The 2005 Descendant is composed of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier which are co-fermented. The fruit is sourced from a relatively young vineyard in Marananga planted with 11-year-old cuttings from the Run Rig vineyards and aged for 18 months in 2.5-year-old French barrels previously used for Run Rig. Opaque purple, with glass-coating glycerin, it offers up a complex array of lavender, violets, blueberry, blackberry, and fresh road tar. Full-bodied, on the palate the wine has great concentration with a noticeable uplift from the Viognier, gobs of spicy black fruits, opulence, and well-concealed tannins which will carry this wine for 10-15 years of further evolution. Drink it through 2030. Torbreck, under the leadership of owner/winemaker David Powell, remains a Barossa Valley benchmark as well as one of the world’s greatest wine estates. The top cuvees are limited production and expensive but there are also some outstanding values in the portfolio. With regard to the current vintages for the Barossa red wines, David Powell states “? 2004 is more savory while 2005 has more purity and definition. 2004 is more classic, 2005 will take longer to come around.”Importer: Jon Elkins, The Australian Wine Connection, Carlsbad, CA; www.torbreck.com

Velvety, with floral and apricot notes adding their presence to the blackberry fruit, which echoes nicely on the finish. Shiraz and Viognier. Drink now through 2012. 1,000 cases made, 400 cases imported.??–HS??Region: Australia / Barossa / Barossa Valley Select to Add

Unlike most of the Torbreck wines, this is single-vineyard Shiraz, cofermented with a small proportion of Viognier, then aged in barrels previously used for RunRig. Hints of apricot and bacon fat impart beautiful nuance to the blackberry fruit. This is slightly firmer than Torbreck’s other reds, worth cellaring for five years or so, then drinking over the next 15.——J.C.(11/1/2007)—— 95