The 2002 Run Rig (97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier aged in 100% new French oak) represents the essence of old vine Barossa fruit. Extraordinarily opulent and rich, but playing it closer to the vest than the 2001, it gets my nod as one of the most remarkable wines made in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. An inky/purple color is accompanied by a sumptuous bouquet of apricots, honeysuckle, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice, and a hint of roasted meats. The wood has been soaked up by the wine’s extraordinary concentration. Fashioned from four sectors of Barossa (Maranaga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock), it spent 30 months in primarily new oak, and was bottled without fining or filtration. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020+. David Powell, unquestionably one of the world’s finest wine producers, has an uncanny ability to discover old vine Barossa vineyards, and then secure long term contracts for their fruit. It is amazing that such high quality sources have not already been plucked by Australia’s giant wine corporations. Torbreck’s wines continue to get better and better, combining the old vine ripe fruit of Barossa with a European sensitivity to elegance and balance. The finest wines in this portfolio are pricy, but David Powell delivers some remarkable reds and whites at prices that are more than fair for the quality in the bottle. Importer: Deborah Gray, The Australian Wine Connection, Carlsbad, CA; tel. (760) 438-5714

(includes 3% viognier) Saturated, inky, opaque ruby. A ripe, roasted, porty black hole of a nose. Impossibly ripe, musky, dense aromas of dark cherry, cassis compote, blackberry confit, molasses, fruitcake, violet pastille, licorice and candied rose petal. Thick to the point of being a solid, or at least a colloid, with dense, inky, even resinous flavors of bitter chocolate, creme de mure, coffee liqueur, licorice and black cardamom, accompanied by a spice rack of accents. The finish seems to never let go, which in this case is a good thing. Sticky, palate-staining and amazingly dense, a monument to this style of syrah.(The 2002 Descendant, reviewed in Issue 115, rated 91 points on my most recent tasting.)

This lauded wine is made from Shiraz vines of between 100 and 156 years old, apparently, and contains 3 per cent Viognier, right from the pioneering first vintage 1995 . You can certainly smell the Viognier on the nose. The wine is incredibly full, rich and sweet with a sensation of wild purple fruit flavours and more than a hint of elderberries. Subtle it ain't, and it's still disjointed on the palate but it's amazingly persistent and vibrant. I can quite see why it has such a devoted following – and an incredibly wide distribution at around $200 a bottle. (JR)