Torbreck The Laird 2013
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Robert
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Winemaker Notes
Intoxicating aromas of intense rich dark fruits fill the bouquet, with dark chocolate, spices and meat providing a savory edge. The palate possesses a rich liqueur like concentration, with flavors of licorice, ripe blackberries, dark plums and black cherries, evolving into a dark chocolate and mocha finish with a touch of smoked
meatiness and spice.
Pairs well with grilled or roast beef, ribs, spicy sausage, big beefy stews, strong or hard cheese.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A hedonistic wine that has a very strong and confident style to it. Rich blackberries and dark plums with a distinct tarry edge. Slippery, silky and succulent fruit flavors on the palate. There are deep blackberries in an even-paced yet rich palate. Very concentrated and dense. Long and saturated, too. Sweet dark plums with oak buried into the mix. A long and suave finish. Try from 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There's no denying the power and concentration of Torbreck's 2013 The Laird. The fruit is impressive, the oak luxurious, the texture velvety, yet I can't help but wonder if it needs to spend that extra time in barrel. Complex notes of baking spices, licorice and pepper add nuance to the Christmas-cake flavors and somehow emerge savory on the long finish. It's a wonderful wine, but would I rather have three bottles of RunRig? Without question.
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Wine Spectator
Expressive, plump and velvety, with extremely concentrated flavors of blackberry, kirsch and cassis at the core, with accents of Earl Grey Tea, dark chocolate, fresh peppermint and gingerbread. Despite all the rich flavors, this has plenty of elegance, polish and freshness, revealing notes of sage on the epic finish. Shiraz. Drink now through 2028.
Other Vintages
2015-
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
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James
Suckling
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Wine &
Spirits
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Robert
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James
Suckling
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Robert
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Torbreck, founded in 1994 by David Powell, is situated at Marananga on the western ridge of the Barossa. Since that time he has produced some of the world's finest 'Rhone varietal' wines, exclusively from Barossa fruit; this has been acknowledged by the wine press in Europe, America and Australia. 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, intesity, complexity and great finesse, and bearing in mind the age of the vines and the laughably low yields, no Torbreck wine could ever be accused of being heavy, cloying or over-extracted.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.