The 2009 Woodcutter's Semillon is elaborated with 100% Semillon (Predominantly Madeira Clone). The savoury, food friendly dry whites of Southern France in mind, the Woodcutter’s Semillon is the ideal tonic after a long day in the vineyard. Medium bodied with a pristine lemon hue this youthful Semillon offers delicate scents of calamansi, limestone, candle wax, and toasted brioche. The copper-pink skins of this robust, age-old ‘Madeira Clone’ flesh out the palate, lending notes of almond kernels, soft pineapple, roasted cashew and white peach. Underlying notes of citrus oil and minerals maintain the wines freshness whilst a crisp spine of razor-like acidity neatly lace together the finish.
ÉLEVAGE: All 5 vineyards were hand picked and gently ‘whole bunch’pressed to individual vats where they were left to settle. After 24 hours the younger blocks were racked to tank whilst the older more robust parcels were transferred to 6 year old French barriques where they underwent a long cool fermentation. The various components were later ‘assembled’ prior to bottling in November 2009.
Pairing: Aged Cheese, Game Animals, Grilled Red Meats, Legume, 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.