showing some great potential. Overall, quality was particularly high amongst Torbreck's red varieties Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro. Let's see how this 2018 GSM blend from Australia is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

TORBRECK OLD VINES GRENACHE / SHIRAZ / MOURVÈDRE 2018 - Barossa Valley, South Australia (#10223) (XD) - $24.95
Screw cap enclosure. This blend of 59% Grenache, 22% Mourvèdre, and 19% Syrah has a lovely, fragrant, intense nose of ripe raspberry and black cherry with underlying savoury, meaty, and wet earth aromas, plus with some black pepper spice and dried herb adding further complexity. The medium-full bodied is also quite ripe with more raspberry, black cherry, meaty, wet earth, and black pepper spice flavours. Acids are fresh, juicy, and well-balanced. Lightly structured tannins are smooth and refined. Savoury with smoky mineral notes linger on the long, lightly chalky textured finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91 pts

Other lovely wines by Torbreck are available at the LCBO and through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.

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Torbreck Cuvée Juveniles 2019 (Barossa) - Wine Review

After enjoying the lovely 2017 Torbreck Old Vines Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvèdre a couple of months ago, tonight's wine review is another lovely wine made with the same varietals from the same producer. It arrived at the LCBO over the weekend as part of the October 16th LCBO VINTAGES Release and is featured as part of the theme in that Release on wines from Australia.

Founded in 1994 by David Powell, Torbreck Vintners was named after a forest in Scotland where David worked as a lumberjack. He was inspired to create is own label after working at a number of Barossa wineries. With the share-farm vineyard concept, David was able to obtain fruit from Barossa'a best vineyards to craft highly-acclaimed wines using the classic Rhône varieties Shiraz (Syrah), Grenache and Mataró (Mourvèdre). Today, Torbreck Vintners is owned by Proprietor Peter Kight and they work with multi-generational winegrowers who have great knowledge of the terroir and work their vineyards with minimal intervention.

Cuvée Juveniles was created as a "Côtes du Rhône" inspired bistro wine from the classic Barossa varieties Grenache, Mataro, and Shiraz from mostly old, unirrigated vineyards. These varieties are the cornerstone of the Barossa Valley, and when combined together are often referred to as GSM blends. This particular red wine is a blend of old vines 72% Grenache, 23% Mataro, and 5% Shiraz from multiple vineyards ranging from 40 to 150 year old vines. It was fermented and aged completely in stainless steel tanks, including a completely natural malolactic fermentation, prior to bottling.

The 2019 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 which contrasted against brown, mature stalks. Although 2019 was another year of reduced yields, it did produce wines of very high quality with impressive concentration of colour, tannins, and aromas. Let's see how this 2019 GSM from Barossa is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

TORBRECK CUVÉE JUVENILES 2019 - Barossa Valley, South Australia (#723940) (XD) - $29.95
Screw cap. This unoaked blend of old vines 72% Grenache, 23% Mataro, and 5% Shiraz has fresh, open, intense, and complex aromas of lovely red berry, notes of raspberry, strawberry, cherry, and pomegranate joined by spices, white pepper, and subtle meaty notes. The medium to medium-full bodied palate is fruit-forward with lovely red berry, raspberry, cherry, and pomegranate replays on the flavour profile with spices and meaty notes adding a pleasant savoury component. Exceptionally well-balanced with fresh acidity, smooth, supple, and dusty-textured tannins. Savoury, earthy, even some mineral lingers on the long, clean finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91 pts

Other lovely wines from Torbreck are available at the LCBO, as well as through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.

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Torbreck Old Vines Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvèdre 2017 (Barossa) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine review is a lovely GSM blend from Australia that returned to the LCBO last weekend in the August 7 LCBO VINTAGES Release as a "VINTAGES Online Exclusive", meaning that it is only available for purchase online through LCBO.com. To purchase, simply click on the product code below to visit its product page on the LCBO website.

Torbreck Vintners was founded in 1994 by David Powell. It was named after a forest in Scotland where David worked as a lumberjack. David gained his experience in winemaking by working at other wineries in Barossa prior to forming Torbreck, but was inspired to create his own label. In order to achieve this, he began to share-farm vineyards, which allowed Torbreck to obtain fruit from the very best vineyards in the Barossa Valley. With his love for wines from France's Rhône Valley, Torbreck's highly-acclaimed red and white wines were also based on classic Rhône varieties - Shiraz (Syrah), Grenache and Mataró (Mourvèdre) - all of which are considered classic varieties of the Barossa.

Today, Torbreck Vintners is owned by Proprietor Peter Kight with the aim of building one of the best wine estates in the world. Torbreck considers Barossa to be the most exciting place to make wine in the world, with its gentle Mediterranean climate and 175 years of Silesian and English commitment to grape-growing and winemaking. They work with multi-generational winegrowers, whose ancestors arrived here nearly two centuries ago, and have great knowledge of the seasons and soil, while working the vineyards with minimal intervention and aiming to get the best out of each vineyard site.

This red wine is a blend of 62% Grenache, 26% Shiraz, and 12% Mourvèdre that was hand-harvested from old vines, some as much as 100 years old, from the sub-regions of Marananga, Gomersal, and Ebenezer. As each parcel of grapes enters the winery, they were fermented in a combination of open top cement and wooden vats, as well as stainless steel tanks. It was aged in well-seasoned French oak hogsheads for 24 months. Each parcel was kept separate throughout the vinification process, until it was finally blended and bottled.

During the growing season in the Barossa Valley, a wet spring replenished sub-soil moisture, while a warm, dry Indian summer created perfect ripening conditions through to April 2017, resulting in an outstanding vintage that produced intense, well-structured reds. I had the opportunity to taste this 2017 back in January 2020 and am curious to see how it has evolved since then.

Tasting Note:

TORBRECK OLD VINES GRENACHE / SHIRAZ / MOURVÈDRE 2017 - Barossa Valley, South Australia (#10223) (XD) - $24.95
Screw cap. This GSM blend of 62% Grenache, 26% Shiraz, and 12% Mourvèdre is open and complex on the nose with lovely aromas of red berry, strawberry, and cherry mingling with savoury, black pepper, dried spice, earth, and a touch of rosemary. The medium-full bodied palate has slightly maturing flavours of dried red and black berries, strawberry, raspberry, black pepper, and spices supported by fresh, lively acidity and smooth, refined, and lightly chalky tannins. Nicely balanced flavours throughout with savoury, earthy and red berry complexity on the long finish. Enjoy this recommended buy lightly chilled. Score: 90+ pts

A limited selection of Torbreck wines are available at the LCBO, while others from the Torbreck portfolio can be ordered through their Agent - Noble Estates Wines & Spirits.

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