Torbreck The Run Rig Shiraz 2003 750mL

The Viognier component makes a serious statement, adding an unusual apricot quality to the blueberry, plum and spice flavors. Has a chewy texture, but also a sense of refinement and completeness. Offers shades of nutmeg and pepper as the firm finish rolls on impressively. Shiraz and Viognier.

- WS, Harvey Steiman Issue: Oct 15 2006

The estate's flagship cuvee is the virtually perfect 2003 Run Rig. Made from 8 separate Barossa vineyards (ranging in age from 94 to 158 years), it is primarily Shiraz with 4-5% co-fermented Viognier included in the blend. The wine was aged in French oak of which 60% is new. The sensational, inky/purple-tinged 2003 exhibits a stunningly sweet nose of blackberries, blueberries, litchi nuts, smoked meats, and a hint of apricots. Elegant yet super-powerful, rich, concentrated, and long, it is a tour de force in winemaking as well as a modern classic example of Barossa Shiraz.

- WA, Robert Parker Jnr. Issue: #167

Inky violet. Explosively aromatic nose offers the full range of red and black fruits, along with notes of candied violet, cinnamon, mace, star anise and exotic tobacco. Hugely concentrated and velvety but also remarkably precise and energetic, with very pure flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, plum preserve and kirsch Ripe, explosive and deep on the back; as rich and sweet as this is, it's not at all thick or cloying. A real balancing act of power and purity. The tannins are completely buffered by the wine's sheer concentration of fruit. I'd give this at least five years of cellaring to gain in complexity. As impressive to my palate as the superb 2002 version.

- IWC, Josh Raynolds Issue: Aug 1 2006

Deep colour and hue; highly fragrant, spiced blackberry aromas; the intensity of flavour hits the mouth like a gale, the inbuilt tannins neither hard nor dry. Controlled oak. The '04 should be celestial.

- AWC, James Halliday Issue: Feb 2006