2023 Torbreck Run Rig

Rich and luxurious with a thick, voluptuous texture and explosive power. An absolute stunner!

Produced from a blend of 99% Shiraz and 1% Viognier, Torbreck’s Run Rig is modelled on the Northern Rhone appellation of Cote Rotie’s wines. Fruit was sourced from the Lyndoch, Rowland Flat, Moppa, Ebenezer, Light Pass and Greenock districts of Barossa Valley with maturation taking place in a combination of new (50%) and older French barriques for a period of 30 months.
Spectacular colour density featuring a super saturated inky black heart along with an equally deep black dark red hue. Intoxicating aromas of dark plum, liquorice, black cherry and dark chocolate waft through the olfactory senses with an almost overwhelming decadence. Spicy vanillin oak, subtle apricot, earth and peppered fennel notes ensue. Rich and luxurious, the palate is a super concentrate of dark plum, liquorice, apricot and lush blackberry fruits. Thick voluptuous texture with spicy vanillin oak, faint traces of honeysuckle, scorched earth and peppered fennel lurking underneath. Bold yet silky smooth tannin structure. Boasting out of this world power and opulence it has a long mouth coating finish. Stunning stuff!
Drink over the next 8-10 years.
Alc. 15.5%

Other Reviews...
I have written many times about being the first person in the UK to buy this wine and list it on my Bibendum Restaurant wine list back in the ‘90s. That relationship has carried on unbroken to this day, and every time I taste RunRig, my heart takes a leap. In 2023, this is yet another super-serious and stunningly deep wine. The perfume is elevated, the palate is dense and regal, and the finish is initially ostentatious, then, at once, becomes contemplative and sage-like.  Very dry, fine and hard, this is a classic example of a powerful wine that will drink well in its youth and then follow the two-decade RunRig mantra without missing a beat. I went back to my empty glass an hour later, and it was still utterly incredible. I would give it a higher score if I could, but 2023 RunRig will have to live with another perfect twenty.  
20/20
Matthew Jukes

The 2023 RunRig came from a cool, wet and late season, and the wine tastes so clearly both like RunRig and like 2023. It is savory and dense, powerful and concentrated, and the 1% Viognier (added, not co-fermented) contributes a gentle sway of flowers and dried apricots to the mix. This is a wonderful wine, one that ages with grace and ease. Last year, I did a vertical of the RunRig back to the first vintage, 1996, and the wine revealed itself to be sensitive to vintage variation yet true to its regional sourcing and identity. The fruit for this wine comes from six old-vine vineyards in the Barossa, each chosen for its textural, structural and flavor attributes. 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. Drink 2026-2043.
97 points
Erin Larkin – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate