Two Hands

History of Two Hands

Two Hands was born in 1999 when two wine enthusiasts, Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz, joined forces, determined to break with Australian wine conventions. At a time when standardized multi-regional blends dominated national production, the partners took the opposite approach: revealing the diversity of Australian Shiraz by highlighting regional and vineyard-specific character and, above all, letting the fruit speak. The first harvest, in 2000, amounted to just 17 tons of grapes, with a modest initial investment. Critical success came swiftly: Michael Twelftree’s contacts in the United States and the United Kingdom helped launch the brand, and the complete Garden Series debuted with the 2003 vintage.

In 2004, the estate built a state-of-the-art winery in Marananga, in the heart of Barossa Valley, designed for small-lot production. The tasting room, housed in Kraehe House, a late-19th-century stone cottage, welcomes visitors seven days a week. International recognition followed: Two Hands appeared in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 for 10 consecutive years (2003 to 2012), an unparalleled feat at the time, and Robert Parker famously praised it as the finest négociant house south of the equator. The estate now exports to more than 24 countries.

Terroirs and vineyards of Two Hands

Two Hands is built on one conviction: great wines are made in the vineyard. The estate draws on its own vineyards in Barossa Valley and Eden Valley, including the emblematic Holy Grail Vineyard in Seppeltsfield, acquired beginning in 2008 and planted with meticulous care, as well as a network of partner growers farming exceptional plots. Its grape sourcing spans six Australian wine regions with contrasting personalities: Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Langhorne Creek and Heathcote, as well as Padthaway.

The Barossa, one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, is home to Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre vines, some more than 125 years old and growing on their own roots, which reach deep into the red soils of the Western Ranges. This mosaic of terroirs allows Two Hands to show just how much Shiraz can vary from one region to another, from the Barossa’s opulent fruit to the spicy freshness of cooler areas.

Winemaking at Two Hands

At Two Hands, grapes are harvested when they taste ripe, rather than according to strict analytical criteria, then vinified plot by plot in small lots at the Marananga winery. The philosophy is noninterventionist: gentle extraction, aging mainly in French oak barrels, and a constant commitment to expressing the fruit’s origin rather than the winemaker’s hand. The estate’s hallmark is its barrel classification: each year, cellar master Richard Langford and his team blind-taste more than 1,500 barrels of Shiraz. The very best—1 to 2% of production—are reserved for the Flagship Series, followed by the Single Vineyard Series, the Garden Series and then the Picture Series. Ares Shiraz, at the top of this hierarchy, is aged for 24 months in new and once-used French oak barrels, then tasted again barrel by barrel before the final blend.

The cuvées of Two Hands

Ares Shiraz: the estate’s fine wine, made from the handful of barrels judged most exceptional among the 1,500 tasted each year. A monumental, deep and structured Shiraz with aging potential of 15 to 20 years or more.

Aphrodite Cabernet Sauvignon: the goddess of the Flagship Series, a distinguished Cabernet Sauvignon from the finest lots, combining powerful dark fruit, minty freshness and velvety tannins.

Aerope Grenache: the estate’s tribute to South Australia’s very old Grenache vines, a fragrant, silky wine of great elegance.

Adrestia Chardonnay: the newest addition to the Flagship Series, a superb, taut and precise Chardonnay that brings a white wine into the collection named for Greek gods.

My Hands Shiraz: an extremely rare, limited-production cuvée made from the estate’s most extraordinary lots, including certain blocks of the Holy Grail Vineyard, for serious collectors.

Holy Grail Shiraz: the flagship of the Single Vineyard Series, this Shiraz comes from the estate-owned vineyard in Seppeltsfield, in the Barossa. Intensely aromatic, elegant and long, its name was inspired by the Monty Python film and the quest for the perfect site.

Secret Block Shiraz and the other single-vineyard wines of the Single Vineyard Series—notably Yacca Block, Coach House Block and Dave’s Block—are limited-production wines from individual sites, precisely expressing the varietal character and personality of each location.

Bella’s Garden Shiraz: the signature cuvée of the Garden Series, a blend of the finest Barossa Valley Shiraz barrels, produced since the 1999 vintage. Opulent and harmonious, its 2008 vintage ranked second in Wine Spectator’s Top 100.

Lily’s Garden Shiraz: an expression of McLaren Vale that is supple, rich and generous, with notes of mixed fruit, eucalyptus and sage.

Samantha’s Garden Shiraz: the Clare Valley version, fresher and more streamlined, with spice accents and appealing tension.

Sophie’s Garden Shiraz: born of Padthaway’s terroirs, a cuvée with deep dark fruit and a richly appealing texture.

Max’s Garden Shiraz: the range’s only venture beyond South Australia, onto the ancient soils of Heathcote in Victoria, for a dense, mineral Shiraz.

Harry & Edward’s Garden Shiraz and Charlie’s Garden Shiraz: expressions of Langhorne Creek and Eden Valley that complete this survey of Australian regional character.

Gnarly Dudes Shiraz: a star of the Picture Series, this Barossa Shiraz has a name that nods to The Big Lebowski and old, gnarled vines. It offers juicy fruit, appealing tannins and immediate pleasure. Also available in magnum.

Angels’ Share Shiraz: a generous McLaren Vale wine bursting with black cherry, raspberry and licorice, named for the “angels’ share” that evaporates from the barrels.

Sexy Beast Cabernet Sauvignon: named after the British gangster film, this fleshy, spicy Cabernet made Wine Spectator’s Top 100 with its 2020 vintage.

The Boy, Yesterday’s Hero, Brave Faces and Fields of Joy: the Picture Series’ other gems are, respectively, a finely etched Eden Valley Riesling, a charming old-vine Grenache, an appealing Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro blend, and a fresh, floral Clare Valley Shiraz.

The Twelftree range: Michael Twelftree’s personal collection of single-vineyard Grenache wines, available at the tasting room, exploring the oldest Grenache vines of McLaren Vale and the Barossa.