Torbreck The Steading Grenache / Shiraz / Mataro Oak-Matured

Wine information: Torbreck Vintners was founded in 1994 by David Powell and is located at Marananga on the western ridge of the Barossa Valley. It is named after a forest situated just south of Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. The roots go back to 1992 when Dave, who was then working at Rockford, began to discover and clean up a few sections of dry-grown old vines, so that he could buy the fruit for his own wine. he first wine made under the Torbreck label was during the 1995 vintage, with the finished wines released in 1997. The wines are made in a style emulating those of the Rhone Valley and are made from various grapes including red grapes Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro as well as white grapes Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne. The overwhelming majority of his vines are dry-grown, nearly all are 80 - 125 years old and are tended and harvested by hand. The wines have an extraordinary combination of power, intensity, complexity and great finesse. The 2006 Steading is Grenache 60%, Shiraz and Mataro 20% each from very old, dry-grown vines. The vines range in age from 40 to 150 years - the senior being probably the the oldest vines in production in the world. The grapes are hand-picked and fermented in open fermenters, gently pressed and the wine matured in seasoned French and American oak barrels. Each variety, and each of some 45 vineyard components, is vinified separately, the finished wine being blended before bottling. 'Steading' is a Scots word meaning a group of farm buildings; Dave Powell remarks 'Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro all stand in their own right. However, in blending, their strengths create a complex wine of solid earthy structure.'

Tasting Notes: Torbreck The Steading is composed from the traditional Barossa cultivars of Grenache, Shiraz & Mataro. It has long been David Powell’s favourite wine within the Torbreck stable because of the old, gnarled ‘bush vines’ that produce its core. Deep ruby with flickers of violet, its delicate aromas of truffle, five spice and spring flowers are supported by a rich core of licorice, saddle leather and Provencal herbs. Very ‘Burgundian’ in style, the palate is elegant and pure with subtle notes of crushed cherries, earth and cedar all neatly wound by a taut spine of acidity and ripe supple tannins. The 2008 Steading will continue to unfold with time in the cellar & shall provide those with the patience great enjoyment for many years to come.

Reviews: "Incredibly ripe and sweet fruited bouquet and palate, showing Grenache's love for the heat; soft and ripe, warm and fleshy, with a splash of savoury spice to conclude. Grenache/Shiraz/Mataro. Drink: 2013  | Date Tasted: Jan 11" 87 Points, James Halliday, The Wine Companion.

 
     

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