Wine & and Food: Two hands Gnarly Dudes Shiraz 2011

Wine: Two Hands Gnarly Dudes	Type: Shiraz
Country: Australia	Region: Barossa Valley
Rating: Very Good	Price: $33
Recommendation: Highly Recommended

We were planning a BBQ spare rib meal recently and so I was looking for a wine that was strong enough to go with the robust flavors of the meal. Then, I remembered a bottle of Two Hands Gnarly Dudes 2011 Barossa Valley Shiraz that I had purchased some time ago, but had not had a chance to try. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The wine comes from the Two Hands winery in the Barossa Valley, in South Australia, arguably Australia’s premier wine growing region. The Barossa Valley is about 1.5 hours drive North East of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The climate is generally warm to hot in the summer months and cool in the winter. The higher altitude locations in the surrounding hills tend to be a little cooler during the summer. Generally irrigation is used for wine growing with exceptions again being in some higher altitude areas in the hills. The region is probably most famous for it’s Shiraz, but other varieties including Riesling, Semillon, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Mourvedere are also produced.

Wine has been made in the Barossa Valley since the 1940’s and was originally focused around Riesling due to the German influence of immigrants. The hot climate however, led to mixed results and a period where much of the production was fortified wines such as Brandy. The introduction of red grape varieties such as Shiraz and Grenache occurred early, however it was not until the mid 20^th century that wine production moved away from fortified wines. Initially the Barossa was regarded as an inferior wine region when compared to other cooler climate regions. Partly this was due to the perception of wines like Cabernet Sauvignon being a premier red wine throughout the world. Towards the end of the 20^th century the Barossa began to achieve an international reputation for producing premium Shiraz with it’s own distinct style of full bodied wines, led by the flagship Shiraz.

The Two Hands Winery was started in 1999, with the goal to produce “the best possible Shiraz-based wines from prized Shiraz growing regions throughout Australia”. Other notable goals include, ”allowing the fruit to be the primary feature of the wines”. They started producing relatively small batches of wine and have grown to export their wines to 24 countries. Grapes are sourced from “six of Australia's premium Shiraz growing regions”. According to their web site they place a big focus on quality, and if the Gnarly Dudes wine is an indication, it appears to be more than just marketing hype. Another interesting point made on the website is that “Two Hands was named in the Wine Spectator's annual Top 100 for the 10th consecutive year, an achievement that has never been equaled by any other winery the world over”.

Initially, I purchased the Two Hands Gnarly Dudes 2011 Shiraz based on the reputation of other wines from the Two Hands Winery. I had never tried any of their wines because the ones I was interested in were above my price range, but I noticed the cheaper Gnarly Dudes variety and decided to give it a try and I am really glad I did. This is a big, bold, in your face wine, it has a deep dark crimson color, an earthy bouquet with a hint of wood. The taste includes berries, cherry and plumb and despite the big bold taste it also has subtle tannins, some slight acidity and hints of Oak. This is an impressive wine that would be excellent with most dark meats particularly beef and other strong flavored dishes.

The curious name comes from the gnarled old grape vines in the Barossa Valley that produce the grapes for this wine and are featured on the bottle label. Let’s hope these Gnarly old dues continue to produce quality grapes and the Two Hands winery continues to craft them into quality wines for many years to come.

The rib recipe is very simple and quick, yet provides a surprisingly good result.