96pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2020 The Factor is 100% Shiraz and made up of fruit from Gomersal, Krondorf, Marananga and Ebenezer in the Barossa Valley. The wine was matured for 24 months in a combination of new (40%) and seasoned French oak barriques. In the glass, the wine verges on black, and the nose echoes this abyss-like shade. Blackberry, blood plum, black cherry, licorice, campfire embers, cocoa dust, clove, iodine, vanilla pod and red dirt—this is the core of the wine, the beating heart. The tannins, like a skeleton that protects it, are velvety, plush and structural. Like a skeleton, the tannins are entrenched in the fruit, concealed by a skin of flavor. This is a sybaritic, superstar wine that reflects the warm, concentrated, dry, low-yielding vintage from whence it came. This is classic, polished, midnight Torbreck here.

96pts Australian Wine Companion

Shiraz from the parishes of Gomersal, Krondorf, Marananga and Ebenezer matured in French oak (40% new) for 24 months. This year's Factor sports an inky, graphite-led intensity of fruit and a sense of purity. Compression, too, with deep satsuma plum, blackberry and black cherry fruits initially feeling compact and tight before exploding onto the palate with substantial tannin heft and layers of dark spice, cedar, licorice and dark chocolate. While you could happily tuck into this tonight, it will cellar like a champion.

95pts James Suckling

Intense iron and blackberries with black olives. Salted licorice. Dried decadent meat, too. Full and rich with an intensity and density, yet it goes on and on. Muscular yet racy. This needs a few years to open, but not over done. Plenty of intensity.

94pts Wine Spectator

Concentrated, with lovely Dutch cocoa overtones to the core of blueberry, blackberry preserves and framboise. Reveals details of rosemary, eucalyptus and sandalwood that add aromatic complexity on the long finish, while a note of vintage cigar lingers. Shiraz. Drink now through 2034. 1,000 cases made, 160 cases imported.

92pts Wine Enthusiast

Rich, ripe black currant, ground pepper and toasty oak-spice aromas are a powerful start to this muscular wine. On the palate, the plush fruit holds its own but the massive, saliva-zapping tannins are a bit hard to take at the moment. A few more years in bottle should settle things down and morph this into a lovely, winter-warming red.

Winemaker Notes

The Factor is predominantly from the Gomersal and Marananga sub-regions of the Barossa. Very expressive with lifted black fruits such as satsuma plum, blackberry, compote, vanilla bean dark cocoa and maraschino liqueur. Complex, luxuriously dense and alluring. The mineral components highlight Barossa Ironstone, dried earth and eucalypt. The wine's voluptuous texture envelops the mouth with soft yet dense tannins and mouth filling viscosity. The flavors linger and the cleansing acidity polishes the palates gorgeous length and depth. Oak maturation is harmonious and well integrated adding to complexity on release.

Best decanted and paired with rich winter dishes from most cuisines.