2019 Torbreck 'Runrig' Shiraz

Blackberry, blueberry and some spice aromas here. Sandalwood and cedar. Full-bodied with ultra-fine tannins that spread across the palate and show superb depth of concentration. Yet it’s agile and light-footed. Goes on for minutes. Tight still with illustrious depth and power. 30 months in French oak barrels. 50% new.

The... how to describe this... it's like a kaleidoscopic vortex of midnight flavor (dark, dense, brooding and spicy), swirling tannins and endlessly plush length. The Viognier in this 2019 RunRig has been absorbed somehow, compressed by the warm, low-yielding vintage that birthed it. It has been pushed down into the reaches of the Shiraz, which is a very good thing, as its propensity for slinky-like bounce and spiral needs some limiting. This is insanely complex yet also balanced. Cherry oak frames the wines from all sides, but like the gravity pull on the earth from the sun, the oak is drawn inexorably inward. Pretty impressive, but this wine always is. A beast unto itself, wines like this have few peers.