Our homage to the great old vines of the Barossa Valley, this wine is composed of 100% Shiraz. Complex and concentrated, the wine is cloaked in velvet tannins that will continue to develop for another 10 years at least. The Factor is all that you would expect of a pureblood Barossa Shiraz.
What the critics say...
Robert Parker: 96 points(01/10/2005)
The 2003 The Factor (100% Shiraz aged 24 months in old French oak) is a riveting effort that displays the exquisite talent of David Powell. Its smoky perfume of blackberry liqueur intermixed with cherries, acacia flowers, and espresso roast is followed by a full-throttle, multi-layered palate as well as a 60-second finish. This stunning Shiraz should drink well for 10-15+ years.
Pairing: Beef, Game Animals, Grilled Red Meats, Roasts, Stews.
The Torbreck’s history started in 1994 in a small village of the subregión of Marananga, in Barossa Valley. This is a history that goes beyond the yearning by producing wine of quality. It illustrates that the vision and the enthusiasm of a person can feed an unique relation between the... inheritance of a region and its old vineyards. At the beginning of the 90’s, the idea of David Powell began to take form. Although grieved by the vision of sponsorship on the part of the government to dig out the old vines, David was firmly convinced that a public for old Rhone type vineyards wine existed. That’s why his reaction was to approach local owners, asking tthem to trust him and give their properties which were very close to disapear. He then looked very well after these old vineyards (between 80 and 120 years of age) and was rewarded with the fruit of some small plots and did his first vintage. He established contracts for the use of these vineyards and thus the old way of shared cultivation returned in the valley. They then provided to Torbreck the regular supply of the better vineyards of Shiraz, Garnacha and Mourvedre, that contain some of the oldest vines in the world. Subsequently, 30 acres were acquired for Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier and Shiraz, as well as a vineyard of 100 years that had previously been cultivated. In 1995, three tons of grapes were pressed in a shed of its farm of 12 Has. of Marananga and then fermented to give rise to the first vintage of ´Torbreck´, name that has its origin in a forest of Scotland where Powell worked once as the woodcutter. In 1999 two more old vineyards were bought and they were added at the shared system, having access at the same time at more than 250 acres of first class vineyards in Barossa. The objective of David Powell is to maintain the best balance among voluptuous and mature fruit with a subtle use of the oak.