Torbreck 'Runrig' Shiraz 2014/2017, Barossa Valley
£250.00 per bottle
ABV 15%
TASTING
Intense, lifted aromatics of dense cherry plum and dark chocolate all come to the fore with an opulent fruit profile of mulberry and five-spice. A silky textured palate of deep red cherry fruits, clove and liquorice all interwoven with hints of sweet spice and cinnamon. The layers and diverse fruit characters continue to evolve in the glass with hints of ironstone, anise, blackberry, and pepper all becoming more persistent in the finish. This silky, fragrant RunRig will certainly reward those with patience.
VINTAGE
Growers were challenged by spring frosts in 2013 and a hot dry summer in 2014, followed by rain in early February which delayed the harvest. The resulting cooler period in mid-February benefitted the vintage with a longer ripening season, producing relatively low yielding fruit of good concentration and depth.
"RunRig often draws comparison with the beautifully fragrant and tautly structured wines from the steep slopes of the Northern Rhône Valley’s Appellation of Côte Rôtie.
Shiraz from old dry grown Barossa vineyards is blended with Viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, whilst giving the resulting wine a further dimension."
Although wonderfully aromatic, RunRig also exhibits a power and latent richness making it more akin to the hugely concentrated wines sourced from the sun drenched hill of Hermitage – the historic home of Syrah and some of the world’s most powerful and longest living wines.
Torbreck is the name of a forest near Inverness, Scotland. You’ll find more than a passing nod to the Celts in our wine naming conventions including this reference to the “RunRig” system of land distribution among Highland clansmen. Their widely dispersed holdings were managed communally rather than as any one farm…not unlike this complementary blend of Shiraz and Viognier making the sum of the parts greater than the whole.