Color already deepening to a warm gold; nose is incredibly rich; essence of Pinot Gris with lashings of cream. The wine itself is creamy, immensely sweet, with a caramelised raisin note that reminds me a bit of Tokaj. It is unbelievably deep. However, I would drink it in the near term. It seems to lack the acidity to age well. 10.5% alc.

great wine! powerful, long finish, great fruit

delicious, must buy more

Torbreck gets my vote hands down as the best Australian winery. Even Torbreck?s cheap red and white blends, Woodcutter?s Red and White, are excellent wines. The Run Rig is Torbreck?s flagship bottling. Composed of 97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier, this wine was raised for 18 months in French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. In past tastings, I have been tempted to bestow a three digit score. During this tasting, the Run Rig had lost some of its more exotic aromatics. Hopefully with time they will reemerge. Opaque black cherry red. Power coupled with immaculate elegance. Penetrating and focused stone, violets, plum, anise aromas are discernable in the wine?s ever changing nose. Not quite as flamboyant as past bottles, nevertheless the wine remains gorgeous on the palate with persistent flavor and length. A brute with gossamer elegance.

Torbreck?s top of the line Shiraz, RunRig, consistently vies for Shiraz of the vintage - the 1998 RunRig remains a reference point Barossa Valley Shiraz. The 2002 is 97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier and was raised for the most part in new French oak. The wine comes from a number of different vineyards (Descendant, Moppa, Philippou, Powell, Schulz) some of which are up to 140 years old. The 2002 is less flamboyant and aromatically complex than prior RunRigs but it is phenomenally concentrated and destined for greatness with cellaring. Completely opaque with a black purple hue and thick deeply colored slow moving legs. Brooding aromas of plum, earth, smoke, black licorice, and a whiff of pepper and vanilla. Formidable length and substantial depth of fruit. Plenty of acids coupled with surprisingly moderate tannins. The wine did not begin to budge until after it had been open for six hours. More impressive than fun to drink at present.

The first time in my life I would give 100 points to a wine. Simply amazing! I only wish I had 2 or 3 (dozen) more to taste over time. wow!

Decanted for 3 hours. Beautiful nose of deep black cherries, fudge, and eggnog (?). Body was perfectly balanced -- deep dark fruits, flowers, with a hint of tar and wave after wave of flavors. Finish was lush and lasted over 60+ seconds. This wine was hitting on all cylinders tonight.

We tasted this lovely wine at the vineyard in the Barossa Valley. Torbreck was one of our favorite vineyards--Tetsuya from Sydney (our favorite restaurant) highly recommended this vineyard. This was my favorite of their entire porfolio! It's 100% Shiraz and it was easy finding Shirazes that we fell in love with--this was one of them. It was elegant, silky with notes of blueberry and a little mocha. Simply an excellent wine. They recomend aging this between 8-10 years. It will surely be a treat!

The '81 Unico Gran Reserva is amazing! I love the complexity of the bouquet and elegance of the fruit as the flavors linger on the palate. The wine has long finish and beguiling character that draws you back for more. On the nose, I enjoyed the intensity of aromas including pencil lead, iron, tobacco, smoke, and spice. On the palate I relished flavors of black currant, cherry, and espresso. There is a gripping backbone of acidity which I really enjoy and believe will help the wine as it continues to age. This is a real treat. Visit my website: About me

Wonderful. Incredible. Did not decant.

Beautiful aromas of black fruit, smoke, tar, and cassis explode from the glass. Beautifully balanced with perfectly ripe fruit matched against sweet tannins. Everything about this wine was perfectly balanced tonight. Simply divine! WOTY for all of us.

Tasted in 2007 a 1998 Numanthia at John Phillips house. The experience was almost undescribable. Just about the most impressive wine I had tasted up to then and still is today

This is one of the top-5 wines I've ever tasted. Period. Despite being close to 29 years old, the color has maintained a dark garnet core. There is some lovely bricking around the edges, but it still has a fresh sheen to it and the orange is in no way dull or washed out. The nose has that intangible quality of the great wines of the world, swirling and heady in an manner eluding description. It further exhibits that fascinating multi-tiered nose I find in wines of this quality, with layer-upon-layer of aroma wafting from the glass and beckoning you toward it. This is the kind of wine that, after tasting, can cause you severe financial ruin. What I can pull out of the swirling scents are as follows - pencil lead, fine Belgian milk chocolate, dark and freshly-turned dusty loam (its like taking 'Rutherford dust' and "turning it up to 11"), lightly smoked and caramelized pancetta, baked pomegranate, seasoned cast iron, and sweet paprika. Smelling this wine literally makes me want to start crying. On the medium-bodied palate, there is a striking seam of acidity and perfectly integrated tannins. The flowers and fresh cedar in this wine are so intense I feel like I just walked into a Monet painting and then opened the most finely crafted cedar cigar box in the world and stuck my head inside. In a word - Awesome.

1 of 1 people found this useful

Phenomenal. Gorgeous front to back with a dry finish. Outside of the Montebello, this is the nicest Ridge we have ever tasted.