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The
New Barossa
Part 14:
Teusner
Kym Teusner (above) is a dude, and I like him a great
deal. He also makes fantastic wines. Currently, he’s winemaker with
Rolf Binder. In the past he has worked with Torbreck. His own venture
is a collaborative venture with brother in law Michael Page. In 2002
there was some old bush vine Grenache in the Ebenezer district, owned
by the uncle of Kym’s girlfriend, Vanessa, which was facing the
bulldozer. A large wine company were at the time paying A$900/ton for
the fruit, so Kym and Michael offered $A2500. This sum was immediately
matched by the big company, but Kym and Michael had the grapes. The
Teusner label was born.
They are now doing three wines, but will expand this to
four soon. The packaging is fantastic, and so are the wines.
Teusner Joshua 2003
This is an unoaked blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre.
Sweet, ripe, alluring fruit with a lovely expressive spiciness and
some tarry complexity. The palate is ripe and full with lovely earthy
complexity and sweet fruit. Very balanced and expressive. Very
good/excellent 93/100
 Teusner
Joshua 2004
The same blend, but with an additional 2% Petit Verdot. Almost
overpowering nose of ripe liqueur-like raspberry and blackcurrant
fruit. The palate is ripe and forward but also has some spicy
undercurrents and some structure under the sweet fruit. Vibrant fruit
is the key here. Very good/excellent 92/100
Teusner Avatar 2002
A similar blend but with a touch less Grenache, this spends 16
months in old oak (and 10% new oak). Spicy, almost minty seriousness
on the dark fruits nose. Quite tight. The palate is structured, spicy
and full with great concentration. Firm, taut and quite serious, this
needs a little time to open out. Very good/excellent 92/100
Teusner Avatar 2003 (blended, in cask)
Herby, spicy complexity to the dark fruits nose. Tight and
expressive. The palate is showing lovely herby spicy fruit with some
really expressive spicy notes. Nicely structured, with great
potential. Very good/excellent 90–94/100
2004 Mourvèdre (cask sample)
Fantastic nose: rich, spicy and intense with dark chocolate and
some animal notes. The palate is rich, full and spicy. This is from a
really old vineyard that had to be cropped as high as 3–4 tons/acre
to get balance.
Teusner Albert 2003
A high-end Shiraz, with a bit of Mataro, 30% new wood. Very
opulent liquoricey nose, with brooding ripe fruit. Structured and full
on the palate. This is a massive wine with huge concentration. The
palate shows oak, but it’s well integrated. Brilliant. 95+/100 (I
bought a case of this recently…)
2004 Grenache (cask sample)
Fantastic colour. Explosive nose: gingery, sweet and spicy with
opulent fruit. The palate is structured and spicy. Serious
Grenache.
UK
stockists: The Cellar Door and Bordeaux Index
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