Torbreck - Runrig 2017

Wine Spectator

Wine Enthusiast

The... how to describe this... it's like a kaleidoscopic vortex of midnight flavor (dark, dense, brooding and spicy), swirling tannins and endlessly plush length. The Viognier in this 2019 RunRig has been absorbed somehow, compressed by the warm, low-yielding vintage that birthed it. It has been pushed down into the reaches of the Shiraz, which is a very good thing, as its propensity for slinky-like bounce and spiral needs some limiting. This is insanely complex yet also balanced. Charry oak frames the wines from all sides, but like the gravity pull on the earth from the sun, the oak is drawn inexorably inward. Pretty impressive, but this wine always is. A beast unto itself, wines like this have few peers.

I managed to squeeze in a couple of vineyard visits during my afternoon visit with the Torbreck team of Ian Hongell (winemaker) and Nigel Blieschke (viticulturist). At the Hillside Vineyard in Lyndoch, the core is an 1850 planting of Shiraz, but there are additional blocks amounting to 100 acres of the 300-acre property. The Hillside Grenache comes from a parcel planted in 1948. The dry-grown Laird Vineyard is the other Torbreck jewel. Originally planted in 1958 and purchased by Torbreck in 2013, this five-acre site in Marananga provides fruit for Torbreck's top bottling. Contrary to some claims, Hongell offered this simple retort as we looked over the year's young shoots,

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The... how to describe this... it's like a kaleidoscopic vortex of midnight flavor (dark, dense, brooding and spicy), swirling tannins and endlessly plush length. The Viognier in this 2019 RunRig has been absorbed somehow, compressed by the warm, low-yielding vintage that birthed it. It has been pushed down into the reaches of the Shiraz, which is a very good thing, as its propensity for slinky-like bounce and spiral needs some limiting. This is insanely complex yet also balanced. Charry oak frames the wines from all sides, but like the gravity pull on the earth from the sun, the oak is drawn inexorably inward. Pretty impressive, but this wine always is. A beast unto itself, wines like this have few peers.

I managed to squeeze in a couple of vineyard visits during my afternoon visit with the Torbreck team of Ian Hongell (winemaker) and Nigel Blieschke (viticulturist). At the Hillside Vineyard in Lyndoch, the core is an 1850 planting of Shiraz, but there are additional blocks amounting to 100 acres of the 300-acre property. The Hillside Grenache comes from a parcel planted in 1948. The dry-grown Laird Vineyard is the other Torbreck jewel. Originally planted in 1958 and purchased by Torbreck in 2013, this five-acre site in Marananga provides fruit for Torbreck's top bottling. Contrary to some claims, Hongell offered this simple retort as we looked over the year's young shoots,

James Suckling

A blend of shiraz and 2% viognier. This is a blend of six very old vineyards (1850-1901 plantings), aged for 29 months in French oak barriques, 40% new. There’s a very strong expression of red and darker berries and plums, dark spices and dark stones here. The oak adds fresh-spice complexity. The palate has a super deep, dense and rich feel with such long but gentle tannins. Fluid and flowing style, super fine texture and a flavor-soaked finish. Drink or hold.