Torbreck Vintners was founded by David Powell in 1994. The roots go back to 1992 when David, who was then working at Rockford, began to discover and clean up a few sections of dry-grown old vines. Near lifeless, he nurtured them back to health and was rewarded with small parcels of fruit that he made into wine. David was able to secure a contract for the supply of grapes from a run-down but ancient Shiraz vineyard. He managed to raise enough money to share-farm the vineyard, a practice which involves paying the owner a percentage of the market rate for his grapes in return for totally managing the vineyard. This share-farming principle has enabled Torbreck to use fruit from the very best vineyards in the Barossa Valley, which is home to some of the most precious old vines in the world.
In 1995 David crushed three tonnes of grapes and fermented them into wine in a shed on his 12-hectare Marananga property. He named his wine 'Torbreck' after a forest in Scotland where he worked as a lumberjack. The Torbreck endeavour is based around the classic Barossa Valley varietals of Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro, and a love for the wines of France's Rhone Valley. Torbreck doesn't only make red wines though, we have Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne planted on our winery block which we have blended to make a white wine. In July 2002 the historic Hillside property was acquired by Torbreck. Situated in Lyndoch, it is one of the original Barossa properties. Vast and picturesque it contains some magnificent old and ancient vineyards that will further our source of premium quality fruit. The Hillside property contains a wonderful native ecosystem that supports a myriad of flora and fauna. Plans are underway to restore Hillside to it's former glory and create wines to reflect the history and significance of this grand old property. In June 2003 at the finish of vintage, we opened our cellar-door for sales. An original settlers hut, it has been lovingly restored and provides a personal touch and some Barossa warmth whilst you taste our wines. It is open daily and we welcome any visits. A new winery and administration facility was completed in 2008 on land acquired from a next door neighbour. This enables our grapes to be made into wine using the best available equipment and then bottled 'on the estate' using our own bottling line. We now have complete control of all aspects of production that sees a new benchmark of wine quality established by us in the Barossa Valley. In 2008 Torbreck Vintners was acquired by Pete Kight. Pete has wine interests in both the U.S. and Australia and is committed to ensuring the ongoing excellence of Torbreck wines. He truly believes that our best wines are yet to come.
“This wine reflects the up and coming Shiraz vineyards of the Barossa, rather than the battle hardened old vines that make up the core of
Wine Advocate 100 " Deep garnet-black with a hint of purple to the color, the 2010 RunRig taunts at first with a slightly closed nose before
Wine Spectator 91 "Juicy, with maple syrup–scented wild blackberry and currant flavors that are effusive and generous. Pepper, rosemary and black tea notes lead to a firming
Wine Spectator 93 "A beautiful expression of shiraz from Barossa with a freshness and linear length to it. Medium to full body, fine and intense. Spice
"Equally as enjoyable as an aperitif as it is with dessert, the 2011 Bothie displays beautifully fragrant aromas of fresh pine/lime, melon and lychee accompanied
Wine Advocate 91 "The 2011 Woodcutters Shiraz doesn’t miss a beat in this difficult vintage. Deep garnet-purple colored, it is scented of cassis, black plums
Robert Parker 90 "A noteworthy buy is the 2004 Juveniles, which represents Torbrecks version of a Barossa Valley Cotes du Rhone on steroids. A 6,000-case, tank-fermented
"The 2006 Steading is composed from the traditional Barossa cultivars of Grenache, Shiraz & Mataro. It has long been David Powell's favourite wine within the
Robert Parker 96 "The 2003 The Factor (100% Shiraz aged 24 months in old French oak) is a riveting effort that displays the exquisite talent of
Robert Parker 98 "The 2004 Descendant, an old oak-aged blend of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier from a 12-year old vineyard, offers up notes of blackberries,
Robert Parker 98 "The brilliant 2004 Les Amis (100% Grenache aged 18 months in new oak) is fashioned from a vineyard planted in 1903. While it
Robert Parker 93 "The 2003 The Struie is a 4,000-case blend of cooler climate, high altitude Eden Valley fruit combined with small amounts of Barossa grapes.
Robert Parker 99+ "The flagship 2004 Run Rig is 96.5% Shiraz and 3.5% Viognier with the Shiraz component aged for 30 months in a mixture of
Robert Parker 90 "Readers looking for a delicious, crisp, honeyed, elegant, complex dry white need search no further than the 2005 Semillon Woodcutters. There are 3,000
Robert Parker 90 "Deep garnet purple-colored, the 2009 Woodcutter's Shiraz is intensely scented of ripe cherry, kirsch and blackberry preserve with some floral notes and nuances
Robert Parker 96 "The 2004 The Struie is 100% Shiraz from 40-60-year old and 120-year old vineyards. Half of the fruit is from the Eden Valley
Robert Parker 89 "The 2005 The Bothie, while drier and less viscous than its French counterpart, offers a pleasant floral and honeysuckle perfume, light to medium-bodied
Robert Parker 94 "The 2005 The Struie was sourced from cooler Eden Valley and Barossa Valley hillside vineyards. It is David Powells attempt to showcase the
Robert Parker 98 "The 2003 Les Amis is a 300-case cuvee of 100% Grenache from a vineyard planted in 1901. I have had a lot of
Robert Parker 97 "The 2005 The Factor is 100% Shiraz sourced from dry grown vines from six sub-regions of Barossa. It spent 24 months in 30%
Wine Advocate 91 "Very deep purple-black colored, the 2010 Woodcutters Shiraz is a little reduced to begin, giving way to youthful aromas of black fruits, blueberry
Vinous Media 91 "Glass-staining ruby. Smoke-accented blackberry and cassis aromas are complicated by notes of licorice and star anise. Lush, dense and quite primary, with very
James Halliday 94 "A blend of grenache, shiraz and mataro that has greater weight and complexity than the colour would suggest, even to the extent
Wine Spectator 90 "Peppery, meaty aromas weave through the generous, open-textured cherry and guava flavors, lingering quietly on the velvety finish. Gains momentum with each sip.
