Teusner Avatar

Kym Teusner was one of the first 'young guns' in the Barossa. He learnt at Torbreck and his first two wines, the Joshua and the Avatar, were unashamedly copies of the Juveniles and the Steading. I have found these wines attractive and the 2005 Teusner Avatar I am reviewing today confirms this view.

The Avatar is a wooded GSM blend. It is quite rich, maybe a bit fruity as a result of the strong Grenache component, but there are enough tannins to give the wine sufficient backbone. This wine is certainly on the ripe side, and I would not age it for too long, but it will provide satisfying drinking for the next couple of years.

Teusner has grown dramatically during the last couple of years both in terms of volume of production and number of wines. Recent tastings make me wonder if he is doing too much too soon, but then it could also have been the recent difficult vintages in the Barossa.

Score: 92/+