Wine Advocate (97+)

2019 followed the warm (but excellent) 2018 in the Barossa, and was marred by low yields and very concentrated fruit. 2020 was another step further down that low-yielding, dry track, completing a trio of concentrated, brooding vintages that are, as the years go by, harder and harder to get ahold of. So, the 2019 Descendant includes Viognier skins in the ferment, usually around 2%, and the fruit is sourced from vines planted from cuttings from the RunRig Vineyard. A baby Runrig, if you will. So, this is silky, slippery, tannic and intense, with layers of vibrant raspberry, jasmine tea, red licorice, jelly snakes and deli meat. As usual for the Torbreck reds, the texture of the wine is velvety, plush, intense and enveloping. This ages very well, we know it does, but if you must drink it early, decant it!

Matthew Jukes (20)

The Laird is used to being top dog at Torbreck and now that The Forebear has arrived it will have to share the throne. Has this worried The Laird? Not a bit of it because it has allowed this wine to become even more of a showman. 2019 is a particularly un-Laird-like vintage! It is finally enjoying its celebrity status instead of acting monkish and reclusive in the glass. When you wear a massive price tag and appeal to a different level of wine nerd, these feelings are inevitable. Self-doubt, reflection and nervousness are all part and party of a superstar lifestyle, however, with The Forebear presumably sucking up column inches and taking the spotlight off The Laird for a moment or two, this wine has returned, rightly, to loving life. As these two opened up in the glass, The Laird sprinted past The Forebear, high-fiving its fans with gleamingly bright fruit and epic length. Of course, this is an incredible creation, and it is used to attracting nose-bleed scores from the critics, but there is a new lease of life here that has allowed The Laird to relax and finally enjoy its position at the top of the pile (alongside its new stablemate). But will it retain its position out front? I wouldn’t bet on it. The Forebear has very special energy in its core. One final thought – are wines sentient beings? I have a few rather whacky ideas along these lines. For anyone who doubts this could be a possibility, if you taste the last couple of wines in this review, you could be forgiven for believing that they are and also that they know where they stand in relation to each other, appreciating their differences and relishing their familial ties. I believe. Do you?

Halliday Wine Companion (94)

60/21/19% grenache/shiraz/mataro sourced from 40-150yo vines across 7 districts spanning the Barossa floor. Matured 20 months in French oak foudres. Beautifully crafted, polished, seamless Barossa GSM. Bright and deep in colour and personality. Blessed with the expansive, effortless character that comes from maturation in large oak foudre. All 3 varieties and oak unite in seamless coherence, guided by super-fine tannins through a long finish. Impossible to corner as fruity, savoury, herbal, peppery, spicy, fleshy or dry, it's consummately all of the above.