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Wine Description
The Story
RunRig is the flagship wine of the Australian Torbreck Vintners. Formed in 1994 in the historical hamlet of Marananga, Torbreck has quickly become one of the Barossa Valley’s leading wine producers. Since those first wines were released, they have attracted universal acclaim and are now highly prized by wine connoisseurs around the world. Still, Torbreck is a privately owned and operated company, following the philosophy, direction and passionate beliefs of the founder winemaker David Powell. Accordingly, this is more than just a story about producing fine wine; it also illustrates how a unique relationship between a region’s heritage and its old vineyards can be reinvigorated by one person’s vision and enthusiasm.
It was in the early 1990s that the idea of Torbreck began to take shape. Initially, David was saddened by the government-sponsored “vine pull”, but he was also convinced that a market existed for old Rhône styles. He set about approaching local landowners concerning their neglected properties. Nearly lifeless and overgrown, the old vines were nurtured back to health and Powell was rewarded with a few small parcels of dry grown fruit, which he turned into wine. Contracts were then negotiated for the use of the vineyards, and so the old practice of share farming returned to the Valley. This secured for Torbreck a regular supply from the best Barossa Shiraz, Grenache, and Mataro (Mourvedre) vineyards containing some of the oldest vines in the world.
As the fruits of the first vintages lay in barrel, Powell realised that the Valley may have overlooked the suitability of the French white Rhône varieties. Consequently in 1994, 30 acres of land in Marananga was purchased for the sole purpose of planting Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier and Shiraz, whilst other acquisitions included a 100-year-old vineyard that had previously been share farmed.
Wine Information
2001 RUNRIG
97% Shiraz & 3% Viognier
Vineyard: Marananga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, Greenock & Seppeltsfield
This Shiraz cuvee spends 30 months in 70% new French Oak
(Troncias-tight grain), and 3% Viognier (estate grown), fermented and aged for 6 months in barrel is added to the blend just prior to bottling.
RunRig – Torbreck
RunRig is the flagship wine of the Australian Torbreck Vintners. Formed in 1994 in the historical hamlet of Marananga, Torbreck has quickly become one of the Barossa Valley’s leading wine producers. Since those first wines were released, they have attracted universal acclaim and are now highly prized by wine connoisseurs from around the world. Yet, Torbreck is still a privately owned and operated company, following the philosophy, direction and the passionate beliefs of the Founder Winemaker David Powell. Accordingly, this is more than just a story about producing fine wine. For this also illustrates how a unique relationship between a region’s heritage and its old vineyards can be reinvigorated by one person’s vision and enthusiasm.
It was in the early 1990’s that the idea of ‘Torbreck’ started to take shape. Initially, David was saddened by the government sponsored ‘Vine Pull’, but he was also convinced a market existed for old vine Rhone styles and he set about approaching local landowners concerning their neglected properties. Nearly lifeless and overgrown, he nurtured these old vines back to health and was rewarded with a few small parcels of dry grown fruit, which he turned into wine. Contracts were then negotiated for the use of these vineyards, and so the old practice of share farming returned to the Valley. This secured for Torbreck a regular supply of the best Barossa Shiraz, Grenache, and Mataro (Mourvedre) vineyards containing some of the oldest vines in the world.
As the fruits of the first vintages lay in barrel, David realized that the Valley could have overlooked the suitability of the French white Rhone varieties. Consequently in 1994, 30 acres of land in Marananga was purchased for the sole purpose of planting, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier and Shiraz, whilst other acquisitions included a one hundred year old vineyard that had been previously share farmed.
In 1995, three tons of grapes were crushed in an old milling shed on Dave’s 12-hectare Marananga property and fermented into the first vintage of “Torbreck”. David named the winery after a forest in Scotland where he had once worked as a woodcutter.
By the end of 1999, Torbreck had access to more than 250 acres of prime vineyard in the Barossa Valley.
The full range of Torbreck wines are both expressions of the Barossa finest and oldest vines and the Rhone orientated philosophy that has so captivated David Powell. The gentle handling and crafting of the wines in the cellar and the intensely rich flavors that emanate from these dry grown Barossa old vines are the hallmarks for which Torbreck has become known.
David’s philosophy is the culmination of his experiences and the belief that “by sourcing great quality fruit, you encapsulate the character of the vine”. This philosophy forms the backbone of Torbreck’s non-interventionist winemaking style, where the goal is to keep the wine clean and balanced between rich, ripe fruit and a subtle, harmonious use of oak.
Torbreck wines respect the soil, the old vines, the climate and the heritage of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The majority of our vines are between 50 – 125 years old, with our oldest vineyards between 140-153 years old.
Vintage 1999
Australia Vintage Report:1999 also had a dry winter in Australia, with average temperatures for all months. However, there were a considerable amount of drizzly days at harvest time, causing some headaches with varieties susceptible to Botrytis cluster rot, ie. Grenache. It cleared up and the wines produced were all closed and slightly below average intensity. They look better and better.
