The 2006 Cuvee Juveniles is a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Mataro, and 20% Shiraz. The final assemblage was pieced together from over 100 individual components yielding a dark ruby-colored wine with an expressive bouquet of damp earth, leather, spicy cranberry, raspberry, and black cherry. This unoaked wine has excellent depth, light tannin, ripe, spicy red and black fruit flavors and a long finish. Drink this great value over the next 6 years. Torbreck, under the leadership of owner/winemaker David Powell, remains a Barossa Valley benchmark as well as one of the world’s greatest wine estates. The top cuvees are limited production and expensive but there are also some outstanding values in the portfolio. With regard to the current vintages for the Barossa red wines, David Powell states “? 2004 is more savory while 2005 has more purity and definition. 2004 is more classic, 2005 will take longer to come around.”Importer: Jon Elkins, The Australian Wine Connection, Carlsbad, CA; www.torbreck.com

The price is right for this tank-aged blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Shiraz and 20% Mourvedre. Ripe stone fruit flavors—is that a hint of apricot amid the cherries?—dominate, with a bit of spice creeping in on the silky finish. But what really sets this wine apart is its caressing, soft, delicate texture. Drink now–2010.——J.C.(11/1/2007)—— 91