The Wine Front – Grown mostly on the Rayner vineyard in McLaren Vale. 43 year old grenache vines; 65 year old shiraz vines; mataro from nearby. Some whole bunches, mostly with the mataro. All old oak. Bottled unfined/unfiltered. Another fantastic release from Bondar. Just the right mix of structure, flavour and interest. This is a savoury, sinewy wine first and foremost though flavours of graphite, woodsmoke, black cherry and fennel mean that there’s plenty else going on. Those strains of spicy tannin though; those fistfuls of smoked twigs and spices; they really set the scene. It twirls and twists through the mouth like it’s mapping out genes. A light-but-exquisite red wine. 93 points, Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au

The Wine Front – Gary Walsh - 94 Points - So purple. So good. It’s spicy, floral, liquorice, dark fruits and boysenberry, with a bloody ‘mineral’ character from the Mataro. Light grip of open-weave tannin, freshness and vigour, and a long shapely finish. Wonderful expression of Barossa here.

James Halliday – 45/35/25% grenache, shiraz and mataro; vines up to 80yo; small open fermenters, wild yeast, 10% whole bunch; 2-week ferment, hand-plunged. The rich bouquet, hinting at luscious fruits, doesn't deceive. A vibrant, supple cherry/plum/raspberry trifecta. James Halliday Wine Companion 2023, 3 August, 2022

Huon Hooke – "95 out of 100 we scored it, a gold Ribbon score, and number 1 out of 25 grenache blends from Barossa in 2019 so very high recommendation. $30 wine... ...Lovely full bodied wine, intense but not heavy, enough tannin to carry flavour and to make it stand up with food. Plummy, spicy, good balance, harmony, freshness, beautiful drinkability although will age well as well. We suggest drinking now until 10 years hence, but it would last a lot longer."

The Wine Front – We’ve pretty much liked/loved every release of Teusner’s The Dog Strangler Mataro that we’ve tried. Sheesh. This is seductive. This is good. If you want a guaranteed-to-please Aussie red, look no further. It offers a wealth of dark, berried, suede-like fruit flavour and it does so in the smoothest, most supple fashion. It has spice, it has earth, it has tannin – it has credentials – but mostly it’s a bloom of beautiful mataro fruit flavour. Coffeed/toasty/milky oak, modestly applied, is an excellent finishing touch.

The Wine Front – Made using old vine grenache, mataro and shiraz. Beautiful wine. Lovely pitch and flow. Raspberries, violets, woodsy spices and boysenberries. A bit of jamminess but in a context of both spice and freshness. Tannin, fine-grained, like mesh. Ticks all the boxes. Grenache blend in an excellent place.

James Halliday – Rosé produced from grenache and mataro from a variety of subregions – Greenock, Nuriootpa and Mengler's Hill. Pale salmon in the glass with aromas of ruby red grapefruit, nectarine and raspberry along with hints of soft spice, almond blossom and stone. Plenty of savoury appeal on the palate, finishing with bright, crystalline acidity and a crisp, dry wash of delicate red fruits and clotted cream. James Halliday Wine Companion 2023, 3 August, 2022

James Halliday – "Pete Schell makes a damn fine rosé. This year it's 52/30/16/2% grenache/mataro/shiraz/cinsault and it sits light salmon in the glass showing aromas of nectarine, raspberry and grapefruit along with hints of redcurrant jelly, white flowers, crushed stone and maybe a touch of lanolin. Sapid and fine with a lovely shimmering acid line and savoury palate shape and an endearing lipsmacking briny finish that begs another glass.” - Dave Brookes, Wine Companion

Robert Parker/Wine Advocate – “Pale crimson/salmon-like colour, redcurrant flavours, dry, savoury, earthen, that kind of thing. Firmly in the ‘pale and dry’ camp. Watermelon characters, maybe some grapefruit, definitely some spice. Light in a good way. Frisky but with plenty going on. Good gear.” - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

The Wine Front – Raspberry jubes, cocoa and aniseed, fair perfume of dried herbs and flowers. Medium-bodied, choc-liquorice, juicy red berries, hazelnut, something a little more steely, saline, and ferrous, though that’s as yet more latent as the vibrant fruit is currently front and centre. A light graininess to tannin, freshness too, with a juicy finish of excellent length. It’s fun and bouncy now, though I reckon it will be better again in a few years when it settles down a bit. Tasted: Jan 23 14% alc. $28 Screwcap Drink: 2024 - 2030 - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front.

James Halliday – Interesting wine: 42 days on skins has extracted all the tannins from the shiraz and mataro grapes, but any harshness has long since gone. Tannin is a form of natural antioxidant, and this has enabled the wine to be made with no sulphur addition until bottling, when a small addition was made after the wine had spent 12 months in used oak. It is fresh, and has attitude on the finish.

The Wine Front – "Blackberry, boysenberry, meaty and perfumed with dried herb, some dark chocolate in the mix too. It’s medium to full-bodied, roast beef and dried herb, black fruit, lots of silty Turkish coffee tannin, a little orange peel amaro bitterness on a nice long finish is nice too. It’s an excellent wine. Thick, but lively." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

James Halliday – "The identity of the vineyard is not disclosed, but it's very good on the incontrovertible evidence of this remarkable mataro, a variety that is notoriously difficult to manage on its own in the winery. The colour is excellent, as is the depth of the complex fruits that range across red and purple into a savoury/earthy eventide of flavours and dusty tannins." - James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)

James Halliday – "With a blend of 37/31/31/12% mataro/cinsault/grenache/shiraz and a very sharp pricepoint, I guess this could be considered as the sibling of the Spinifex Esprit, which has a similar makeup. All you need to know is that it's a pretty lovely wine, packed with exotically spiced plum and red berry fruits and featuring an airy, spacious mouthfeel with plenty of detail and inherent drinkability. You could even pop it in the fridge briefly if that's what you're into." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

The Wine Front – "This is a deep, powerful red wine. Indeed this is top-end-of-town in terms of richness, though it’s not overdone and it feels both svelte and neat. But wow, what intensity. Blackberries, dark chocolate, cloves, earth, mint and fragrant, cooling herbs. It’s complete, it’s satisfying, it’s structured and yet it flows and it flows. You could drink this now, or in 20 years, and it would sing on demand." - Campbell Mattinson

James Halliday – The 163yo Stonegarden vineyard near Springton is one of the treasures of the Eden Valley. Experiencing a wine made from these ancestor vines is an exercise in texture, restraint and grace. Vivid plum and red fruits cut with exotic spice, fennel tops, ginger cake, cola and purple flowers. Just beautiful drinking: a wine that is very composed and comfortable in its own skin. Savoury and fine. James Halliday Wine Companion 2023, 3 August, 2022