Friday, July 11, 2008

Torbreck 2002 The Steading

Finally I had a wine from perhaps my favourite winery: Torbreck. The 2002 The Steading is a delicious drink right now. It is a Grenache/Shiraz/Mouvedre blend in the southern Rhone style with the Grenache component quite dominant (I am not sure what the percentages are). It is ideal to drink this wine with some age on it, because this accentuates its wonderful complexity.

I attended a tasting of some 36 components which go into The Steading a number of years ago, and it was amazing to see how none of the components reached the completeness of the final product: A real case of 1+1=3.

The wine now has an array of fruit characteristics with the sweetness of the Grenache finely balanced by savoury flavours on the back palate. It is full bodied, but not overwhelming. Fruit and tannins are in harmony resulting in an elegant drink.

2 comments:

Baz said...

I must say I love Torbreck too. I throughly enjoyed visiting them back in 07. What do you think the drinking window is for the 02 Steading? Does it have some time to go?

Alontin said...

I had the 01 during the last 12 months and the timing seems right at present.

The 02 will certainly go a few more years. Best maybe in a couple of years.