Two Hands, “Angels’ Share”, Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia 2008

What’s in the bottle? Dark opaque black color with bright day-glow purple rim. It leaves a dark stain on the glass as you swirl the wine hinting at the power of this wine. The nose is huge and filled with dark fruits of mulberry, boysenberry and black raspberry. There is a hint of blueberry hidden behind the massive display of dark fruit which I find to be typical of Australian Shiraz. The palate is unforgiving with big oaky notes of burnt marshmallow, coconut and vanilla. Despite the full throttle nose and palate the wine comes across as Medium bodied. I think over time the flavor profile will match the weight of the wine. There are some small particles in the glass as most of Two Hands wines are bottled unfiltered.

Knowledge: Shiraz and Syrah are the same grape variety and the names can be used interchangeably. Australia has hung its hat on Shiraz and became quite a force to be reckoned with in the wine world. The past few vintages have been tough on the country as a whole with wildfires, draught and flood putting vineyard manager’s skills to the test. The country is also divided on the marketing side. Some producers want to produce large quantities of wine with no real distinct sense of where they are from and other are focusing on individual grapes from select region and vineyards. Two Hands falls into the latter camp.

Service: Decant for two or more hours before approaching. The bigger the glass the better when it comes to this bad boy. Serve at about 62° F, so pull from cellar at 55°F and it will come up to the proper temperature in the decanter.

What to eat? Heavily charred oversized Rib-Eye Steak! A wine with this much power requires food that will punch back. Brush your teeth after dinner because this wine is a teeth stainer!

Retail Price: $35.99

Found it @:

Simply Wine & Liquor
1029-B Route 112
Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776
(631)331-2500

For the Geeks like Me: Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz are to Australia what Maison Joseph Drouhin and Louis Latour are to Burgundy France. They are a Negociant company that searches for special vineyards and purchases the fruit from those vines to make wine under the Two Hands label. Through their “Garden Series” they showcase the Shiraz grape from different growing area (G.I.’s / Geographical Indications) in Australia to show how the single varietal speaks differently from each of these distinct areas.