The
New Barossa
Part 19: Kym
Teusner, revisited
Since
I last saw Kym a
year previously, things had taken off a bit. He’s still managing
Rolf Binder’s winery (formerly known as Veritas – the name had to
be changed because of legal reasons) very ably, but production of
Kym’s own wines has stepped up a good deal, to the extent that
he’s now crushing 75 tons this vintage. It’s a good job that Rolf
has a big facility with plenty of spare space.
When I arrived he was half way through trying to
restart a stuck ferment, but a power cut prevented any more pumping,
so instead we fished around for barrel samples in the fading
twighlight. Kym’s pretty athletic and can reach the top of a
five-high barrel stack without the need for a ladder. It makes for
nervous viewing though.
A new addition to the Teusner range is the charming
Riebke Shiraz. One of the growers he worked with came to him with a
load of Shiraz fruit that was surplus to requirements with a big
company. Kym had a look and decided that it was excellent quality,
hence this wine: 1200 cases of to quality, affordable Shiraz from the
Ebenezer district of the Barossa. The following notes are all from
bottled wines.
Teusner
The Riebke Shiraz 2004 Barossa
Lovely sweet open nose of ripe, full dark fruits. The palate shows
appealing open fruit: really expressive and pure with lots of
character and brilliant fruit quality.
Very good/excellent 90/100
Teusner Joshua 2005 Barossa
Really forward, pretty, intense nose with sweet but well defined
blackberry fruit. Pure and almost summer-pudding like. The palate is
rich and sweetly fruited with a nice soft texture and a spicy finish.
A delicious wine in a forward style. Lots of appeal here. Very
good/excellent 91/100
Teusner Avatar 2004 Barossa
Delicious open, spicy fruit on the nose, which is quite sweet and
pure. Lovely spicy fruit on the palate with a real lushness of
texture. Quite open but with some seriousness, too: there’s good
concentration and density. Very good/excellent 92/100
Wines
tasted October 2005
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