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Two Hands
Max's Garden Shiraz
Heathcote 2005

Size: 750 ml
Price: $44.97

Rating:

93 Points, Wine Spectator
This vintage represents a significant step up for this cooler climate red. Beautifully balanced and harmonious, this distinctive wine offers mineral-accented pure plum and blackberry flavors, hinting at violets and earth as the finish sails on and on. Tannins are present but smoothly integrated, a wine of great promise. Drink now through 2015. 1,080 cases made.

From the Winery:
Heathcote has the ability to produce velvety rich wines combined with elegance, which makes it one of Australia's most exciting regions for Shiraz. We are inspired by this wine as it shows another dimension of what can be achieved with Shiraz in Australia.

This wine is a beautiful dark purple colour with amazing density. A gentle bouquet showing hints of coal, chocolate and dark cherry flavours. The palate starts out quite lean and focused -- then driving through the core is a mass of spicy black fruits and almost delicate tannins, which provide the key to this wine. A long and multi dimensional finish. The 2005 Max's Garden will cellar easily for 8+ years but it is very approachable on release.

Crushed in the Yarra Valley (Victoria), the must is transported to the Barossa Valley where it spends 2-4 days cold macerating. Fermented in the Barossa Valley in 5 and 10 tonne open top fermeneters with regular pump overs; three daily during peak fermentation to extract colour and tannin. following 7-14 days of maceration the dry free run is drained to tank.

The skins are then pressed and the pressings transferred to the same tank, the wine is then racked to barrel. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel. Minimal fining and non filtered.

After several winters of low rainfall, the good rains of winter 2004 coupled with the mild spring ensured an excellent start to the 2004/05 growing season. The mild spring covered the periods of flowering and set, leading to an above average crop level. Subsequently about 30% of fruit was removed prior to veraison (physiological period when grapes soften, accumulate sugar, lose acid and red varieties change colour).

After a few non threatening rain events, the 04/05 season was mild and conducive to excellent ripening. The resultant wines are rich and dense, but still have an elegance about them. Full of dark fruit and spice, with firm tannins and good acid balance.

In 2004, Two Hands took fruit from two blocks in the same vineyard. Firstly, Block 1, also taken in vintages 2003 and 2004, is high up near the ridge of the Camel Ranges and secondly, Block 3, halfway down the hillside, still on a northeasterly aspect and the typical reddish Cambrian soils. The defining feature of Block 3 is the distinct plateau through the middle 2/3 of the block, where the soil is significantly shallower than the remainder of the vineyard and creates an environment where the vines have to work harder and berries are smaller, resulting in fruit of intense colour, flavour and tannin structure.