Fraser McKinley

9.5

This is an exceptional inaugural release from Callum Powell and his Agricola label. It’s pure and bright with ample flesh and some beautiful Flaxmanns Valley concentration. Merv Steinert’s old vines made up the core of Rockford’s SVS Flaxmann in the day and they have a happy home here - 2018 — 6 years ago

Kenneth Kramme

9.1

Tasty citrusy Chardonnay from Canada— bought in a small boutique shop in Ebisu, Tokyo, from a Canadian wrapped in a blanket to keep warm. With my son-in-law, James Powell, where we listened to his passion and knowledge of Canadian wines. — 7 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

9.1

I have always appreciated this vineyard, so followed suit. Nice Strawberry/cherry with hints of vanilla. — 7 years ago

Bill Bishop

9.3

I helped to make this wine withe Melissa Moravec & Francis Mahoney. The Wine Spectator gave this wine 92 points in 1988. Still 92 points as far as I am concerned. Middle of pack of the six 1986 PN. Not my last bottle. YEAH!!!! — 9 years ago

Thiago Lins

9.5

Thanks Martha! — 9 years ago

with Anne

Isaac Pirolo

8.9

In 1972 the Mahoney's built the first new winery in Carneros post prohibition. Since 2002, Ken Foster has been the winemaker, and previously spent 15 years at David Bruce. Black cherry, smoke, tea, and citrus, with some secondary earth and spice. A lightweight style that craves food. — 9 years ago

Rashed Chowdhury

9.2

Lots of blueberry from the beginning to the end. Shiraz from Barossa valley in Australia. From the wine bible, "Torbreck (named after a forest in Scotland) was founded by the indomitable, insatiable David Powell, a man who seems like he could stare down the end of a gun barrel... and chuckle." Bough it from Woodbury Cellars @50% off. — 9 years ago

Heather D.

9.5

Great natural sour mix. — 10 years ago

Sean Lyons

9.2

Absolutely what you want from an Aussie Shiraz. Huge fruit right up front and on the long finish - blackberries, currants, cherries, lemon curd. Some nice oaky notes in the middle. A little on the flabby side, but that comes with the territory. Drinkable now with decanting, might be better in a year or so, but not much longer. — 6 years ago

Jason and Jennie

9.1

Vermentino. Citrus, lemon. Definitely has more medium body (maybe influenced by stone fruit notes) with medium acid (want more actually). Good minerality. Easy drinking. — 7 years ago

Gene Super

9.0

It’s as if 2 daddies - bourbon and rum - had a baby. Delicious! @Ryan Powell : good candidate for your list! — 8 years ago

Josh Luhn

Luhn Wine Consulting Owner, Luhn Family Wines

9.1

So good, bracing acidity. Chard, Pinot Gris, Riesling, & Sauvignon Blanc. — 9 years ago

Kirk F

8.9

Great find by Mr Mahoney. Awaiting our meal but the wine is a pleasant departure from all the Bordeaux consumed this week. — 9 years ago

with Michael, Mike and 2 others

Monro Wine

9.6

David Powell got this one to sing outstanding all the power and the glory 🍷🍷🍷🏆 — 9 years ago

Rolando Inzunza

9.2

2013 deliciousness. Shows a significant touch of type fruit. Powell and complex. Notes of roasted coffee, cocoa, and chocolate. Full and rich with a very long finish. — 10 years ago

Erica Gamble

9.1

Full bodied, fruity, smooth. Changed significantly as it breathed. Good. — 6 years ago

Shuhui Ng

9.3

Dense , spicy and fragrant to the nose. — 7 years ago

Michael Burke

9.3

@Brian Powell can you pick this up? — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

On the nose, boysenberries, olallieberries, blueberries, blackberries, baking spices, dry powdery soils, dry stems, bramble and bright, fresh, fragrant purple florals. The palate is warm, lush, round and elegant. Tannins 65% resolved. It's still fairly big and very fresh. Palate fruits are; boysenberries, olallieberries, blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries and raspberries haunting the background. Lifting warm spices, black pepper, black licorice, vanilla, clove, nutmeg, dry crushed rocks, volcanic minerals with liqueur notes settling in at the mid point to the long finish. Dry stones, dry straw, tarry notes, violets, purple florals and palate raining acidity. The finish is long with good balance of fruit & earth. There's still nice tension, length and structure. The 05 still has another 7-10 years of good drinking ahead. As great as it was to be at the property tasting their new releases, it's a pleasure to enjoy one of their well aged wines back in the states. Photos of; the view from the new estate (love that red Barossa soil), tasting bar, Andrew Tierney, Torbreck International Sales Ambassador who hosted our visit(left) and Owner, David Powell (right). Producer history and notes...Torbreck Vintners was founded by David Powell in 1994. Before founding Torbreck, he worked for Robert O'Callaghan at Rockford Wines in the Barossa Valley. Rockford is an historic old winery and they love old historic wine relics...all you have to do is walk the property. In trying to start his own label, David lacked the funds to buy grapes outright. So, David began to share-farm a vineyard, a practice which involves working without pay until the grapes are sold, at which time the owner is paid a percentage of the market rate for his grapes and the share-farmer keeps the grapes for their own use. The share-farming principle or as we call it, sweat equity. This enabled Torbreck to obtain fruit from the very best vineyards in the Barossa Valley, while giving David Powell experience working in the vineyard and winery. In 1995 Powell crushed and fermented his grapes in a shed on his 12-hectare Marananga property; which continues to be home to the winery. The winery was named "Torbreck" after the forest in Scotland where Powell worked as a lumberjack. The first wine made under the Torbreck label was the 1995 RunRig. When it was released in 1997, Parker gave it a score of 95; which went a long way in launching Torbreck Vintners. Lisa, now Managing Editor at Robertparker.com raised that score to 98 in 2010. In late 2002, Torbreck was placed into receivership due to financial pressures on Powell from a divorce settlement. Torbreck was purchased by Australian businessman Jack Cowin for 6.5 million Australian dollars with Powell retained as winemaker and managing director. In 2008 Powell reacquired the estate in partnership with Peter Kight, the owner of Quivira Winery in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley in California. Torbreck produces around 70,000 cases of wine per year, depending on vintage conditions. 6.5 million Australian dollars is not a lot of money in today's environment...actually quite a deal. They had just completed their new facilities as shown in the photos two weeks prior to our visit in April. If you haven't had their wines, their lower price wines are very good at great values. Torbreck makes everything up to their high end RunRig at $300 plus a bottle with lots of quality wines in between that are really quite good and value priced vs. the rest of international market. — 8 years ago

jim stroud

9.0

Surprisingly awesome. Dark, deep with spicy pop. Highly recommended. 9.0. — 9 years ago