Matthew Jukes (20++)

There are 12 rows of Shiraz, which were planted in c1852 and they made their way into this inaugural vintage of The Forebear. The Torbreck team started to resurrect these vines in 2014, and when Ian Hongell joined Torbreck in 2017, he saw something genuinely momentous here. This fruit was previously tucked away in Woodcutters (the ‘estate-level’ Shiraz) while its vineyard transformation was underway, and in 2019, this wine was given its chance to perform solo under The Forebear name. The verb – to forebear – means to hold oneself back. As a noun, it means ancestor, which refers to the founders of this vineyard who left Wiltshire in 1848 and settled in Lyndoch. Therefore, The Forebear is the perfect name for this incredible wine. Whereas the Laird is a Marananga-based wine, The Forebear is from Lyndoch, and consequently, it cannot be compared to the wine below. The Forebear is matured in 100% new, tight-grained French oak barriques for 24 months, and the Laird sees three whole years. The origins and regimes are different, and they suit the fruit perfectly. There were only 100 dozen made of 2019 The Forebear, and I cannot imagine this yield will change, so this will always be a very rare wine. As I tasted this wine and watched it evolve in the glass over four hours, I knew I was in the presence of greatness. As always with a Torbreck wine, there is a flavour transparency despite the density of black fruit, liquorice, tar and butcher’s apron notes. It is difficult to understand until you spend several hours unlocking its code. I wrote the word ‘Mordor’ in my notebook – it is that dark – and this might be a barrier to entry for some, particularly those unfamiliar with Torbreck wines, but it is sensational! I have never tasted the inaugural vintage of a wine to which I have given a perfect score. I hoped it would happen one day, and it took 38 years working in the wine trade for this to happen, and it happened with 2019 Torbreck The Forebear.