Torbreck Descendant 2004 Shiraz Viognier

Wow is my first impression of this beauty, as in wow what a big full bodied wine! Beautiful dark purple in your glass, so dark you'd swear its opaque but on further observation its really fine and clear. On the nose there definite purple berries and plum with hints of ink and slight floral notes. Massive legs on the glass highlight the 14.5% alcohol which I would say is much higher. Silky feel across your whole palate with soft subtle grainy tannins and juicy fruit this wine will blow you away. If you don't like big palate weight steer well clear of this wine.

To simplify if you answer yes to the following questions try this wine if there is a single no then simply don't waste your cash. Do you like massive wines? Are big fruit flavours high on your priority list? Would you try a wine if someone told you it had Ink in its description? Can you handle paying the same for a bottle of wine as for a good meal for two? Can you handle laying a wine down for 12-18 years before you touch it?
This is a big complex and fruity wine that anyone who likes Viognier blends will at least like but most will love. Highly recommend letting this wine stay down until at least 2015-2020 as it will simply only get better.

Halliday gave it a solid 96 and Campbell Mattinson 95 with the following comments;

"It’s made off relatively young vines but this release is the breakthrough vintage for this label – the mammoth, concentrated, overwhelming power of this wine says anything but immaturity. It’s a monster. But an exceptionally pure monster. Full of warm, floral, plummy, porty fruit with a nutty aftertaste and a carve of finely tailored tannins. It makes you sit straighter in your chair. It is over the top, but it is as fine as such a style can be."

 My rating on this wine is defiantly 9 out of 10 and would increase with age definitely, I am very impressed by David Powell's range and am more than happy to have a selection sitting in my cellar.

$125 is a normal price for this bottle and paying much more would be a waste of cash. You can acquire a bottle from good boutique wine cellars but if you want to get some fish around the auctions and you should pick them up a little cheaper but whatever you pay for it this wine is worth it. Saying that you could actually get half a case of something just as drinkable to drink now for the same price not to say that is the better option it really just depends on your priorities. I certainly wouldn't rush to drink another bottle of this right now, I would undoubtedly buy and lay it down to add some prestige to my personal cellar.

If you manage to get a bottle and lay it down or drink it please let me know what you think and as alway enjoy and happy drinking!

Mr Riggs 2008 Yacca Paddock Tempranillo

This Tempranillo looks fantastic, a deep opaque cherry red it displays flashes of purple as you swirl it round your glass, it also leaves fantastic legs that stain the glass displaying its high 14.5% alcohol content. Fragrant the slightly fruity slightly earthy nose draws you in, the complex dark fruit stands out and is very pleasant. Velvety and smooth on the front of the palate with savoury fruit and dark cherry flavours which linger after a pleasant hit of good tannin structure. With great length this wine is very impressive and gets 10 fold better with a bit of food which brings out the smooth velvety fruit characteristics and softens the tannins.

To be blunt and uncomplicated..... I loved the approachability of this wine for most palates. Good fruit, not to dry, not too sweet, just good easy drinking with a pleasant complexity that will have more sophisticated palates still asking for more.

Halliday had this to say and gave it 94;

Brightly coloured; has impressive focus, length and intensity to its display of spicy black cherry fruit, and convincing tannins on the finish.

All accounts of this wine I have seen are good Campbell Mattinson and Gary Walsh had this to say in their 'Big Red Wine Book 2010/11;

There's something cool and dusty about this wine. In a good way. It tastes like a mix of juicy cherries and dusty earth, and when you swallow you'd almost swear that you'd just finished licking a granite rock. Seriously! It has that mineral kind of flavour. We're fans.

I give this a 9.5 out of 10 and seriously will be buying some more tomorrow as I really enjoyed it.

www.nicks.com.au has the 2007 vintage of this wine at $24.99 a bottle as to various other online stores but I managed to purchase is from First Choice liquor for about $22. Either way its not exactly a cheap bottle but definitely worth the price you pay. Don't pay more than $27 because you'd be getting ripped but definitely buy a bottle and try it.

I love Tempranillo and even more now I've learned how to pronounce it correctly and this just slipped into one of my all time favourites. This tasting has prompted me to try more of Ben Riggs' wines including some other labels I've seen advertised. Wish me luck! You'll be sure to hear how I go. Happy drinking.