Deep garnet purple-colored, the 2009 Woodcutter’s Shiraz is intensely scented of ripe cherry, kirsch and blackberry preserve with some floral notes and nuances of jasmine tea and spice box. Full bodied, concentrated and crisp in the mouth, it has a medium level of fine tannins to texture the flesh, finishing long. Drink it now to 2017+.
I’ve long thought that Torbreck’s Woodcutter’s wines deliver amazing value and the recent releases are no exception. This is just a glimpse into David Powell’s line-up of current releases to be featured in the forthcoming South Australia report (TWA Issue 192). 2008 was a challenging vintage for many in the Barossa, and Powell opted not to produce a RunRig that year. The good news for bargain hunters is that he was able to forge a very good entry level Shiraz using some of the declassified fruit.
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.
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