Torbreck Old Vines Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2021

Torbreck Old Vines Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre has notes of rich black cherries, red berries with hints of earthy, leathery and spices. It is elegantly styled with attractive and persistent fruity flavours accompanied by wonderful spicy notes. This bottle of GSM has a medium-full body with fresh and lively acidity. The texture is silky, with a long finish that ends with subtle leather and wood.

This red wine is a blend of 62% Grenache, 26% Shiraz, and 12% Mourvèdre that was hand-harvested from old vines, some as much as 100 years old, from the sub-regions of Marananga, Gomersal, and Ebenezer. As each parcel of grapes enters the winery, they were fermented in a combination of open top cement and wooden vats, as well as stainless steel tanks. It was aged in well-seasoned French oak hogsheads for 24 months. Each parcel was kept separate throughout the vinification process, until it was finally blended and bottled.

During the growing season in the Barossa Valley, a wet spring replenished sub-soil moisture, while a warm, dry Indian summer created perfect ripening conditions through to April 2017, resulting in an outstanding vintage that produced intense, well-structured reds. I had the opportunity to taste this 2017 back in January 2020 and am curious to see how it has evolved since then.