July 16, 2022 - Another fantastic wine from Torbreck! Medium ruby to garnet color. Smells beautifully! Complex notes keep hitting strong: stewed strawberry, mulberry, rosemary and brown sugar. With more air notes of violet, ground pepper, fig, leather and wet gravel. Medium body, medium acidity and silky tannins in mouth. Notes of raspberry, prune and clay. Medium+ finish
May 15, 2021 - Stunning wine. Entering secondary development. Fruit to the fore again. Black cherry, plums, sweet raspberry, charred oak and earthy business supporting.
Lovely
January 24, 2021 - Appearance: deep ruby/brick showing its development. Nose: raspberries and red cherries, sweet strawberries. The fruit is nicely balanced by dried herbs, some charred oak and spice in the background. Really nice perfume. Palate: medium bodied with a restrained richness, but more of an elegant style and certainly not overpowering. Super smooth with a long dry finish. Outstanding.
October 24, 2019 - [from 6 liter Imperials #11 & 18/30]. With the caveat that I hate Grenache and sold all my Chateauneuf - I thought this was excellent. Ripe fruit, balanced, neither alcoholic nor pruny with good balancing acidity. Plenty of nuance and complexity on the palate too. I'd prefer drink this over the Pict, the Factor and probably RunRig...
October 29, 2018 - We had the previous bottle now almost a decade ago and on reviewing my TN from '09 I will give it the same excellent score now but not for the youthful intensity and exuberance of yore but rather for real maturity, complexity, balance and a soft elegance that is truly rare in Australian wines. One of the best Aussies and one of the best grenaches that we have ever had. Very hard to find and we HIGHLY recommend this wine overall and the vintages of the late '00's specifically. Relatively short splash decant at Webb Custom Kitchen in Gastonia NC. 100% old vine grenache. Dark purple in color with bricking. Nose initially soft and somewhat muted but with swirling and a bit of air the nose woke up and brought forth a bouquet (in the truest sense of that word) of kirsch, kitchen spices and a hint of eucalyptus. Tannins still present but now very soft so this wine will not improve further with aging, is in a perfect mature drinking window with maybe another 5-7 years to go so for those out there lucky enough to still be holding any now is a good time to start drinking them up. Palate has an underlying hint of minty eucalyptus with smoke, grilled meats, garrigue, violet and spices with a VERY long finish. Shed a small tear on the inside as this last of our bottles was finished up.
April 20, 2018 - Drank at Torbreck tasting dinner event from a magnum.
The nose was really fantastic, a bag full of spices and notes of dried fruits that almost reminds me of a well made old napa cab from the 90's.
The taste however was nothing like a napa cab with classic grenche fruits that has both high concentration and high acidity. Unfortunately I felt the alcohol stood out a bit more than I would like. The taste was good but I personally enjoyed the nose more. Still on the youthful side but can be enjoyed today.
February 19, 2016 - Superlative wine!
Still youthful but also very complex with a typical Aussie nose as regards the aromas but with a very welcome restrain and elegance.
Aromas of kirsch, exotic spices, eukalyptus, heady floral aromas and what have you....
Palate of medium to full body with soft tannins, silky fluid texture, nice balancing acidity, complexity of flavors and length.
I have to admit that often I find top Aussie wines a bit overwhelming, this wine on the other hand was the epitome of balance and elegance.
A truly great wine! Drink or keep.
February 16, 2016 - Fantastic wine. Dark garnet colour. Complex and expressive nose with spices, dark cherries, blueberries, peppermint, cedar and floral scents. Full-bodied yet balanced with velvety tannins, bright and multi-layered fruit, medium+ acidity and a very long, spicy aftertaste. A masrterpice. Drinks perfectly now but could age further.
September 22, 2015 - Torbreck masterclass (SF Wine Center): From a magnum.
Medium minus ruby-red (Grenache is thin-skinned, oxidative, and this has 9 years of age)
There's earth here, a bit of maybe barnyard even. Mushroomy development, slight bruised apple acetaldehyde - very slight.
High alcohol, very clean. Just medium acid. Faint tannins.
Warm jammy red fruit.
Score: between 8.5 and 9.
November 26, 2013 - An absolutely stunning bottle of wine. Perfection in a bottle. Toasting Dave Powell for his love of Torbreck and hoping he lands on his feet.