2021 Two Hands Holy Grail Shiraz, Barossa Valley

This 2021 Shiraz Holy Grail single vineyard from Seppeltsfield is a seamless wine offering an aromatic feast of wood smoke, blackberry and roast spice with excellent purity and focus. Beautifully pitched with immaculate structure to standout, a firm seam of tannins supports layers of embryonic granite, earth and spice. The sheer composure and balance mark this as a classic with years ahead of it. Drink 2029 to 2040.

96 points Angus Hughson for Vinous, March 2023

Deep, dark, inky and opaque in the glass. Opulent aromas of licorice, plum, ferrous earth, cola, mulberry and graphite. Full flavoured, brooding and powerful. Full throttle with dark fruits, sweet oak, iodine, coffee grounds, anise and cedary oak. The tannins are firm and shapely and teamed with the bright acidity, control the decadent fruit admirably. Not for the faint hearted. Drink to 2039.

95 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, March 2024

My, my, my, the 2021 Holy Grail Seppeltsfield Road Seppeltsfield Shiraz is a big wine. Nothing else is expected of course, but still, it is significant in stature. It has black everything: cherries, berries, resin, tar, tobacco, earth, rocks, tea, roast beef crust and chocolate. It's an intense wine. Drink to 2035.

94 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, August 2023

Two Hands is a Barossa Valley based producer established in 1999 to showcase the diversity of Australian Shiraz and to highlight regional and vineyard characteristics by allowing the fruit to take centre stage. In addition to the three estate vineyards in the region, négociant fruit is also bought from long term grower partners within the greater Barossa, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley.

The estate vineyards are managed through numerous sustainable practices that include heavy mulching ahead of the growing season, sap flow monitored sparse irrigation and a resident flock of Scottish Highlander cows that turn grape must into good fertiliser.

Holy Grail is a single vineyard expression of the Seppeltsfield subregion named after the much-loved Monty Python film. At 250m altitude, the vines are planted in red and brown clays. This wine is from the 2021 vintage, a season of welcome rainfalls and mild conditions paving way to a vintage of elegant and classically styled wines.

Fermentation too place in small stainless-steel vessels with frequent pump-overs. Free-run juice and pressings were combined and racked into seasoned French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and aging for 18 months. The wine is minimally fined but not filtered.

A big and powerful wine that greets you with smoky and ferrous black fruit aromas. The harmonious palate floods the mouth with intense black earthy fruit that is held together by a firm tannin structure and bright acidity. As full-bodied as they come, impressive and well-mannered for the sheer size of the whole, and with an almost guaranteed potential for extended cellaring.

Have fun wrestling this wine with a claypot braise of tofu skin, shiitake and fermented black beans, Korean braised beef short ribs or smoked lamb with a black garlic and pomegranate molasses.