2001 Torbreck Juveniles

Community Tasting Notes (9) Avg Score: 90.4 points

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  3/26/2022 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  An unoaked GSM blend from old-vine (40-150 yo) fruit. Aged in stainless steel lot by lot, bottled unfined and unfiltered. Named after a wine bar in Paris. Lots of very fine, silty sediment; I heartily recommend to set the wine up for a day or two and decant it carefully so it doesn't appear hazy. 14,5% alcohol.
  
  As this wine wasn't carefully decanted prior to the tasting, the appearance is quite hazy and rather evolved figgy-red color with an evolved maroon hue and quite a bit of silty deposit in the glass. The seductive nose feels evolved, fragrant and quite sweet-toned with developed yet not old or too tertiary aromas of pipe tobacco, some evolved meaty tones, a little bit of sweet pruney fruit, light minty green notes, a hint of tea tree and a touch of wild strawberry. The wine is evolved, savory and velvety on the palate with a medium body and mature flavors of peppery spice, gamey meat and barbecue, some ferrous notes of blood, a little bit of sweet pruney and raisiny fruit, light fragrant notes of eucalyptus, rustic hints of old leather and pipe tobacco and an oxidative touch of beef jerky. Bright, high acidity with gentle yet firm tannins that slowly pile up on the gums. The finish is long and savory with layered flavors of meaty umami and game, some dried-fruit notes of wizened blackberries and raisins, a little bit of ferrous blood, light green nuances of eucalyptus, a hint of saddle leather and a touch of balsamic VA.
  
  A beautiful, harmonious and wonderfully savory GSM with great sense of freshness and brightness, all thanks to the high acidity that lends great intensity and sense of focus to the wine. There's a bit of funk and rusticity lingering underneath, but the overall emphasis is obviously on the bright, evolved fruit flavors. The wine has been sitting firmly on its plateau of maturity for a while now, but most likely it will stay there for a handful of years more, so even if the wine is not going to evolve any further from here, there's no pressing hurry with it. Drink or keep for a little while longer. A steal at 18€.

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  12/24/2020 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  An unoaked GSM blend. Lots of very fine, silty sediment; I heartily recommend to set the wine up for a day or two and decant it carefully so it doesn't appear hazy. 14,5% alcohol.
  
  Translucent and quite mature reddish-maroon color with a somewhat tertiary mahogany hue and a pale, almost colorless nose. Sweet, mature nose with aromas of syrupy tertiary character, some bretty notes of leather and barnyard funk, light aged fruit notes of stewed plums, raisins and wizened figs, a little bit of strawberry and a lifted hint of sweet VA. The wine is ripe, full-bodied and surprisingly firm on the palate with its high acidity. Complex, evolved and slightly sweet-toned flavors of sour red plums, raisins, some bretty notes of leathery funk, light spicy notes of crushed peppercorns, a little bit of nail polish VA, a hint of developed syrupy character and a touch of balsamic vinegary character without any acetic roughness. The high alcohol lends a bit of warmth to the aftertaste while the structure relies firmly on the bright, refreshing and almost atypically high acidity. The gentle tannins feel very mellow and fully resolved. The developed, complex finish shows a hint of tannic grip along with persistent, layered flavors of crunchy cranberries, leathery funk, some balsamic notes of VA, a little bit of bretty stable floor, light mature notes of raisins and dried figs and a hint of eucalyptus cough drop.
  
  A harmonious, evolved and - for an Aussie red - surprisingly funky GSM that shows lovely depth and complexity along with bright, crunchy acidity that keeps the wine remarkably well in balance. The tannins lend good textural sense of chewiness to the mouthfeel without lending much if any grip to the palate. All in all, it feels like the wine is - and has been already for some while - at its plateau of maturity and it won't improve from here. A terrific example of aged Australian GSM. A bargain at 18€.

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  1/5/2018 - mats13 wrote: 88 Points

  I agree with many of the comments here - cloudy, light color, nose of leather, palate redolent of cranberry. But clearly the wrong side of the hill. Can't complain about the $10 gamble I took on auction, but nor am I going to probably finish the bottle.

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  11/12/2017 - sayward wrote: 88 Points

  Extremely acidic, but likely the only reason that this wine is still drinkable at this point. The color of this wine is cloudy and light. Strawberry and other red fruit are there, but very muted. A nice stroll down memory lane and worth the $10 gamble I paid at auction.

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  10/24/2017 - HandmadeHomemade wrote:

  Loads of leather and dried red fruits with coffee grounds, the wine is really expressive and layered, a bit high on the acid- but this serves to make the wine better with food (though its the fruit that is fading). Really well made and impressive. A great bottle fpr the price I paid.

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