2019 Torbreck “The Steading”

The grapes for this wine were sourced from Grenache, Mataro and Shiraz vines that survived the worldwide phylloxera outbreak of the 1880s, and a century later, the vine-pull scheme in the Barossa in the 1980s.

The wine is a result of the serendipitous discovery of small remnant patches of withered ancient vines, some well over a century old, that have been carefully nurtured back to life. The protection of this old vine resource of the Barossa Valley is central to the Torbreck story and this wine, more than any other, is an indication of what is possible from these historic cultivars.

The Steading is a collection of 45 different sources of fruit, some from their own vineyard estates as well as from growers on a share-farming basis. These precious grapes are vinified separately and blended once their individual virtues have been assessed.

The Steading’s generous and hearty flavors of blackberry, black raspberry and black cherry, combined with violets, leather, tobacco and coffee notes. Its silken texture in a wine that defines what is possible only in the Barossa.

This wine is very young and needs extensive cellaring, but when the time is right and you savor its luciousness, it’s as if you hit the jackpot.

Torbreck is the name of a forest near Inverness, Scotland. You’ll find more than a passing nod to the Celts in their wine naming conventions including The Steading, a traditional name for a farm and its collection of barns, stables and outbuildings.