Alcohol: 15%
Grape(s): Shiraz
Localization: Barossa Valley, Barossa, South Australia, Australia
Tasting Notes: The Factor is predominantly from the Gomersal and Marananga sub-regions of the Barossa. Very expressive with lifted black fruits such as satsuma plum, blackberry, compote, vanilla bean dark cocoa, and maraschino liqueur. Complex, luxuriously dense, and alluring. The wine’s voluptuous texture envelops the mouth with soft yet dense tannins and mouth-filling viscosity. The flavors linger and the cleansing acidity polishes the palate's gorgeous length and depth. Oak maturation is harmonious and well integrated adding to complexity on release.
96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: This is quintessential Barossa. The red dirt in the ground rises up in the glass and transports me right back there: middle summer, hot, spicy air blowing across the tops of old vines. It's evocative. This 2019 The Factor is Port-y, concentrated and savory as all hell, with charred barrels, lamb fat, black pepper, salted licorice, pomegranate molasses and aniseed. This is about as big as I can cope with and still enjoy it; it takes density and intensity to a whole new level—no surprise for the vintage, the region and the producer. A perfect storm of thunderous strength. Like staring into the abyss . . . a little bit scary, but transfixing nonetheless.
Food Pairing: Best decanted and paired with rich winter dishes from most cuisines.
The Domain: Torbreck, founded in 1994 by David Powell, is situated at Marananga on the western ridge of the Barossa. Since that time he has produced some of the world's finest 'Rhone varietal' wines, exclusively from Barossa fruit; this has been acknowledged by the wine press in Europe, America, and Australia. The overwhelming majority of his vines are dry-grown, nearly all are 80 - 125 years old and are tended and harvested by hand.
The wines have an extraordinary combination of power, intensity, complexity, and great finesse, and bearing in mind the age of the vines and the laughably low yields, no Torbreck wine could ever be accused of being heavy, cloying, or over-extracted.
