Two Hands Ares Shiraz 2012
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Very deep garnet-purple in color, the 2012 Shiraz Ares reveals primary aromas of crushed blackcurrants, black plums and blueberries with touches of dark chocolate, aniseed, menthol, cedar and yeast extract. Concentrated, rich, and packed with black fruits on the full-bodied palate, it has a solid backbone of firm, chewy tannins and lively acid propping up the generous flesh and the finish is very long with a little oak still poking through. Give it 3-5 more years of cellaring. Rating: 95+
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Wine Spectator
Big, rich, ripe and dense, layered with black cherry, licorice, dark chocolate and spice flavors, picking up a smoky note as the finish lingers. Has presence, muscle and depth. Will benefit from cellaring. Best from 2018 through 2025.
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Wine & Spirits
Michael Twelftree and Ben Perkins select this from the 1,500 barrels of shiraz they produce, deciding on a few barrels to blend for Ares. Add a few points to the score if you like the contemporary style of huge Barossa shiraz, as this wine hits that style with old-vine depth and complexity, umami notes of black olives and black mushrooms and plenty of boozy heat. It’s powerful and gripping, and the most remarkable thing about it is that the fruit is still red, rather than black.
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The idea for Two Hands was born in September 1999 when founders Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz sat at a friend’s engagement party and decided it was time to make their own wine and market it on the world stage.
The original aim was, and still is, to make the best possible Shiraz-based wines from prized growing regions throughout Australia. With so much Australian wine being sold around the globe under multi-region labels in a formulaic style, the intention was to break the mold and showcase the diversity of Australian Shiraz by highlighting regional and vineyard characteristics by allowing the fruit to be the primary feature of the wines.
Quality without compromise is central to the Two Hands philosophy, driving all the decisions from fruit and oak selection to packaging and promotion. From the outset, Two Hands set out to be unique and innovative, this approach is reflected in everything from the names of the wines through to, not least, the wines themselves. From small beginnings, the winery has been able to manage its growth organically whilst maintaining an absolute quality focus. Premium fruit is sourced from the finest Shiraz growing regions in Australia, and Two Hands works closely with its estate vineyards and band of growers to ensure the full potential of each vineyard is reached. They handle every parcel of fruit, however small, separately from crushing through to fermentation and oak maturation to ensure complexity and personality in the finished wines.
In its simplest form, it could be said that they squeeze the grapes and put them in a bottle. However, in practice there are many different steps and countless hours involved, from vineyard, through to winemaking, tasting, blending and maturation in order to make consistent, quality wines.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.