Barossa 14.5% Screwcap $25
Teusner’s The Dog Strangler Mataro is a wine whose release I eagerly await each year. It’s an affordable and widely available example of a variety that has a clear role in the future of Australian wine – not some “blow in” new variety seeking to satiate the appetites of keen explorers or jaded palates, rather it is as Nick Stock describes it in the latest Gourmet Traveller Wine (June/July 2011) “an ancient beast of a vine that has survived in Australian soil longer than just about any grape variety we have”. This is a grape with an organic story unique to our continent, and more importantly a grape that seems eminently capable of producing excellent wine from the areas in which it was first planted.
The 2010 seems a little more sculpted than the two previous vintages. Perhaps a touch more solemn too. Dense black fruits smoulder underneath a cap of soil, ironstone, liquorice and salted chocolate. Complex spices and a whiff of earthy roast beetroot escape with greater ease than any primary fruit. It’s tightly compacted in the mouth as well with some serious tannin gathering the characters together in a tense bundle. Dried herbs and Bonox© further contribute to the overall savoury vein.
On the second day of tasting a more rounded and liberated expression is apparent with that primary fruit surfacing. Some self-effacing raspberry and cherry adds levity. The structure has relaxed and the tensions have gone a way towards being resolved. To be honest I preferred it on day one but there’s no doubting it’s a very good wine.
Winery website- http://www.teusner.com.au/
Do you have a preference between this and the 09? I absolutely love the 09, so very keen to try this latest release given the general quality of the '10 vintage in the Barossa.
Andrew- I actually asked myself that question as I wrote this note. Something about the structure and the way the wine presented on the first day had it ahead of the 09 but on the second day I wasn't so sure.
In the end I guess I don't see any significant difference in quality between the two vintages, juts subtle variations on a theme – both very worthwhile. I would be keen to read your thoughts once you have had a chance to taste the 2010.
cheers,
j