Torbreck Les Amis Grenache 2023

Product Description:
Torbreck Les Amis Grenache 2023 is a premium single-vineyard Grenache from the Greenock sub-region of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The wine reflects Torbreck’s long-standing focus on preserving and celebrating the Barossa’s old-vine resources, particularly the classic regional varieties of Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro. Les Amis translates from French as “The Friends,” a fitting name for a wine built around grower relationships, exceptional vineyard work and the character of a distinctive site. Grenache has been grown in the Barossa for more than 150 years, and Torbreck presents Les Amis as a wine of purity, intensity and finesse.

The 2023 vintage was shaped by above-average winter and spring rainfall, followed by a cooler summer and a later harvest, with many vineyards not picked until April. Those cooler conditions helped retain brightness, natural acidity and detail, while low yields contributed concentration and depth. The fruit was hand-harvested, gently destemmed and fermented in small open-top vessels before basket pressing. It was then matured for 18 months in fine-grained French oak barriques, with a significant portion of new oak, before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. In the glass, it shows a brilliant crimson hue with aromatic red fruits, spice, savoury complexity and firm but balanced tannins. Powerful yet refined, this is a cellar-worthy Barossa Grenache suited to game meats, charcuterie, Asian roast duck and richly flavoured dishes. 

Tasting Notes
NOSE
– Aromatic and expressive
Dried raspberry, red cherry, pomegranate, cranberry, Chinese five spice, cloves, sandalwood and white pepper.

PALATE
– Sumptuous and structured
Mouth-filling red fruits, sweet spice, savoury depth, firm tannins and old-vine Grenache concentration.

FINISH
– Long and cellar-worthy
Cleansing acidity, grippy tannins, lingering spice, red fruit and savoury oak complexity.

Reviews & Accolades
“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.” — Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com, 19+/20 

“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.” — Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate, 94 Points 

“Devigorated soils, western Greenock. Grenache. Nice weight and freshness with red cherry and redcurrant fruit, with a core of sweet fruit. Nice crunch here with a peppery edge to the herb-tinged fruit.” — Jamie Goode, WineAnorak, 94 Points 

Finer Details:
Style – Red Wine
Varietal – Grenache
Country – Australia
Region – Barossa Valley, South Australia
Vintage – 2023
Bottle Size – 750ml
ABV – 15.5%