I've actually been looking forward to getting my hands on this wine ever since I was in the Barossa Valley in 2010 with a local wine maker who gave me a tip I've never forgotten when it came to buying Barossa Shiraz. He said that after 2005, 2006, not to waste any money on any other vintages until the 2010 reds are released and then... "buy as much as you can afford!". A large reason for this is that 2007 was a difficult year for the Barossa Valley and 2008 wasn't much better. 2009 was good but will probably be forgotten as 2010 was given 10/10 by Langton's and many have said it is the vintage of the decade... some say of the last two decades!
With this knowledge I started to think of all the great Barossa Shiraz wines I'd experienced from 2005 (another solid year for the region) and for me the 2005 Torbreck Struie stood out as it was under $50 and just had everything I really enjoy in this style of wine. I finally got the chance to get a 6 pack of 2010 Struie and had my first taste the other day. Immediately upon pouring it into my glass I noticed the deep purple hue to its colour. Given a little time the aroma becomes a lovely, almost vanilla oak/woody smell with fruit notes lingering in the background. Flavour wise there is no doubt this is a bold wine that is rich, full of quality fruit and I even found some faint chocolate-like flavours. Decant for an hour or so for maximum enjoyment. The true rewards will come with extended cellaring and I personally cannot wait to re-try this wine at 8-10 years.
Torbreck The Struie 2010 Shiraz
Price - $48.50 from Torbreck
Region - Barossa Valley, South Australia
Final sip - Fans of Barossa Shiraz will no doubt love this wine as much as I do and for those who think big, Barossa Shiraz is 'out of fashion' all I can say is while fads come and go in the wine industry as much as any, a truly great wine will always remain just that... a great wine!
