Joe Czerwinskithe, Wine Advocate, 98 Points.

Who would’ve thought that in the context of Barossa Shiraz, the 2015 RunRig would seem like a relative bargain? It’s certainly much less expensive than Grange or Hill of Grace will be when they’re released. It’s also more approachable in its youth, with enormously appealing aromas of grilled fruit, savory complexities and rich, velvety tannins. Of course, it’s full-bodied and concentrated, with the stuffing to age for up to a couple of decades, and it has a long, licorice-tinged finish. Winemaker Ian Hongell, who joined Torbreck from Peter Lehmann, may not have made this wine, but he deserves a lot of credit for the blending and finishing of this tour de force".  

James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion, 97 Points.

Destemmed, open-fermented, 7 days on skins, matured for 30 months in French barriques (50% new) before blending trials determined 2% of viognier be blended in. One of the classic Torbreck wines, with the added benefits of the ‘15 vintage. It is a gorgeously deep pool of supple, mouthfilling/watering fruit flavours (impossible, I know, but it is). Seduction clinically confronts and comforts the consumer. Black fruits, licorice and a shaft of dark chocolate, plus oak, do the business. 

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This is the best young RunRig I can remember tasting in a long time: utterly seductive perfumed black fruit pours out of the glass, inviting you to take a sip and luxuriate in the wine’s mouth-filling but wonderfully balanced flavour and firm but supple grip. If I were a cynical sort, I’d suspect this wine is the main game for Torbreck: sure, the Laird attracts all the attention, much of it because of the price, but that then makes RunRig (of which more is produced) seem like good value in comparison. Which it is, of course. 

IAN HONGELL, Winemaker.

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Our flagship wine, RunRig is a structured, muscular wine with phenomenal density, dry vintage port-like concentration, and magnificent notes of smoke, blackberries, cassis, leather and coffee. A hint of viognier's sweet marmalade character comes through as the wine sits in the glass. A true 'Vin de Garde' to reward those with the patience to cellar it.'The Highland clans used a "runrig" system to distribute land amongst their clansmen in a series of widely dispersed holdings. The emphasis not on any one farm, but rather the communal element of the whole. Shiraz from old dry grown vineyards is blended with viognier, complementing the strengths and complexities of these individual parcels of fruit, whilst giving the resulting wine a further dimension'. David Powell