2012 Torbreck The Laird Shiraz Magnum 1.5L, Barossa Valley

Deep garnet colored with a touch of remaining purple at the rim, the 2012 The Laird is one of those wines you could just go on smelling all day. It opens with a complex perfume of kirsch, dried mulberries, blackberry tart and spice cake over cloves, mocha, dusty earth, incense, star anise, yeast extract and aged beef. The full-bodied palate is drop-dead seductive, unfurling in the mouth to reveal exotic spice, meat, earth and berry preserves layers, supported by firm, velvety tannins and seamless acid. The finish seems to go on forever—and this is exactly what you want it to do. Stunning.

100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown robertparker.com

Matured for 32 months in new French oak. Astonishingly vibrant colour for a 5yo wine. The intensity of this 100% shiraz burns like an arc light across the senses, catching every nuance of the panoply of the purple and black fruits at the core of this remarkable wine. The balance and length are awesome, making a mockery of its alcohol.

97 points James Halliday winecompanion.com.au

In Scottish terminology, ‘The Laird’ refers to the Lord of the Manor. This single vineyard shiraz comes from an old vineyard in Marananga. This coveted fruit is aged in Dominique Laurent Barriques known as the “magic casks” 

The Laird spends three years in this new oak giving an integration and oak profile once thought impossible. This vineyard is perfect in every way: southeast facing, dry grown, hand tended, traditionally farmed and pruned, on unique Western Barossa soil and planted with one of the original Barossa clones.