WTN: 2004 Two Hands Sophie's Garden Padthaway Shiraz

I've been away for the last 10 days in the south of Brazil visiting vineyards and attempting to assess the state of Brazilian wine, which has been evolving reasonably well.

2004 Two Hands Sophie's Garden Padthaway Shiraz 16.0%
Aroma is predominantly oak with cocoa, coffee, bacon and very ripe (compote) fruit. Initial mouthfeel is very hot, not surprisingly, with low acidity. With aeration and food, the acid/sweet balance becomes much better and the mouthfeel less hot. Ends balanced and satisfying, though without much originality. I don't think I've had a dry red with this much alcohol before and, not having much experience with Aussie shiraz, I wonder if the same issues apply as in the Andes, i.e., super ripe grapes producing high alcohol wines that require acidulation to correct the acid/sweet balance, with open questions as to graceful ageing.

[David M. Bueker]

I have no idea about the "additions" thing, but I've had three or four Two Hands wines, and do not get the critical hype. I find them to have too much of everything, and question their basic balance.

(snip) graceful ageing.

After what I've tasted, I have no idea if either term can ever be used with a Two Hands wine. I find them almost as bad as the Sparky monstrosities; overly confected, alcoholic and goopy.

As far as aging other big Aussie blockbusters - the few older ones I've had haven't impressed me, and some - like a 97 Glaetzer Shiraz that felt like liquefied oak and plastic - have been just undrinkable. Hence why I just stick to wines with more restraint and elegance and less alcohol like Henschke, Coonawarra/Margaret River Cabs and Victorian/Eden Valley Syrah - the wines I've had from those areas have given me far more pleasure and some of the older examples I've had have been spectacular.

I know it's not cool, but I'll admit it. I do like a big, jammy, high alcohol Aussie Shiraz on occasion. I have enjoyed the Two Hands Bella's Garden, and Lilly's Garden in the past. I've even knocked back a couple of Molly Dooker's. I know that the style doesn't appeal to everyone, but it seems that an inordinate number of members of the Geek Nation have hopped on the Aussie Shiraz hater bandwagon. All I am saying is give peace, and Shiraz, a chance.

I love Shiraz Sam - but the key for me is balance, even when we're talking about big fruit bombs. If I'm looking for the occasional high-octane wine with tons of fruit, I'll turn to producers like Oliverhill, Massena or Kay Brothers where the wines are dense but remain balanced and are enjoyable with the alcohol/oak not being over the top.

(PS: If you do enjoy that sort of Aussie - hunt down Oliverhill's Jimmy Section Shiraz sometime, especially the 05 - incredibly delicious.)

I can understand some of the "over the top" comments on Aussie Shiraz. I love them. I fully enjoy it when wine has flavor. But I still can see where some of the MollyDookers might be a bit too thick to enjoy. At least a whole bottle by one's self.

But of all wines to pick on, I can't for the life of me figure out why this one. High alcohol? yeah. Concentrated fruit? yeah. Glycerin feel? yeah. But Oak? This wine uses oak, but only in Hogsheads and only 25% or so new. The rest are in older hogsheads. And I believe the new hogsheads are french. Anyway, who cares what the actual stats are. This wine simply does not show an extreme amount of oak. The acid balance is excellent. Even the hot year of '03-'04, the wine didn't get as ripe as the Barossa or any other place north of there. This wine has great balance and wonderful fruit. The one statement I would use to describe this wine is purity of fruit.

Of the garden series for the '04s, Lilys Garden was by far my favorite but probably because of the extreme heat that year. Usually I prefer Bella's Garden. Which I would assume that both David and Salil would dislike the most. Of the garden series wines, I would believe that the two of you would prefer Sophie's or Max's Garden. From your comments, I'm not even sure either one of you have ever even tasted any Two Hands wine.

Mark

[David M. Bueker]

All I am saying is give peace, and Shiraz, a chance.

And even some of us haters do give it a chance. There are a few I like (I actually bought some Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz recently), but a lot that I find unbalanced and hot.

All I am saying is give peace, and Shiraz, a chance.

And even some of us haters do give it a chance. There are a few I like (I actually bought some Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz recently), but a lot that I find unbalanced and hot.

As someone whose cellar has more St Henri (back to 1992) than any other wine (the Lagier-Meredith Syrah comes a distant second in terms of both bottle and vintage count) I have to say that I enjoy Aussie Shiraz across the whole spectrum. The Mollydooker wines are actually the product of a carefully thought out approach (see TORB's notes for an excellent overview of Mollydooker from top to bottom). The way the Marquis' make their wines may not be everyones cup of tea but I, for one, do not underestimate the drive and passion behind what they do. On our recent visit to Oz last Oct/Nov we had a most memorable visit at Mollydooker. We were supposed to be there for 2-3 hours for a tour of the winery and a tasting. Its all run by Sparky's mum, Janet, and we ended up staying for about 6 hours and went through pretty much the whole line up including the Velvet Glove (probably the only wine that I feel is truely over the top) with all the wines being put up against their dreaded nemesis - food!

Mike

I love Shiraz Sam - but the key for me is balance...

Salil,

I agree with you, but I guess I don't find the Sophie's garden to be out of balance. It is most certainly "jammy", but I personally don't find the fruit to be lop-sided. Perhaps it's just a matter of personal taste. I'm rarely put off by what other people think of as "fruit bombs". On the other hand a little bit of oak goes a long way on my palate. I say no to the oak monster.

And even some of us haters do give it a chance. There are a few I like (I actually bought some Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz recently), but a lot that I find unbalanced and hot.

David,

I wasn't aiming at you personally. You post some on the Parker board. Don't you think that people make a real effort to dislike jammy Aussie Shiraz over there? People are free to determine their own likes and dislikes, but it does baffle me that Shiraz, and particularly Molly Dooker, are singled out for so much abuse. Sometimes spoofulation can be enjoyable, right?