Torbreck Runrig Shiraz - Viognier is made from 98% Shiraz, 2% Viognier.
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.
The Highland clans used a ‘RunRig’ system to distribute land amongst their clansmen in a series of widely dispersed holdings. The emphasis was not on any one farm but rather the communal element of the whole. Shiraz from old dry grown vineyards is blended with Viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, whilst giving the resulting wine a further dimension.
Review:
Tasting the RunRig beside the Descendant is always a wise move, in order to gain some contextual understanding of how they are similar and, perhaps more importantly, how they differ. This 2020 RunRig was sourced from six different vineyards across Barossa (in Lyndoch, Rowland Flat, Moppa, Ebenezer, Light Pass and Greenock) and includes a 2% “dosage” (as winemaker Ian Hongell described it) of Viognier. Matured for 30 months in a combination of new French oak (50%) and second and third fill barrels, the wine rests on its lees for that time. The lower percentage of Viognier here is a seductive and effective thing, adding just enough slick and polish to make this the sybaritic wine that it is, but little enough to allow the grunt, grit and muscle of the Shiraz from all those glorious locations to shine through. Despite the very long time in oak, the wine is balanced and excellent, big in almost every possible way but with an undeniable sense of class and length of flavor. Executed with detail and precision, this wine is clearly defined in its expression of house style
-Wine Advocate 97+ Points
Torello Corpinnat Special Edition Brut Reserve is made from 44% Xarel.lo, 37% Macabeo, 11% Chardonnay, 8% Parellada.
The estate soils have been formed from sediments from the Garraf Massis, deposited thousands of years ago. One of the most characteristic features of the estate’s soils is the presence of accumulations of calcium carbonate. The movement of water through the soil dissolves the carbonates and takes them to a certain depth. The continuous repetition of this process has ended up producing the accumulation of these deposits. When these become massive, after thousands of years, they bind together and form a hard stratum called a petrocalcic horizon. This hard stratum limits the availability of water to the vine and the production, but is a factor that gives the grape quality
The wine offers a straw yellow color, clean, transparent, fine, and persistent bubbles with a rosary formation. In the nose fresh pear aromas stand out along with delicious notes of pastry cream, white flowers, and candied fruits. On the palate, good balance and acidity. Powerful and flavorful with white flowers and notes of brioche, almond and great length.
Special Edition is very versatile and matches with many different kinds of dishes; pasta, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, rice, cold cuts, desserts.
Mas la Plana is graceful and balanced despite its firm and dominant tannin profile. Bright crunchy acidity ensures a wine that will develop in the cellar for years to come. This polished red displays hints of its Mediterranean heritage with herbaceous bramble while holding true to brooding currant and loamy earth, reminiscent of old-world Cabernet Sauvignon.
Review:
Inviting mint, floral, cassis, clove and cinnamon nose. Juicy, lively and fresh on entry, with densely-packed soft black fruits, blackcurrant jam and spice. Textural and long with fine silky tannins and tidily-integrated acidity. Superb overall length and finish.
Decanter 97 Points
Tres Ojos Garnacha Calatayud is made from 100 percent 85% Old Vine Garnacha (40-50 year old vines) and 15% Tempranillo.
The wine has a brick red color with a bouquet of red raspberries, spice and white pepper. The palate is incredibly concentrated and rich. The modern styles of Garnacha in Spain are continuously being perceived worldwide as wines of extraordinarily good quality. This wine is fruity, juicy and shows a great depth, ripe tannins, length but yet with wonderful elegance and lightness.
The wine ferments for 7 days at 30ºC, followed by 14 days maceration on the skins. Aged 12 months in large stainless steel vats. Cold stabilized and lightly filtered before bottling
Enjoy with sausages, roasted meats, aged cheeses etc.
Trump Winery New World Reserve is made from 53% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot and 7% Malbec.
Awards:
Tasting Notes:
This signature Bordeaux-style blend is complex and round with well-structured tannins and developed flavors of blackberry, cassis, vanilla, and toasted oak. Just released, this wine will develop and evolve in the bottle softening into a seamless wine with aging potential. Enjoy with steak, lamb, and hard, salty cheeses such as gruyère
After working with the fruit for over a decade, Turkey is proud to present the first single-vineyard bottling for Turley from the Del Barba Vineyard. Contra Costa is a delta where the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers meet, and these head-trained vines are planted in deep dehli blow sand, made up of decomposed granite coming down from the Sierra Mountains. The resulting wine embodies the best the delta has to offer: silken textures, ultra fine tannin, and dark saline fruits.
Review:
Sourced from head-trained vines planted in 1980 on sandy soils, the 2022 Zinfandel Del Barba Vineyard is a light, elegant and approachable expression of Turley's substantial Zinfandel collection. Medium ruby in color, it is initially coiled and opens slowly into a bright, inviting nose with aromas of Earl Grey tea, licorice and red cherries, albeit with slightly less definition and clarity than found in other bottlings. The palate is medium-bodied, deeply red-fruited and lined with spicy, floral accents. The finish is long and perfumed, framed by clay-textured tannins and lifted, juicy acidity harnessed with an understated elegance.
-Wine Advocate 93 Points
Avennia Arnaut Syrah is made of 100% Syrah
For our taste, no one grows finer Syrah in the state than Dick Boushey. We named this wine after the Provencal Troubadour Arnaut Daniel, who invented the Sestina poem form, thus creating a connection between our two flagship efforts.
"Deep, dark Syrah notes on the nose, with dark blackberry, blueberry reduction, grilled meat, crushed olive, black licorice, camphor, pen ink, and cracked black pepper. The palate is super concentrated and dense, tightly focused, and deeply complex. Savory blueberry, pan drippings, a hint of orange essence, and hand-rubbed sage come through on the extremely long and nuanced finish. A compelling wine that will age for a couple decades at least." - Chris Peterson, Winemaker
We make this wine with minimal manipulation, using native yeasts and bottling unfined and unfiltered, to allow the "place" to shine through.
AVA: Yakima Valley
Blend: 100% Boushey Vineyard Syrah
Winemaking: 15% whole cluster, native yeast, 15% new French oak, aged 16 months, bottled unfined & unfiltered.
Review:
"Boushey Vineyard is holy ground for Syrah in Washington. This is yet another wine that will inspire a vinous pilgrimage. Dried herb, smoked meat, iron, and dark fruit aromas lead to full-bodied, saturated, palate-staining dark fruit flavors. The intensity is off the charts – earthshaking, with wave upon wave of dark fruit flavors. There’s plenty of structure around it all. It sticks around for a long, slightly warm finish. Best enjoyed at a cool 62 degrees. Give it a long decant if drinking in the near term." - Sean P. Sullivan
95 points & Critic's Choice, Northwest Wine Report
All varietal from a great vineyard in the Yakima Valley, the 2020 Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard offers a perfumed, complex nose of mulled red and black berries, peppery, savory herbs, and some meaty, iron-like nuances. This complex, medium to full-bodied beauty has fine tannins, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, and a gorgeous finish.
- Jeb Dunnuck, 94 pts.
Bastgen Kestener Paulinshofberg Riesling Kabinett is 100 percent Riesling.
Kesten is a small village right by the Mosel surrounded by steep vineyards called Paulinsberg (=hills of Saint Paul). The vines grow on bridle clay slate near the river - a classic terroir that has been cultivated with vines ever since Roman times. Riesling is the most typical grape of the Mosel region that produced a fruity Kabinett with beautiful peach aromas on the nose, rich and ripe fruits on the mouth with honeyed notes and a refreshing acidity. This is a very pleasing wine.
They meticulously tend 4.5 ha (11.11 acres) of which 80% is Riesling. The soil is made of slate. Their vineyards are located in Kesten and Brauneberg, on a steep terrace, and planted to 50-year old vines. Fortunately for Bastgen, they own part of the famous Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr. The vines produce very small, ripe berries that are very tasty.
The grapes are strongly selected, only minimal amounts of botrytis are tolerated. At time of the harvest the grapes are fully ripened with a golden color and tart acidity. After a natural sedimentation process the fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks under cool conditions. The wine remains on the lees until April, then is gently filtered once, and bottled.