Torbreck The Struie Shiraz 2021

Torbreck is a Barossa Valley estate founded by David Powell, who named this wine The Struie after the hills of north-west Scotland where he once worked as a lumberjack. The Struie blends Shiraz from the warm Barossa floor with fruit from the higher, cooler Eden Valley, a combination that marries power with freshness. The Barossa has a warm continental climate with hot days and cool nights, and its old vines and clay-loam and ironstone soils yield deeply concentrated fruit, while Eden Valley's altitude adds acidity and lift. Full ripening accounts for the 15 percent alcohol. The wine is aged for 20 months in French oak barrels, where extended oxygen exchange softens the tannin and layers in vanilla, smoke and spice, while malolactic fermentation builds a fuller texture. The colour is dense purple-red. The nose is ripe and deep, with dark plum, black cherry and pepper over cocoa, smoke and vanilla. The palate is full bodied and warm, with velvety tannin, a chocolate and liquorice richness and a long finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted. It calls for roasted and braised red meat.