Click on each petal to learn more about Palate Character or sign in, join the taste56 community and let your palate do the talking!
Tasting Notes
Full bodied with plus acidity, sweet red cherry, raspberry, and brambley fruit, and more subtle eucalyptus and floral notes, punctuated by a spicy finish.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
TANNIN
Low
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Tannin can range greatly in wine, but it is necessary to some degree, and a necessary constituent for red wines to age well. In high amounts, it can cause a drying affect, which is sensed mostly on the gums and tongue. Tannin is a natural preservative extracted from grape skins, otherwise known as polyphenols that are micronutrients and antioxidants with potential health benefits.
ACIDITY
Soft
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
14.5%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
Juicy, round, and yummy, with gobs of spicy fruit.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Grenache
47%Gruh-NASH
Grenache is widely planted throughout the world but some of the best expressions come from the southern Rhone, and in Spain’s Priorat. Grenache has small berries with thick grape skins resulting in dark, tannic wine in its youth combined with an almost ripe sweetness and elevated alcohol. Often part of a blend, Grenache offers a lot of fruit, spice, with floral and herbal notes.
Mataro
32%Ma-TAR-Ro
Mataro, also known as Mourvèdre, is a red grape variety widely grown in Spain and France. It produces dark, tannic wines with high acidity and flavors of blackberries, spices, and earthy notes. Mataro is often used in blends to add structure, depth, and complexity.
Carignan
10%Ca-ree-NYAN
In the past, Carignan was responsible for a lot of bulk wine because of its high yielding potential, but in the right hands it can make quality with intense red fruit, spice, and structure. Often blended with other grape varietals, old vine Carignan can yield rich red fruit driven wines at bang for your buck price levels.
Counoise
9%KOO-Noi-Ze
Counoise is a red grape variety from the Rhône Valley in France. It contributes bright acidity, light tannins, and spicy red fruit flavors to blends. Counoise is commonly used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and other southern Rhône wines to add freshness and complexity.
Shiraz
2%Shee-RAS
Syrah is widely planted throughout the world, but that was not so until the late twentieth century when Syrah was principally grown in the Rhone Valley and, as Shiraz, in Australia. Stylistically, the Palate Character of Syrah can vary depending on ripeness from a rich Round & Fleshy, Tone & Backbone, to a Powerful & Extracted. The flavors and aromas can also vary with a dark, sometimes sweet, fruit character, varying amount of spice, floral, and earth, and smoke, and meaty aromas and flavors.
David Powell started Torbreck in 1994. He began by share-farming, a form of sweat equity, where one works without pay until the grapes are sold, at which time the owner is paid for his grapes and the share-farmer keeps a percentage of grapes for their own use.
While the winery is no longer owned by Mr. Powell, he established Torbreck as a top producer in Australia’s Barossa Valley, where they continue to partner closely with local farmers.
The focus at Torbreck is to express the terroir, and potential of Rhône varietals, syrah and grenache. They make powerful, juicy wines, but with good underlying structure and complex aromatics.
Red Cherry
Bramble
Spice Box
