The 2005 Descendant is composed of 92% Shiraz and 8% Viognier which are co-fermented. The fruit is sourced from a relatively young vineyard in Marananga planted with 11-year-old cuttings from the Run Rig vineyards and aged for 18 months in 2.5-year-old French barrels previously used for Run Rig. Opaque purple with glass-coating glycerin it offers up a complex array of lavender violets blueberry blackberry and fresh road tar. Full-bodied on the palate the wine has great concentration with a noticeable uplift from the Viognier gobs of spicy black fruits opulence and well-concealed tannins which will carry this wine for 10-15 years of further evolution. Drink it through 2030.

Unlike most of the Torbreck wines, this is single-vineyard Shiraz, cofermented with a small proportion of Viognier, then aged in barrels previously used for RunRig. Hints of apricot and bacon fat impart beautiful nuance to the blackberry fruit. This is slightly firmer than Torbreck's other reds, worth cellaring for five years or so, then drinking over the next 15.