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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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