Torbreck The Factor Shiraz 2020 (RP95)

Country:             Australia
Region:               Barossa Valley Rating:                RP95, JS95, WS94
Grape Variety:  100% Shiraz
Type of Wine:   Red Wine
Bottle Size:        750ml

By Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 95
The 2020 The Factor is 100% Shiraz and made up of fruit from Gomersal, Krondorf, Marananga and Ebenezer in the Barossa Valley. The wine was matured for 24 months in a combination of new (40%) and seasoned French oak barriques. In the glass, the wine verges on black, and the nose echoes this abyss-like shade. Blackberry, blood plum, black cherry, licorice, campfire embers, cocoa dust, clove, iodine, vanilla pod and red dirt—this is the core of the wine, the beating heart. The tannins, like a skeleton that protects it, are velvety, plush and structural. Like a skeleton, the tannins are entrenched in the fruit, concealed by a skin of flavor. This is a sybaritic, superstar wine that reflects the warm, concentrated, dry, low-yielding vintage from whence it came. This is classic, polished, midnight Torbreck here.

James Suckling 95
Intense iron and blackberries with black olives. Salted licorice. Dried decadent meat, too. Full and rich with an intensity and density, yet it goes on and on. Muscular yet racy. This needs a few years to open, but not over done. Plenty of intensity.

Wine Spectator 94
Concentrated, with lovely Dutch cocoa overtones to the core of blueberry, blackberry preserves and framboise. Reveals details of rosemary, eucalyptus and sandalwood that add aromatic complexity on the long finish, while a note of vintage cigar lingers. Shiraz. Drink now through 2034. 1,000 cases made, 160 cases imported.