THE PLAYGROUND DR. FRANK’S BIG BLACK ONE 2014

“Each vintage, we monkeys at Teusner can’t resist the opportunity to play around with small parcels of interesting stuff. Mostly small batch makes, and more often that not one offs. The ‘Playground’ series lets us show off what comes from mucking around.

We’ve got a thing about big black things at Teusner…big black dogs, big black utes….and big black reds. Dr. Francois (Frank to his mates) Durif, French botanist extraordinaire of the late 19th century ‘mated’ Shiraz with Peloursin and named the resulting love child after himself. Why the Americans call this gear ‘Petite Syrah’ is beyond me…this stuff is big, it’s as black as dog’s guts…and in the case of the 2012…it’s got bling! Top gold at the 2013 Royal Adelaide Show in the Durif stakes.”

KYM TEUSNER, WINEMAKER

2012 Dr Franks

“Big, black, thick and smooth. Smells of boysenberry and blackberry – lively fruits of the forest stuff – warm spices and marzipan oak. Full bodied, full of flavour, palate saturating fine grainy tannin, pippy fresh berry acidity and a mocha and earth finish of excellent length. Has some dried herb seasoning tucked in there too. Excellent Durif, and if this sounds like your kinda thing, it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll love it. ”

94 POINTS, Gary Walsh ,www.winefront.com.au, January 23, 2014

“Inky purple, almost impenetrable; a massive full-bodied wine with lashings of black fruits and tannins; it is nowhere near ready to drink, but has sufficient balance to give it 5 years to grow up. Oh, and the Black One is Durif.”

94 POINTS, JAMES HALLIDAY’S AUSTRALIAN WINE COMPANION, July 26, 2014

“Very deep, concentrated purple colour. The bouquet is shy and reticent, while the palate is massive, very full-bodied and tannic, with a big grip and lots of grunt. The fruit flavour is essency and tremendously intense, grape-sweet and opulent. It will very likely live for decades. A most impressive wine.”

92 POINTS, HUON HOOKE, 29TH JULY 2014

“I’ve really enjoyed a couple of Australian Durifs lately. Not just admired but enjoyed. There’s a BIG difference. This is full-bodied and inky but it’s not hot, thick or soupy. It’s a GENEROUSLY PROPORTIONED table wine. Complex and layered with ADMIRABLE FORM AND SHAPE. Satsuma plum, dark chocolate and vanilla, jubey red and black currants, baking spice and ferrous train-track tannin. Really good reach. Some warmth but it never breaks the line. It’s tarry and fascinating. I’ve got BIG wraps on this.”

94 POINTS, Jeremy Pringle, www.winewilleatitself.com.au, December 27, 2013