Winery & Vintage Info
The Highland clans used a “RunRig” system to distribute land amongst their clansmen in a series of widely dispersed holdings. The emphasis not on any one farm, but rather the communal element of the whole. Shiraz from old dry grown vineyards is blended with Viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, whilst giving the resulting wine a further dimension. The RunRig has often drawn comparison with the beautifully fragrant & tautly structured wines produced from the steep slopes of the Northern Rhône Valley’s Appellation of Côte Rôtie.
With Torbreck's decision not to release any of their top cuvées from the 2011 vintage, the 2012 release becomes the highly anticipated follow up to 2010 RunRig.
2012 will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest vintages the Barossa Valley has ever experienced. The Vintage is ‘dirt driven’ in that there was no serious weather event that pulled the flavour profiles of the wines either way.
The cool weather conditions and resulting slow ripening period allowed them to pick each vineyard at simply perfect aromatic ripeness. These lifted aromatics are released as soon as the wine is opened with layers of raspberries, apricots and crème de cassis cloaking subtle hints of black olive and cherry. A dark, rich and silky palate with deep red cherry fruits, clove, lavender & liquorice all interwoven with hints of sweet spice and cinnamon. The layers and diverse fruit characters continue to evolve in the glass with plum, hints of almond, earth, blackberry and pepper all becoming more apparent as the wine evolves in the glass. A complete assemblage with highly expressive fruit, fragrant aromatics, imposing length and impeccable balance.
Each of the six parcels of fruit were gently de-stemmed into both wooden & concrete open top fermenters where they were carefully nurtured for 6-7 days on skins. After basket pressing the wine was run directly into both new (50%) and 2nd and 3rd fill French barriques to complete natural malo. The wine was then racked after six months, but left on fine lees throughout maturation to enhance texture. After 30 months the Shiraz components were blended into tank and a bench trial was conducted to determine the final percentage of Viognier. Winemaker Notes
