Torbreck Vintners, Les Amis, 2023
Torbreck Vintners, Les Amis, 2023
- 75cl
- 15%
- Red Still
- Grenache
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Optimal drinking window: 2026 - 2045
Est. delivery in early spring, 2027
Les Amis is Torbreck's obsessive love letter to old-vine Grenache, and one of the Barossa's most serious single-variety statements. Made from gnarly, century-old bush vines, it's vinified with the kind of restraint and precision you might expect from a southern Rhône producer rather than a big Barossa name - whole-bunch fermentation, old oak, minimal intervention.
The result is a wine of real density and structural grip, with none of the jammy generosity that puts people off Barossa Grenache. This is the lean, iron-fisted version: dark fruit, earth, and pepper rather than sweetness.
What the critics say:
"Made from 1960s-planted Grenache, this is a serious, super-concentration wine with more than a touch of Gandalf’s pipe on the nose! Only 100 cases were made, and it is the darkest and most cosmic wine I have tasted under this label. This is a fabulous, single-site, dry-grown vineyard with super-low yields. There is a deeply foresty wine with incredible DNA, and the palate is bloody, ferrous, complex and herbal. There is a deep, dark chocolate and cherry-red ganache rebound of flavour on the finish, making this sylvan creation decadent, too."
"The 2023 Les Amis Grenache is the highest in elevation of the three single-vineyard Grenache vineyards. It is planted on bluestone and ironstone gravels in clay soils, and the vines were planted recently – some time in the 1980s. The vineyard is exposed and the soils shallow, so the vines work hard here. In the mouth, this is spicy and medium-bodied, with an attractive freshness that has nothing to do with the ripeness nor, upon questioning, the pH or total acidity, as the numbers relate pretty similarly to the other Grenache wines on the bench. The cooler, wetter season may play a part. In short, this is a lovely wine! 15.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. Drink 2026-2038."
The old-vine Grenache for Les Amis is sourced from ancient bush vines in the Barossa Valley, some over 100 years old, rooted in sandy loam over red clay. Sandy soils give naturally lower yields and produce wines with finer tannin structure than the heavier red soils elsewhere in the valley. The warm, dry Barossa climate pushes ripeness decisively, but the age of the vines acts as a natural regulator, producing concentrated fruit without the flabby weight that younger plantings can deliver. The result is power tempered by genuine depth rather than sheer mass.
The Barossa Valley is Australia's most storied red wine region, sitting about an hour north of Adelaide in South Australia. It built its reputation on Shiraz but has an equally compelling claim to fame through old-vine Grenache and Mataro, planted by German and British settlers in the mid-19th century. Unlike neighbouring Eden Valley, which climbs to higher, cooler elevations, the Barossa floor is warm and semi-arid, favouring full-bodied, richly extracted reds. There are no strict appellation rules governing varieties or yields, but the best producers apply their own rigorous standards to preserve the irreplaceable old-vine heritage.
The 2023 Barossa delivered one of those seasons that had producers checking their calendars twice. A wet winter set the vines up nicely, but then came the curveball: an unusually cool growing season that stretched harvest well into May for some producers. The rain kept coming at awkward moments, demanding serious canopy management and forcing difficult decisions about picking dates. Those who waited were rewarded; those who panicked weren't.
What emerged defies the usual Barossa script of power and concentration. The Shiraz shows restraint we rarely see here — still recognisably Barossa with its dark fruit and earth, but with a freshness that makes you reach for another glass rather than a lie-down. Grenache positively sang in the cooler conditions, producing wines with genuine perfume rather than jammy sweetness. The Cabernet Sauvignon benefits most from the extended hang time, showing proper structure beneath the fruit. Most are drinking beautifully now until 2035, though the best Shiraz will reward patience until 2040.
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