Not surprisingly, the 2003 Shiraz Reserve possesses off-the-charts richness as well as an intoxicatingly complex, multidimensional bouquet of smoke, licorice, blackberries, cassis, vanilla, and incense. A huge, sweet, rich, concentrated attack becomes even more impressive with laser-like precision to its full-bodied, super-concentrated style. Boasting good acidity, ripe tannin, and a layered mouthfeel, this stunning Shiraz is the finest I have ever tasted from the Langhorne Creek sector of South Australia. It should drink well for two decades.
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com September 2007 $US215
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #161 Oct 2005

                Noon Winery Reserve 2005
                Shiraz Langhorne Creek RP99
1360        1 bottle
1361        1 bottle
1362        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 75-110

The 2005 Shiraz Reserve was sourced from a 45-year-old vineyard and aged for 18 months in American and French oak of various sizes. A saturated purple color, it presents an array of otherworldly scents including smoke, mineral, meat, game, bacon, and blueberry. Thick, rich, and voluptuous, this mouth-filling, full-bodied Shiraz is about as hedonistic as it gets. Although the wine is seamless, there is some tannin lurking under all the fruit which will permit 8-10 years of cellaring for those able to delay gratification. The finish is amazingly long and pure, seeming to never end. As usual, the Noon wines are benchmarks against which all others must be compared.

Noon Winery is owned and operated by Drew and Rae Noon. It continues to be one of Australia’s benchmarks.
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com November 2010 $US$75 (75)
Wine Advocate # 173 Oct 2007

                Noon Winery Reserve 2006
                Shiraz Langhorne Creek RP99
1363        1 bottle
1364        1 bottle
1365        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 100-130 

The 2006 Reserve Shiraz was sourced from a 45-year-old vineyard and aged for 18 months in small and large French and American oak. Opaque purple/black in color, it gives up a lavish perfume of smoke, mineral, game, bacon, and blueberry that leaps from the glass. Thick, opulent, and intense, it coats the mouth with savory fruit, spices, and a hint of chocolate. Seamless on the palate, it nevertheless conceals enough structure to evolve for a decade for those able to resist its immediate come-on. It should be at its best from 2012 to 2030. Noon, under the leadership of Drew Noon MW, remains one of Australia-s iconic wineries. As usual, Drew Noon sets the bar for South Australia.
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com April 2009 $US100 160
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #181 Feb 2009

                Penfolds Grange 2004
                Shiraz South Australia RP99
1918        1 bottle from an unopened case
1919        1 bottle from an unopened case
1920        1 bottle from an unopened case
1921        1 bottle from an unopened case
1922        1 bottle from an unopened case
1923        1 bottle from an unopened case
1924        1 bottle from an unopened case
1925        1 bottle from an unopened case
1926        1 bottle from an unopened case
1927        1 bottle from an unopened case
1928        1 bottle from an unopened case
1929        1 bottle from an unopened case
1930        1 bottle
1931        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 420-460

The 2004 vintage was outstanding in Barossa, McLaren Vale, and Magill, the regions where the grapes were sourced for the marvelous 2004 Grange. It contains 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and was aged for 16 months in 100% new American oak hogsheads. A glass-coating opaque purple color, it displays a superb nose of wood smoke, Asian spices, incense, game, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. Medium to full-bodied, satin textured, with deeply layered, succulent blackberry, plum, and chocolate flavors, it has the structure and complexity to merit extended cellaring of a decade and more. The winery estimates a drinking curve of 2016 to 2050; I-d be a bit more conservative on the long end of the range. It will ultimately be seen as one of the great vintages of Grange.
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com June 2010 $US328-600
Wine Advocate #186 October 2009

                Three Rivers as Chris Ringland 1995
                Shiraz Barossa Valley RP99
2380        1 bottle   Into neck & capsule damage  per bottle 450-550 

Since there are just under 50 cases of this wine for the world, the tasting notes are short as they are primarily of academic interest. One-hundred-year old vines, cropped at one ton of fruit per acre produced a virtually perfect wine of splendid concentration, symmetry, and length (nearly a minute). An opaque black/purple color is followed by staggering aromas of black fruits, truffles, sweet earth, and wood. With amazing viscosity, density, and concentration that transcend any Shiraz I have ever tasted, this monumental wine represents an extraordinary achievement. Its low acidity and phenomenal richness should offer early accessibility, but it promises to evolve for two decades or more. This may be the greatest Shiraz produced in Australia.

P.S. A bottle left open for four days had no traces of fruit loss or oxidation.
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com May 2008 $US799
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #127 February 2000

                Torbreck Run Rig 2002
                Shiraz Barossa Valley RP99
2407        1 bottle
2408        1 bottle
2409        1 bottle
2410        1 bottle
2411        1 bottle
2412        1 bottle
2413        1 bottle
2414        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 170-230

The 2002 Run Rig (97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier aged in 100% new French oak) represents the essence of old vine Barossa fruit. Extraordinarily opulent and rich, but playing it closer to the vest than the 2001, it gets my nod as one of the most remarkable wines made in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. An inky/purple color is accompanied by a sumptuous bouquet of apricots, honeysuckle, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice, and a hint of roasted meats. The wood has been soaked up by the wine’s extraordinary concentration. Fashioned from four sectors of Barossa (Maranaga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock), it spent 30 months in primarily new oak, and was bottled without fining or filtration. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020+. David Powell, unquestionably one of the world’s finest wine producers, has an uncanny ability to discover old vine Barossa vineyards, and then secure long term contracts for their fruit. It is amazing that such high quality sources have not already been plucked by Australia’s giant wine corporations. Torbreck’s wines continue to get better and better, combining the old vine ripe fruit of Barossa with a European sensitivity to elegance and balance. The finest wines in this portfolio are pricy, but David Powell delivers some remarkable reds and whites at prices that are more than fair for the quality in the bottle
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US160-350
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #161 Oct 2005

                Torbreck Run Rig 2003
                Shiraz Barossa Valley RP99
2415        1 bottle
2416        1 bottle
2417        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 190-250

The estate’s flagship cuvee is the virtually perfect 2003 Run Rig. Made from 8 separate Barossa vineyards (ranging in age from 94 to 158 years), it is primarily Shiraz with 4-5% co-fermented Viognier included in the blend. The wine was aged in French oak of which 60% is new. The sensational, inky/purple-tinged 2003 exhibits a stunningly sweet nose of blackberries, blueberries, litchi nuts, smoked meats, and a hint of apricots. Elegant yet super-powerful, rich, concentrated, and long, it is a tour de force in winemaking as well as a modern classic example of Barossa Shiraz. It should drink well for 20-25 years
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US170-292
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #167 Oct 2006 

                Torbreck Run Rig 2004
                Shiraz Barossa Valley RP99+
2418        1 bottle
2419        1 bottle
2420        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 160-210

The flagship 2004 Run Rig is 96.5% Shiraz and 3.5% Viognier with the Shiraz component aged for 30 months in a mixture of new and used French oak. Yields were a minuscule 14 hl/ha (about 1 ton per acre). Saturated opaque purple/black, it has a remarkably kinky, exotic perfume of fresh asphalt, pencil lead, smoke, pepper, game, blueberry and black raspberry. Full-bodied and voluptuous in the mouth, the wine is dense and packed, with amazing purity, sweet tannins, and a complex collection of sensory stimuli. The wine demands 10 years of cellaring and will provide hedonistic delights through 2035+.
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.”
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com September 2011 $US155-300
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #173 Oct 2007

                Torbreck The Factor 2002
                Shiraz Barossa Valley RP99
2421        1 bottle
2422        1 bottle
2423        1 bottle
2424        1 bottle
2425        1 bottle
2426        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 75-110
2427        1 bottle
2428        1 bottle
2429        1 bottle
2430        1 bottle                                                   per bottle 80-110

Remarkably, the 2002 The Factor may be even more awesome than the 2001. It boasts a blackberry liqueur-like intensity with chocolatey richness intermixed with blackberries, raspberries, and cherries. The unctuous texture, refreshing acidity, and sweet tannin frame-up this magnificent wine. It should drink well for 15+ years. Interestingly, the 2002 The Factor did not have the Cote Rotie-like roasted element found in the 2001, no doubt because 2002 was a much cooler growing year than the record heat experienced in 2001
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com June 2007 $US170-292
Robert Parkers Wine Advocate #155  Oct 2004

                Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1986
                2me Cru Classe Saint Julien RP99
3068        1 half bottle            Into neck
3069        1 half bottle            Very high shoulder  per bottle 200-300 

The late Michel Delon always thought that this was the greatest vintage he had produced. We often tasted it side by side with the 1982, because I always preferred the latter vintage. Of course, the two vintages are quite different in style, with the 1986 a monument to classicism, with great tannin, extraordinary delineation, and a huge, full-bodied nose of sweet, ripe cassis fruit intermixed with vanilla, melon, fruitcake, and a multitude of spices. The wine has always been phenomenally concentrated, yet wonderfully fresh and vigorous. The wine still seems young, yet it is hard to believe it is not close to full maturity. It is a great example of Leoville Las Cases, and another compelling reason to take a serious look at the top Cabernet Sauvignon-based Medocs of 1986. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2035. Last tasted, 9/02
Current Release Cost   www.erobertparker.com  November 2011 $US 265-900
Bordeaux Book 4th Edition 2003