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The Factor is predominantly from the Gomersal and Marananga sub-regions of the Barossa, providing dense texture and richness to the palate with subtle notes of olive tapenade, saddle leather and minerals. Ripe aromas of plum and wild blackberries, olive, pepper and spice are all supported by a dark core of espresso roast, ripe blackberries and saltbush. Brooding and densely packed, this lavish wine has ample generosity to cellar for many years, where it will slowly unravel.

Review:

Made with fruit off vines from 30-130 years of age, this 2020 Shiraz The Factor has a strong Cornas feel. It is richly endowed with black olive, dried olive leaf, chocolate, and cocoa aromas with fantastic focus. A muscular core of spicy, dark berry fruits follows, punchy with impact. There is also some serious density and structure that will keep this wine in pristine condition for many years to come.

-Vinous 96 Points

The 2020 The Factor is 100% Shiraz and made up of fruit from Gomersal, Krondorf, Marananga and Ebenezer in the Barossa Valley. The wine was matured for 24 months in a combination of new (40%) and seasoned French oak barriques. In the glass, the wine verges on black, and the nose echoes this abyss-like shade. Blackberry, blood plum, black cherry, licorice, campfire embers, cocoa dust, clove, iodine, vanilla pod and red dirt—this is the core of the wine, the beating heart. The tannins, like a skeleton that protects it, are velvety, plush and structural. Like a skeleton, the tannins are entrenched in the fruit, concealed by a skin of flavor. This is a sybaritic, superstar wine that reflects the warm, concentrated, dry, low-yielding vintage from whence it came. This is classic, polished, midnight Torbreck here.

-Wine Advocate 96 Points

Shiraz from the parishes of Gomersal, Krondorf, Marananga and Ebenezer matured in French oak (40% new) for 24 months. This year's Factor sports an inky, graphite-led intensity of fruit and a sense of purity. Compression, too, with deep satsuma plum, blackberry and black cherry fruits initially feeling compact and tight before exploding onto the palate with substantial tannin heft and layers of dark spice, cedar, licorice and dark chocolate. While you could happily tuck into this tonight, it will cellar like a champion.

- Australian Wine Companion 96 Points

Tres Ojos Rosado Calatayud is fresh, crisp and juicy Rose made of 50% Garnacha and 50% Tempranillo displaying beautiful strawberry and raspberry fruits. Enjoy with salads, chicken or simply with a glass. Serve chilled.

Trouillard Brut Extra Selection NV is selected from 15 different vineyards located in the Marne Valley, in the Aube and the small Mountain of Reims.

Trouillard Brut Extra Selection NV is made of 35% Pinot Noir, 35% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay.
With a light amber color with fine bubbles, full-bodied with a full mixture of white fruits. Dominating taste of hazelnuts and grilled almonds.  This crisp, delicate, fresh, creamy and elegant champagne, with just a touch of yeastiness, is sure to enhance any special occasion or meal.  A very classic and delicate Brut.

Review:

"Medium gold color with a rich, seductive nose of roasted grains. Shows an elegant attack and a very fine, rich mousse. Finishes very dry but long. Dried lemon peel and toasted bread are evident on the richly textured palate with notable mineral character. Finishes very dry and long."

International Wine Review  92 pts

Guide Michelin 2013, **

Turley Cedarman Zinfandel is made from 100 percent Zinfandel. 

Review:

Keenly structured and appealingly briary, this Zin is loaded with jammy blackberry, roasted anise and licorice flavors that build toward broad-shouldered tannins.

-Wine Spectator 93 Points

Two Paddocks The Last Chance Pinot Noir is made from 100 percent Pinot Noir. 

A beguiling complex nose showing wild thyme, red fruit and a mix of spicy blackberry and plum aromatics. This gives way to a plush fully textured palate weight giving generous amounts of flavor built on an elegant, fresh and feminine framework, great tension and poise.

Review:

This has fantastic concentration and complexity. Earthy notes of bark, dried herbs, salty mushrooms and nori marry ripe red and purple berry fruit. Sleek and refined with well-integrated tannins. There's a peppery freshness shining through. Savory and long.

-James Suckling 96 Points

Weingut Prager Achleiten Riesling Smaragd is made from 100 percent Riesling. 

Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers.

Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have a minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.

Achleiten sits east of Weißenkirchen and is one of the most famous vineyards in the Wachau. The steeply-terraced vineyard existed in Roman times. Some sections have just 40 cm of topsoil over the bedrock of Gföler Gneiss, amphibolitic stone, and slate. “Destroyed soil,” as Toni Bodenstein likes to say.

Tasting Notes:

Austrian Riesling is often defined by elevated levels of dry extract thanks to a lengthy ripening period and freshness due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night. Wines from Achleiten’s highly complex soils are famously marked by a mineral note of flint or gun smoke, are intensely flavored, and reliably long-lived.

Food Pairing:

Riesling’s high acidity makes it one of the most versatile wines at the table. Riesling can be used to cut the fattiness of foods such as pork or sausages and can tame some saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette might.

Review:

The 2020 Ried Achleiten Riesling Smaragd offers a well-concentrated, fleshy and spicy stone fruit aroma with crunchy and flinty notes. It needs some time to get rid of the stewed fruit flavors, though. Full-bodied, fresh and crystalline, this is an elegant, complex and finely tannic Riesling that needs some years rather than a carafe to polymerize the tannins and gain some finesse. Tasted at the domain in June 2021.

At Prager, I could not determine that 2020 would be inferior to the 2019 vintage; on the contrary, the 2020 Smaragd wines fascinated me enormously in their clear, cool, terroir-tinged way. A 38% loss had occurred mainly because of the hail on August 22, although predominantly in the Federspiel or Riesling vineyards. There was no damage in the top vineyards such as Ried Klaus, Achleiten or Zwerithaler. "Interestingly, the vines are in agony for about two weeks after the hail. There was no more growth, no development of ripeness and sugar," reports Toni Bondenstein. The Veltliner then recovered earlier, while even picking a Riesling Federspiel in October was still a struggle. "Why Riesling reacted more intensively to the hail, I don't know myself either," says Bodenstein. Whole clusters were pressed to preserve acidity and to compensate for the lower extract, and compared to 2019, the 2020s were left on their lees longer. In June, however, the 20s in particular showed outstanding early shape.

-Wine Advocate 94 Points

Light yellow-green, silver reflections. Yellow stone fruit nuances with a mineral underlay, notes of peach and mango, a hint of tangerine zest, mineral touch. Juicy, elegant, white fruit, acidity structure rich in finesse, lemony-salty finish, sure aging potential.

-Falstaff 95 Points

Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers.

Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.

Klaus sits adjacent to Achleiten and is one of the Wachau’s most famous vineyards for Riesling. The vineyard is incredibly steep with a gradient of 77% at its steepest point. The southeast-facing terraced vineyard of dark migmatite-amphibolite and paragneiss produces a tightly wound and powerful wine. The parcel belonging to Toni Bodenstein was planted in 1952. 

Tasting Notes:

Austrian Riesling is often defined by elevated levels of dry extract thanks to a lengthy ripening period and freshness due to dramatic temperature swings between day and night. “Klaus is not a charming Riesling,” says Toni Bodenstein with a wink. Klaus is Prager’s most assertive and robust Riesling. 

Food Pairing

Riesling’s high acidity makes it one of the most versatile wines at the table. Riesling can be used to cut the fattiness of foods such as pork or sausages and can tame some saltiness. Conversely, it can highlight foods such as fish or vegetables in the same way a squeeze of lemon or a vinaigrette might.

Review:

Superbly cool, restrained and refined, this austere, beautiful dry riesling is a slow-burn masterpiece that's only just beginning to reveal its complex white-peach, white-tea, wild-herb and dark-berry character. Super-long and mineral finish. Drink or hold.

-James Suckling 97 Points

Weingut Prager Stockkultur Achleiten Gruner Veltliner Smaragd is made from 100 percent Gruner Veltliner. 

Franz Prager, co-founder of the Vinea Wachau, had already earned a reputation for his wines when Toni Bodenstein married into the family. Bodenstein’s passion for biodiversity and old terraces, coupled with brilliant winemaking, places Prager in the highest echelon of Austrian producers.

Smaragd is a designation of ripeness for dry wines used exclusively by members of the Vinea Wachau. The wines must have minimum alcohol of 12.5%. The grapes are hand-harvested, typically in October and November, and are sent directly to press where they spontaneously ferment in stainless-steel tanks.

Stockkultur is a 0.3-hectare plot at the top of Achleiten and was purchased by Toni Bodenstein in 2005. The name refers to the old style of training each vine to a single stake; the traditional method of vine cultivation in the Wachau before the 1950s. The vines planted in 1938 are among the oldest in the Wachau. 

Tasting Notes:

Prager’s stylistic signature is that of aromatic complexity coupled with power and tension. High-density planting and long hang times ensure ripe fruit flavors and concentration, yet allowing leaves to shade the fruit lend vibrant aromatics of grasses, herbs, and wildflowers. Minerality is a constant feature of any Prager wine.

Food Pairing:

With minimum alcohol of 12.5%, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd is a concentrated and full-bodied dry white wine. Its intensity of flavor and ripeness of fruit make it ideal with high-integrity ingredients such as seared white fish or sautéed spring vegetables. Grüner Veltliner is a classic accompaniment to Wiener Schnitzel.

Review:

From vines planted in 1937 and picked as the first of the Smaragd wines, the 2020 Ried Achleiten Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Stockkultur (planted with 15,000 vines per hectare) opens with a spectacular deep and complex but refined, fresh and flinty bouquet with intense, ripe pear and biscuit aromas. On the palate, this is a dense and lush yet pure, elegant and complex, wide and powerful but also mineral Achleiten with a long, finely tannic and still sweet finish (due to more than 30 grams per liter of dry extract). Tasted at the domaine in June 2021.

At Prager, I could not determine that 2020 would be inferior to the 2019 vintage; on the contrary, the 2020 Smaragd wines fascinated me enormously in their clear, cool, terroir-tinged way. A 38% loss had occurred mainly because of the hail on August 22, although predominantly in the Federspiel or Riesling vineyards. There was no damage in the top vineyards such as Ried Klaus, Achleiten or Zwerithaler. "Interestingly, the vines are in agony for about two weeks after the hail. There was no more growth, no development of ripeness and sugar," reports Toni Bondenstein. The Veltliner then recovered earlier, while even picking a Riesling Federspiel in October was still a struggle. "Why Riesling reacted more intensively to the hail, I don't know myself either," says Bodenstein. Whole clusters were pressed to preserve acidity and to compensate for the lower extract, and compared to 2019, the 2020s were left on their lees longer. In June, however, the 20s in particular showed outstanding early shape.

-Wine Advocate 96 Points

Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Grafenberg Riesling Grosses Gewachs is made from 100 percent Riesling. 

The Robert Weil Kiedrich Grafenberg GG is always at the head of its class. Deep, brooding, powerful aromas of sea salt, ripe lime, lemon curd and jasmine. Bass notes of moist earth. Explosive flavors of pineapple, honey, peach, apple and spearmint. So much fruit, but bone dry. Aristocratic finish.

 A powerful, almost monolithic Riesling, that can stand up to buttered lobster, Eastern scallops, a roast garlic chicken, or just an array of ripe cheeses.

Review:

“This very youthful GG needs some aeration to open up, but with every swirl of the glass more wild herbs, red-fleshed vineyard peaches and exotic floral nuances emerge. Very concentrated, yet cool and focused, with a very precise interplay of tangerine fruit, wet-stone minerality and a hint of oak that echoes down the valleys.”

Founded in 1875, Weingut Robert Weil is considered to be one of the Rheingau’s younger wine estates. It is located in the heart of Kiedrich, a village first documented in the year 950. Kiedrich Turmberg and Kiedrich Gräfenberg, the estate’s top vineyards, are among the finest sites in the Rheingau.

-James Suckling 98 Points

Wolfberger Cremant d'Alsace Chardonnay NV is made with 100 percent Chardonnay. 

The production of sparkling wine was already known in Alsace in the early 1900's. The Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C.) Crémant d’Alsace began with an official decree in August 1976.

Adorned with a beautiful dress of a brilliant golden yellow with green tints characteristic of the Chardonnay grape, this creamy reveals a fine and elegant cord of foam. The nose is expressive with light notes of toasted brioche. After a frank attack, the mouth is fresh thanks to a good balance sugar-acid. The feeling of fullness is supported by elegant flavors of almond and vanilla.

Wolfberger Cremant d Alsace Brut NV is made with 90 % Pinot Blanc, 10% Pinot Auxerrois.

The production of sparkling wine was already known in Alsace in the early 1900's. The Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C.) Crémant d’Alsace began with an official decree in August 1976.
 
Pale golden color. Fine, persistent bubbles. Floral nose with a hint of spiciness, gentle fruitiness (peach, apricot), and lovely balance. Fruity and lively in the palate, it has a clean and crisp finish. This wine will suit any special occasion.

Review:

""Straw color. Bright, fruity, creamy aromas of green apple pastry, peaches in cream, and lemon chiffon with a supple, tangy, finely carbonated, dry-yet-fruity medium body and an effortless, amusing, medium-long white nuts, lime-pineapple sorbet, and minerals finish with no oak. A refreshing, tangy sparkling wine that will shine at the table."
-Beverage Testing Institute, 94 pts (Exceptional)

Zombie Zin Zinfandel is made from 95% Zinfandel and 5% Syrah

Be careful if you go out at night. The Zombie Zin is designed to be consumed in hiding with the only friends you have left... post apocalypse.

The Zombie Zin is sporting a new label design with a torn look, that suggests a window into another world. The colors are more vibrant earth-tones and the capsule is a deep red.

The Zombie Zinfandel is very dark in color, almost a black-purple. The aromas are of ripe, dense black fruits and a hint of dried herbs. The flavors are complex and rich, sporting succulent blackberries, powdered cinnamon, cola and cherry jam. Just a hint of black pepper in the long finish.

The grapes for the Zombie are sourced throughout California, mostly from the dry, hot sandy soils of the Delta region and the Central Valley. The final blend benefitted from some inky Syrah grapes that came from the Central Coast. The wine was fermented in Stainless Steel and aged for about a half a year in American oak.

Pairs well with bloody BBQ meats, sinister soups with eye of newt, bubbly caldron of fleshy stew.