Torzi Matthews
4 1/2 Stars - James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2011
Eden Valley, South Australia
torzimatthews.com.au
Torzi Matthews, a food and winemaking partnership between Domenic Torzi and Tracy Matthews, has passion and an appreciation of the value of heritage tradition in the crafting of the wines. Tracy and Domenic stumbled across a small, frost-pocketed hollow in the beautiful Mt McKenzie, Eden Valley and fell in love with the area for its remoteness and its diverse thin soils. The rationale was quite simple: this land would produce low yields of Shiraz fruit which in turn would translate into a full, flavoursome Italian style wine.
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Torzi Matthews ‘Schist Rock’ Shiraz
90+ points, “(…). Fleshy and dark berried and yet bright with flavour. (…).” (2010 vintage)
“If you’ve liked previous releases, you’ll like this one. It’s a lovely drink, no doubting it. Fleshy and dark berried and yet bright with flavour. Blueberries and mineral, tar and blackberry. It’s almost beery and peppery too – but not quite. It needs time to settle further but the fruit is exuberant and the tannin fruity. I like the poise of this. And the flavour. Drink 2012 – 2017.”
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, Weekend Edition 1, July 2011
Torzi Matthews ‘Frost Dodger’ Shiraz
92 points, “(…) has a bit of sex appeal. (…).” (2009 vintage)
“Wild yeast fermented and matured in all French oak for 24 months. 25 percent whole bunches. Bottled unfiltered. Smoky, coconutty oak and blue and black berries. Smells and tastes lovely. Lively from go to whoa and is open for business from the moment you pull the cork. I tasted through a number of wines looking for something to drink and this one jumped out; it has a bit of sex appeal. Not sure how it will age but it’s warm, complex-enough and impressive now. Rated: 92 Points, Alcohol: 14.5%, Price: $30, Closure: Diam, Drink: 2012 – 2017.”
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, www.winefront.com.au, December 2011
Torzi Matthews ‘Frost Dodger’ Riesling
93 points (2010 vintage)
“Say what you like about Domenic Torzi, but he certainly makes wines of distinctive style 
. It’s savoury, chalky, a little stinky and funky, and floral all at once. There’s an explosion of juicy aniseed and lime flavour that feels almost sweet when it hits, until it smacks you back down to earth with its tight crunchy acidity and long dry stony finish. Needs a bit more time, but an excellent wine of individuality and character.”
Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, Nov 2010
93/100 points (2010 vintage)
“A steely dry riesling of tight but generous flavour, with a very long finish and excellent cellaring potential. It has dried flowers and grass – hay aromas with formidable power. Its almost austere but saved by its richness. Perfect with Chinese prawn dumplings.”
Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald, Nov 2010
Torzi Matthews ‘Vigna Cantina’ Sangiovese
“(...) ripe and lush (...).” (2010 vintage)
"Medium to full red colour, slight purple tints. Bright berry aromas, some violets, some mint. Sweet-fruit entry, ripe and lush, lots of charm here. Has grace and balance."
Huon Hooke, Nov 2011
90 points (2009 vintage)
“(…). The wine itself is soft-hearted and easy to like. It has blackberry/boysenberry jam elements with highlights of jubey aniseed and dried herbs. In some ways the wine’s tannin structure is its best feature; on the finish it feels chalky and dry, the perfect counterpoint to the sweet fruitiness running through its core. Fresh acidity completes the picture. It’s another good release from the Torzi Matthews team. ”
Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront, January 2011
Torzi Matthews ‘Vigna Cantina’ Trebbiano
Produced from a white grape variety from Torzi Matthews’ native family Abruzzi grape grown in the Barossa: Trebbiano. Fruit is sourced from two dry grown vineyard blocks circa 1903 and 1905 from Altona and Koonunga Dunes. Only 8 acres remain in the Barossa Valley of which Torzi Matthews have secured 5 acres to establish one of Australia’s oldest and rarest remnants of this classic variety. Fruit will be hand picked and whole bunch basket pressed, naturally fermented on light lees in seasoned ex white French barriques (Sirugue, Damy and Dargaud and Jaegle) with extended barrel aging on lees for approximately 4 months. This wine will be appley, citrusy, nutty, dry, rustic, savoury, textural and a perfect food wine.
“(…) refreshing, thirst quenching white of great character.” (2011 vintage)
“(…). Faintly nutty and decidedly briny in the bouquet, this is a brightly perfumed white with vibrant floral and white orchard fruit characters. Palate is tangy, yet shows the gentle curves of oak maturation and a residual kiss of sweet oak spice. Lots of bright fruit flavour though and some tangy/briny acidity to finish; a refreshing, thirst quenching white of great character. Rated: 89 Points, Tasted: DEC11, Alcohol: 12.5%, Price: $22, Closure : Screwcap, Drink: 2011 – 2014″
Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, www.winefront.com.au, December 2011
Torzi Matthews ‘Vigna Cantina’ Negro Amaro
"Dry and rich without being too plump or potent" (2010 vintage)
"(...) the Vigna Cantina brand is unashamedly Italian, boasting full savoury flavours in wines that insist in being consumed at the dining table. A delicious bowlful of dark berries in the glass. Planted in the Barossa Valley only five years ago, these vines are already producing fruit that is bewitching for its luscious dark colour and distinctive full flavours of plums, cherries and bitter dark chocolate. Dry and rich without being too plump or potent, it has lovely dry fruitcake qualities and would be a winner with any tomato-rich dish."
David Sly, SA Life, Sept 2011
Alarmingly cheeky (2010 vintage)
“The tireless and ebullient Dominic Torzi, armed with Tracy Matthews, somehow makes what are the most determined and distinctive wines at impossible prices. Grown at Koonunga in a sandwich of clay, ironstone and limestone, this black heart’s a perfect little oratorio of that classic dirt and the native grape of Molise Abruzzi. It’s vivid proof that you can get plum pudding and exmess cake aromas without overt alcohol, and with natural acidity that extends the peal of every bell in the village. It’s alarming in its liveliness and cheek: a pie of the brightest red, black and blue berries powdered with caster sugar and soused in kirsch or grappa. But while the steaming pastry is crumbly with nutmeg, the fruits don’t appear to have been cooked at all: they’re inside, fresh and cool. Somewhere between an enigma and a dilemma. Perfectly entertaining. Blackbirds fly out.”
Philip White, InDaily News, March 2011
90 points (2010 vintage)
“The purple-crimson colour is good, the bouquet attractive, the palate likewise, the flavours of dark fruits with contrasting nuances of citrus and tobacco. Intriguing. (…).”
James Halliday, www.winecompanion.com.au, March 2011
