- Barossa Valley, SA - $20-$29
- Screwcap
- 14.5%alc
Kym Teusner's popularity and confidently styled Barossa reds find him reaching an ever increasing audience of fine wine drinkers. His 2009 Dog Strangler Mataro was recently awarded an impressive 7.5/10 by Sean Mitchell at Grape Observer, as well as finding its way into Red's Top 5 of 2010.
Straight off the bat this wine unleashes a very ripe fragrance strongly beset with plum skins, prunes and violets, but give it an hour in the decanter and it becomes deeper, more savoury/complex and better integrated. With time a richly scented tone of melted chocolate emerges, complementing its black plum and raisin aromas alongside a wonderfully rustic punch of mataro-induced turned earth and ground spice. It smells ripe yet smooth and measured, beautifully reflecting old-vine fruit depth and Barossa plushness. Perhaps surprisingly so considering its regional/varietal make-up, the palate elegantly introduces itself as medium-bodied and as silky as a nice pair of lady's knickers. It's particularly deep, smooth and rich in juicy dark fruits through the front and middle sections, but its crowning achievement is the way it advances with savoury, spicy and rustic complexity towards an extremely long, utterly impressive finish, graced by a moderately dry dusting of ripe tannins. Length of fruit is fantastic.
ü+ I haven't been this enthused by a straight Barossa mataro since Torbreck's $185 2005 The Pict (95pts). The high quality of the old-vine fruit in Teusner's 2009 Dog Strangler is plain to see, but it's the control of this important resource, implemented by truly complementary winemaking, that makes this wine so universally delicious. Drink to 2017.
92 points
Glad you did it and glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeletenice work Chris, and those t-bones look pretty tasty too. Have been missing my 2 webers (picked up in council clean-ups) since I moved south
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with AndyPat - those T-Bones look awesome. A choice between the steaks and the Dog Strangler would be tough - just as well you had both! :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it too, and great note. I could almost hear the excitement in it(!), and it reminds me that I need to buy a lot of this wine.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Sean
Thanks guys. It is such a nice wine isn't it? It's just one of those really wholesome, just so drinkable and slurpable South Australian reds that makes for good drinking in both cold weather and summer. Perfect really, as we're currently experiencing a run of 20 deg December days here in Adelaide. :)
ReplyDeleteSad to hear you're missing the webers Andy. I don't actually own one myself but a friend of mine regularly drops by with his portable and a couple of spectacular steaks to boot! :) It's hard to beat that genuine charcoal grilled/chargrilled flavour isn't it? Also, something about eating off a weber takes me away to my childhood days, having a BBQ with my dad....
Cheers,
Chris P