Winemaker Notes
This wine reflects the up and coming Shiraz vineyards of the Barossa, rather than the battle hardened old vines which make up the core of their other cuvee’s. Full of freshness and bright youthful fruits, the 2017 vintage brings elegance and class to the wines. Aromatic blackberries and raspberries with freshness and balance, the wine has a round central core of red fruit that gives way to a complex mid-palate full of cassis, dark cherry, spice, and vanilla. While offering immense pleasure in its youth, the 2017 Woodcutter’s Shiraz will certainly develop into an impressive wine with a few more years in the cellar. A fantastic introduction to the Torbreck range.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Loads of brambleberries and dried elderberries are framed against dried meat, bark, vanilla, mocha and dark chocolate. Plush yet energetic on the palate, this weaves round, chewy and decadent tannins and runs them through a luxurious tapestry of dark fruit. Drink now or hold. Screw cap.
-
Wine Spectator
Aromatic and stylish, opening with violet, white pepper and subtle sweet cream notes. The core gushes with huckleberry and wild blueberry flavors, revealing shades of rosemary and apricot. Supple and smooth, with tannins hanging in the background, providing appealing traction. The finish sails on and on. Drink now through 2035.
-
Tasting Panel
This wine is blueberry-raspberry heaven: lightly peppered, juicy, and user-friendly spicy.
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.