2015 Torbreck The Laird Shiraz Museum Release Magnum 1.5L, Barossa Valley

A single plot, planted by Malcolm Seppelt in 1958. A very complex and intense array of tarry dark-plum, clove and cardamom aromas. Plum paste, currants, blueberries and black cherries, too. There’s a load of dark spice here. The palate has a very intense delivery of such concentrated and intense dark, ripe plum and blackberry-essence flavors. Aged for 36 months in new French oak barriques. Extended flavors, a dark-chocolate note and emulsified tannins. Unique and complex wine. Best from 2025.

98 points James Suckling, September 2020

Torbreck's 2015 The Laird boasts explosive aromas of Christmas spices, ripe plums, vanilla, hickory smoke and maple syrup. It's a big wine, loaded with fruit and oak, full-bodied, rich and velvety, adding hints of toasted coconut and cinnamon streusel on the long, almost dessert-like finish. For a more savory experience, age it a decade or so before pulling a cork. Drink to 2040.

97 points Joe Czerwinski for The Wine Advocate, November 2019

Deep, dark red/purple colour, remarkably youthful for its age. The first aroma is of oak, then as the wine airs and warms it reveals toast, dark chocolate, blackberry, blackberry jam and hints of raisin and prune. Very full-bodied and quite rich, although not as opulent or fruit-sweet as some Lairds have been. There is a touch of restraint here. The big body of the wine is tightened on the finish by masses of firm tannins and quite noticeable acidity, which is more evident when the wine is cool, less so at the right drinking temperature. It will surely be long lived. Drink to 2045.

96 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, February 2020

Torbreck Vintners was established by Dave Powell in 1994, and from the very beginning, the wines have been no stranger to drama of the very best kind: high international acclaim driven by their power and sense of place. 

The focus has always been on respectful treatment of old vine Barossa fruit through traditional winemaking. Today Chief Winemaker Ian Hongell continues that philosophy, working with growers across the region for access to supplement the special parcels of fruit grown in estate vineyards as well as those grown under custodianship through long-term lease agreements of old vine sites.

The Laird is a single-vineyard Shiraz sourced from the 1958 planted Gnadenfrei vineyard in Marananga. The fruit is hand-harvested over multiple passes, destemmed, and fermented in small open-top fermenters. After basket pressing, the wine is transferred to 100% new French oak barriques from esteemed coopers for a maturation period of 36 months. It is then cellared in bottle for a further two years prior to release.
Bottled unfined and unfiltered, The Laird represents the pinnacle of Torbreck’s Shiraz expression: powerful, complex and enduring.