Torbreck The Factor 2018 (750ML)

98 JS / 96 WA / 96 DE / 95 WE / 17 JR

#11 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021

A pristine nose of ripe and intense blackberries, blueberries and redcurrants, as well as some sanguine, rust-like notes. This is an excellent edition of The Factor. I like the power and focus this wine delivers and, in 2018, it is a wine of great length and presence. Abundant ripe blackberries bathe the palate. Try from 2025.—James Suckling

Aged in about 50% new French oak and built for cellaring, the 2018 The Factor is a concentrated, structured Shiraz that should age well for up to two decades. Scents of cedar shavings and vanilla mark the nose, while the full-bodied palate folds in notes of ripe blackberries and mulberries, plus hints of baking spices. Complex, firm and age-worthy, with a long, focused finish, it should be at its best after about five more years..—Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate

Chock full of flavour, this charismatic Shiraz oozes Barossa from every pore. Fine tannins tightly frame black cherry-berry fruit, cep powder, cocoa and iron filings for a dry profile and compelling tension. In and among it all, notes of smoked meat, espresso, cedar, graphite, garrigue and violet creams snag the attention. Incisive acidity enhances length and drive. --Sarah Ahmed, Decanter