Australia
Two Hands – Sexy Beast
Two Hands
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. Quality without compromise is central to the Two Hands philosophy, driving all the decisions from fruit and oak selection to packaging and promotion.
Two Hands’ first vintage was in 2000, after a modest $30k investment and starting with just 17 tons of fruit. Early success helped Two Hands gradually increase production and venture out to launch the full Garden Series with the 2003 vintage. Later that year, in the Western Ranges of the Barossa Valley, a rundown uninhabited cottage next to the Marananga Creek was spotted and transformed to become the home of Two Hands – Kraehe House.
By the end of 2004 a state-of-the-art winery was built on the same site, specifically designed for small batch handling. To maximize the individual regional and varietal characteristics and to allow for greater quality control, every parcel of fruit, no matter how small, could be handled separately from crushing through to fermentation and oak maturation.
Numerous accolades continued, including Robert Parker famously naming Two Hands “the finest negociant south of the equator’’. In November 2012, Two Hands was named in the Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 for the 10th consecutive year.
Two Hands Wines are certified under the Australian Wine Industry Standard of Sustainable Practice. Each year 540 bales of straw mulch are used under the vines to keep the soil temperature and surface roots cool as well as retain valuable moisture in the soil. The mulch also promotes earthworm and soil microbe activity in the soil.
The Scottish Highland cattle and 100% of the grape must post vintage both contribute to the 300 tons of organic compost that are added back into the vineyards each year.
Today Two Hands is owned by Michael Twelftree, together with General Manager Pierre-Henri. With Michael and Pierre sharing an ambitious vision for the future, Two Hands next chapter in the journey is sure to be exciting.
Sexy Beast, McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon
“I was always taught that Cabernet Sauvignon was a classical, structured and well mannered wine, but in our wonderful McLaren Vale Mediterranean climate we make it rich, brooding and powerful, underpinned by boundless energy. We call it our Sexy Beast, inspired by the cult classic movie starring Sir Ben Kingsley” Michael Twelftree.
Two Hands Sexy Beast Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep purple to black hue. The bouquet springs forward with high tone notes of cedar, black currant, sarsaparilla, fresh licorice, cloves, aniseed and smoked meats. The palate is medium weight in texture. It starts out with a nice core of dark fruits that draw late into the palate. When the tannins take over they are broad in appeal, with loads of cassis and black fruit flavors.