Winemaker Notes
The Struie is a wonderfully aromatic and deeply concentrated wine produced from the harmonious combination of both regions, delivering layers of dark chocolate characters and defining structure. Nuances of plum, blackberries, violets and hidden spice characters all further enhance the natural elegance and tension of the fruit quality. The Struie will certainly age tremendously well over the next decade.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Torbreck's 2018 The Struie is a 75-25 blend of Barossa Valley and Eden Valley fruit. All Shiraz, aged 20 months in mainly used French oak (there's 15% new oak), it boasts an opulent, nearly creamy mouthfeel, ample weight and richness and a lingering, supple finish. Those structural elements all guide notes of camphor, grilled beef, plummy fruit, vanilla and cola easily across the full-bodied palate, making this a wine that's deceptively easy to drink, despite its concentration and complexity. It should drink well for 10-15 years.
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James Suckling
A blend of 75% Barossa Valley and 25% Eden Valley shiraz with 25% new French barriques. The nose has a striking sense of tarry and spicy elements, savory and spicy at once. There’s a very fresh, linear feel to the ripe, rich and concise palate. Vibrant tannins carry rich blackberry and raspberry flavors long and polished. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and concentrated up front, with complex and seamless notes of blueberry, huckleberry and wild blackberry, with details of cedar, violets, and white pepper. Finds plenty of harmony on the finish, with hints of mocha and supple, velvety tannins. Drink now through 2030. 300 cases imported.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is from a selection of fruit from across the Barossa and so has less site character than some of the single-vineyard wines, but that distinctive Torbreck signature of plush fruit, polished oak, plenty of alcohol and oodles of charm. Fistfuls of dried mint, oregano, bay leaf and crushed violets partner with blackberry, blueberry, baked clay and the toasty, chocolatey notes of high end barrels. On the tongue, it's rich and satiny, with a touch of alcohol heat and oak influence but it still shows lovely fruit that's all soft corners. Drink now–2028.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.