Event

Every weekend we have free tastings that give you a chance to explore the wide word of wines! Come in this weekend and visit with us! Each Friday we try to start your weekend off with a sampling of fine wines and beers that will allow you to relax into your "days off" with a positive note. Always a gathering of friends and neighbors and good conversation.

Torbreck Vintners was created with the aim of building one of the finest wine estates in the world. The vision is to pay homage to the vineyards of the Barossa Valley, home to some of the oldest vines on the planet.

Torbreck "Woodcutter's" Semillon 2011
Grapes: 100% Semillon
Vintage: 2011
Description: Medium bodied, this youthful Semillon offers delicate scents of calamansi, limestone, candle wax, and toasted brioche. Notes of almond kernels, soft pineapple, roasted cashew and white peach maintains the wines freshness. Enjoy with sashimi and fresh shellfish.
 
Torbreck Woodcutter's RVM 2011
Grapes: Roussanne, Viognier, Marsanne
Vintage: 2011
Description: “Light yellow. Dried pear, melon and orange zest on the perfumed nose. Juicy, focused and nicely concentrated, offering tangy orchard and citrus fruit flavors and a touch of candied ginger. Finishes with good energy and lift, on a chalky mineral note.”
 

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 89 "Light yellow. Dried pear, melon and orange zest on the perfumed nose. Juicy, focused and nicely concentrated, offering tangy orchard and citrus fruit flavors and a touch of candied ginger. Finishes with good energy and lift, on a chalky mineral note."
The Wine Advocate 88+ "A Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier blend, the 2011 Woodcutters RMV yields subtle floral notes over a core of fresh pears and white peaches. Dry, light to medium-bodied an elegantly fruited of honeyed peach in the mouth, it finishes with gentle medium to long persistence. I recently tasted a 2001 vintage representing Powell’s early offering of this style (which is also represented by the upper level “Steading Blanc” label) and it is aging beautifully, so I’d say there’s no rush to drink and it should cellar to at least 2015+."
 
Torbreck "Cuvee Juveniles" 2011
Grapes: 60% Grenache, 20% Shiraz, 20% Mataro (Mouvedre)
Vintage: 2011
Description: Juveniles is a 'cult' Parisian wine bar run by the enigmatic Tim Johnston. He's been in Paris more than twenty years and is a passionate promoter of the Rhône Valley and it's wines, particularly individualist, quality minded producers. Dave Powell hit it off with Tim over the years, eventually making a wine exclusively for his wine bar in 1999. In keeping with Tim and Dave's love of Rhône Valley varietals and the fact that they are equally at home in the Barossa, the blend constitutes old-vine Grenache, Mataro (Mourvèdre) and Shiraz and was élevaged entirely in stainless steel (very much 'de rigueur' amongst today's free-spirited Rhône Valley vignerons). Those that tasted it at various dinners and trade events kept asking if they could buy some so the production was gradually increased to meet demand. Juveniles is perfectly suited to today's gastronomy and is sealed with a screwcap to ensure its consistency. This pioneering wine style has inspired a host of local imitators, a testament to its success in the global wine market. Anybody out there who finds themselves frustrated by the sameness and predicitability of wine from time to time should consider opening a bottle of Juveniles. Its qualities will most likely remind you of why you fell in love with wine in the first place. Bold and seductive, this youthful, unoaked blend encapsulates all that is great in natural, pure, unseasoned wine. Its fragrance, intensity and energy are all reminiscent of freshly fermenting must, with ripe juicy flavours of blackberry, spiced cherries, minerals and Asian spices wrapped around a skeleton of fresh acidity and fine mineral laden tannins. Soft and sensuous, this wine is frightfully drinkable already, but as with its predecessors will greatly recompense those who choose to give it a few years in the cellar.

Publication Score Comments
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 90 "(62% grenache, 23% mataro and 15% shiraz): Dark ruby. Highly fragrant aromas of peppery cherry and dark berries, with a subtle floral nuance in the background. I'd have guessed that there was a lot more shiraz in here, a whole lot more in fact. Spicy and light on its feet, offering gently sweet blackberry and cherry compote flavors and a hint of allspice. Finishes with emphatic spiciness and very good focus, with no obvious tannins and a lingering, palate-numbing note of black pepper. "
The Wine Advocate 90 "Torbreck’s 2011 Cuvee Juveniles presents a medium garnet-purple color and vibrant aromas of raspberry preserves, kirsch, black and white pepper and smoked bacon with just a hint of damp loam. Full-bodied with plenty of juicy red berry preserve flavors, it has a medium level of silky tannins, refreshing acid acidity and a long peppery finish. Delicious now, it should keep to 2016+."
Wine Spectator 91 FOR THE 2011 VINTAGE: SMART BUYS "Smooth and vibrant, with spicy clove and green olive overtones around a dark core of dried blueberry and allspice, lingering on the generous, expressive finish. Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz. Drink now through 2018. 1,500 cases imported. –HS"
Wine Enthusiast 91 FOR THE 2010 VINTAGE: EDITORS CHOICE! "A terrific value, this blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Mataro, and 20% Shiraz features a forward bouquet of slightly jammy mixed berries. The palate showcases vibrant red fruit on a supple bed of tannins, capped off by a savory, tapanade-laden finish that makes it more than a simple fruit bomb. Very silky and drinkable, it's the ultimate wine-bar wine, as the name suggests."

 
Torbreck "Woodcutter's" Shiraz 2012
Grapes: 100% Shiraz
Vintage: 2012
Description: Immigrants from Silesia (then part of Germany, today a region of Poland) in the 1830s and ‘40s first settled the gently rolling countryside and eucalyptus-spiked hills of the Barossa region. Entire villages packed their meagre belongings and travelled to Australia for a new life. They settled in the Barossa Valley and worked the land which included establishing vineyards; some of which are still standing today. Shiraz has been growing in the Barossa Valley since the 1840s. The Barossa is now widely regarded as producing some of the greatest Shiraz in the world, typically from ancient, dry grown parcels of fruit. At Torbreck we own and have access to many such parcels. Torbreck, along with many of their growers have planted new Shiraz vineyards right next to, or between, older vineyards/vines, which enables them to produce the Woodcutters Shiraz. Like all Torbreck wines it's sourced from hand harvested and hand tended, low yielding vines. It is then open fermented and gently basket pressed, and aged on fine lees for 12 months in large format seasoned barrels and foudres. Although this wine is constantly praised for being succulent and rich – perhaps the best feature of this wine is its complexity and texture which are rarely found at this price. This wine reflects the up & coming Shiraz vineyards of the Barossa, rather than the battle hardened old warriors which make up the heart and soul of our other cuvee’s. Dense, rich and opulent, this wine combines great fruit purity with texture, complexity and finesse. Whilst offering immense pleasure in its youth the 2006 Woodcutter’s Shiraz will no doubt develop along a similar path to the 2002 & 2004 vintages with a few years in the cellar.

Publication Score Comments
The Wine Advocate 91 "Very deep purple-black colored, the 2010 Woodcutters Shiraz is a little reduced to begin, giving way to youthful aromas of black fruits, blueberry and blackberry preserves with underlying cassis, chocolate, nut and licorice hints. Full and rich, this mouth-filling wine is well supported by medium to firm velvety tannins and lively acid, lending texture and freshness through the long finish. Drinking nicely now, it should keep to 2016."
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 91 Glass-staining ruby. Smoke-accented blackberry and cassis aromas are complicated by notes of licorice and star anise. Lush, dense and quite primary, with very good clarity to its sappy black and blue fruit flavors. An exotic hint of candied violet brightens the impressively long, chewy and subtly tannic finish. 2012 is shaping up to be a fantastic vintage in the Barossa. 91 points

Torbreck "The Bothie" 2012
Grapes: 100% Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains
Vintage: 2012
Description: There are many ways to make a sweet wine and they've chosen to fashion The Bothie after the great sweet wines of the Mediterranean using a method called ‘mutage’, the adding of grape spirit to the must. Wine made using this method is referred to as ‘vin doux naturel’ and is famed for its heady fragrance and refreshing sweetness – a glass of this on its own is often a great replacement for dessert. Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains from John Nietschke’s Ebenezer vineyard is harvested in several stages to achieve different levels of ripeness, creating a myriad of potential flavours. A small amount of spirit is added to the fermenting wine to arrest the yeasts against further activity and raise the alcohol level to around 14 percent. The Bothie typically displays lifted aromas of rose water, honeydew melon, lime and geranium. It’s a very versatile wine that can be enjoyed either at the start of a meal or nicely chilled at the end with fresh fruit, ice creams or sorbets.
 

Publication Score Comments
The Wine Advocate 88 "The 2011 The Bothie has an intensely aromatic / grapey nose with notes of honeysuckle, poached pears and nutmeg. Very sweet, crisp, silken textured andfull bodied, it is nicely balanced with a long pure finish. Drink it now while it’s this fresh and vibrant. "
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar 90 "Pale yellow. High-pitched pit fruit and tangerine scents are complemented by suave floral and nougat qualities. At once sweet and tangy, offering ripe nectarine and citrus fruit flavors, with a touch of candied ginger providing cut. Finishes spicy and long, with lingering sweetness and an echo of honeysuckle."
The Wine Advocate 88 FOR 2012 VINTAGE: "The 2012 The Bothie has pretty grape and ripe peach aromas with some floral notes of honeysuckle and orange blossom. Very sweet, forward and well balanced on the medium to full-bodied palate, it gives a long spicy / ginger laced finish. Drink it now. "