Sneak peak at 2012 Torbreck RunRig and more from Game of Rhones

 Today was the Sydney instalment of Game of Rhones, a clever event from Dan Sims’ Bottleshop Concepts. What it entailed was a room full of Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne (and more) poured and drunk by people dressed up like they’re extras in Game of Thrones.

Just your usual tasting then.

What made this event work was a combination of highly quality producers (spanning everything from Grant Burge to McLeish Estate) plus the genuine sense of fun that a dress up can bring. The crowd, unusually for a predominantly red wine focused festival, was not only young but with plenty of women, which is very encouraging for our notoriously male-dominant industry.

I spent the afternoon talking plenty and tasting little, which tends to happen all too often at events like this (shut up Andrew). A few wines, however, looked so good that they need mentioning.

Just another winemaker (Tim Smith) in a tunic

Ben Haines was on hand with the brand-new 2013 Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz and it looked absolutely delicious, carefully straddling the plum essence style of Grampians Shiraz with a dash of Pyrenees mint. Very smart. The price has gone up into the stratosphere for the Langi flagship though, and the 2012 Mount Langi Ghiran Mast Shiraz was just as interesting and half the price. There is just a six pack available at the winery and you may have to fight me for it.

There was just one white that really sung for me today and that was the 2013 Yeringberg Viognier. Rich but contained, it was closer to Condrieu than your usual Aussie Viognier, with weight and finesse.

Freshly bottled, the 2014 Ministry of Clouds Grenache was also a satisfyingly full flavoured Vale Grenache with spice and flair. I’m loving Grenache right now, and this looked a treat.

What most surprised me today, however, was the soon-to-be-released 2012 Torbreck RunRig Shiraz.

I’ve previously been critical of the OTT RunRig style, but this vintage looks superb – dense, dark red coloured, it manages to be hedonistic, rich and massively proportioned without the excesses of alcohol and oak bluntness of some years. In fact, oak was one of the high points here, with that savoury, cocoa powder wood character that only comes from the most expensive barrels and some very clever handling.

It definitely helped that the RunRig was poured nice and cool, which served to take the edge off the fruit/oak sweetness, yet no hiding that it’s absolute top shelf, ‘shit that is good’, long and grandiose Barossa Shiraz. Big tick.