Torbreck Cuvée Juveniles 2019

Crafted from old vines but designed to be drunk relatively young, this wine proves that quality Barossa fruit doesn’t need fancy winemaking.

Grenache stars in this blend with mataro supporting and just a cameo appearance (5%) from shiraz. It’s overflowing with juicy black cherries, sundried blackberries, a lovely savoury roasted lamb meatiness (those charry edge bits!) and a pantry-full of herbs and spices – star anise, dried rosemary and thyme, freshly grated nutmeg, a hint of Sichuan pepper. The remarkable thing is that this all comes from the fruit, not a lick of oak!

At 15% alcohol it’s not a shy wine but I had  to go back and double-check that number because there’s no heat. Powdery tannins and supple acidity round out the picture.  

The name doesn’t come from its intended drinking window – it was born from a stubborn Aussie winemaker’s tenacity. The story goes that back in 1999, Tim Johnston, owner of the iconic Cafe Juveniles in Paris, was tasting with Dave Powell, founder of Torbreck. Johnston commented that the wines had too much oak – this was during the Robert Parker era of Australian winemaking. In response Powell held back a small tank of his GSM blend, bottled it without any oak aging and sent it to Cafe Juveniles. It was one of the first unoaked Australian GSM blends and was a hit with the French and Australians alike.

Full disclosure, I drank this with a very 1980s tuna mornay and it worked a treat (welcome to my glamorous life). Next time though, it’s roasted duck with perfectly crispy skin and smoky wood fired carrots.