In the early 1980s, due to lack of demand, the government paid incentives to growers to rip out their vines and gut some of Australia's most precious old vineyards. The movement to cool climate viticulture made the Barossa, of all places, look rather irrelevant. The Factor is Torbreck's salutation to those dedicated growers who stood by their vines and continue to painstakingly produce small harvests of the most splendid Shiraz. A wine of immense concentration and great purity of fruit that only the most meticulous husbanding of vines can achieve.

The experience with old vines Shiraz began after a discovery of derelict sites around the Barossa. David Powell took an interest and nursed them back to health, he was rewarded by the proprietors with small parcels of fruit which he made into wine. The formula has served to produce profound efforts which are recognized as some of Australia's most distinguished wines. Parcels of Shiraz on old dry grown vineyards at Gomersal and Kalimna, Rowland Flat, Ebenezer and Marananga are selected for their quality and individual charm, separately vinified and matured up to two years in a selection of new and seasoned French oak barriques, followed by assemblage and bottling without fining or filtration.