Wonderfully dense, with notes of toasted chestnut, bittersweet chocolate, spiced plum and fleshy black cherry, plus details of cardamom, tobacco and fresh-cracked black pepper. Delivers dense tannins that firm up on the finish but never get in the way of the flavors. Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro. Drink now. 5,000 cases made, 385 cases imported.??–MW??Region: Australia / Barossa / Barossa Valley Select to Add

The 2021 The Steading is incredibly sweet on the nose: summer raspberries, blood plums, black cherry, licorice, star anise, some cardamom and chewing tobacco. This offers insane value for money, at around $40AUD, but then, I feel like it has been that price for at least a decade, so it has been an insane value for a long time. This is reliable, delicious, complex, plush/generous and, through the lens of this lovely cool vintage, a superstar. The best yet.

Dense and succulent, showing bittersweet chocolate, plum, huckleberry, wild raspberry and black pepper, with a hint of plumeria providing a fragrant note on the long, generous finish. Reveals plump tannins, which have some traction on the finish. Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro. Drink now. 527 cases imported.??–MW??Region: Australia / Barossa / Barossa Valley Select to Add

The Steading is a mainstay in the Australian market—it has been loved for years for its consistency and reliability, and the 2020 The Steading here today shows us exactly what we want. This is ripe and full-bodied (15% alcohol), however as is usual for Torbreck, the wine is executed in a sophisticated and seamless manner. There are notes of campfire, singed eucalyptus, salted mulberry, blueberry compote, black cat licorice, pink peppercorns and dark cocoa. All kinds of good.

Dense, aromatic and complex, with kirsch, dried cherry, white pepper, black tea and olive tapenade. Details of fresh earth, cedar, tobacco and dried violet linger on the long finish, with a note of fresh cardamom. Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro. Drink now through 2037. 300 cases imported.??–MW??Region: Australia / Barossa / Barossa Valley Select to Add