Community Tasting Note
-
Slaz wrote: 89 points
May 22, 2015 - This wine reminds me why I cut back on Shiraz years ago. A 15.5% fruit bomb with alcohol getting in the way of enjoying the wine. In fairness, it is relatively balanced by good fruit, powerful tannins, and reasonable acidity. Still, there is nothing remarkable about this wine, even after several hours of breathing, that would merit the $45-$50 price tag, especially compared with Cabs and Bordeauxs in similar price range. Now, I need to figure out what to do with the remaining few bottles. Argh.
2 people found this helpful 4,944 views
11 Comments
-
wineotim commented:
5/23/15, 5:49 AM - SLAZ, I have a hunch my review will look similar to yours, I was previously disappointed with the 2011 vintage of this wine. Will see.
-
bugdoced commented:
5/23/15, 7:13 AM - how can a wine we are disappointed with still garner 89 points?
not that I disagree with your assessment
should we all have a disappointment ceiling grade?
Cheers -
wineotim commented:
5/23/15, 9:16 AM - I would say disappointing when you compare the WS high rating of 95pts.
-
Slaz commented:
5/23/15, 9:50 AM - @bugdoced, wineotim summed it up well. It is disappointing relative to the expectations set by the high WS score as well as the price. The wine is not bad (and might improve with more cellaring), hence 89 scores from me.
@wineotim, sure thing, I'd be curious to learn how this vintage compares with the 2011, thanks. -
mrmikemtr commented:
5/24/15, 7:55 AM - I will take your bottles!! This wine is awesome!! Did you store it properly? Did you buy from a reputable vendor??
-
jviz commented:
5/24/15, 10:24 AM - How generous :) I have a vertical from 09-12 and but have only tasted the bookends. In general, it seems highly extracted wines with plenty of oak garner favorable ratings with WS, and not only that, but certain producers (two hands being one) appear to be in their good graces... I recently had a bottle of the 2012 fields of joy (very similar wine at a lower price point), of which the 2013 got 94 points (!). Its not bad, but come on...
Where I would differ with you is that certain regions (burgundy, bordeaux; and interestingly napa on many restaurant wine lists) command higher prices for an "apples to apples" upper middle class wine such as this.
In other words, while there are a handful of top echelon aussie shiraz (grange, elderton, torbreck) that carry high price tags, this and other bottlings from two hands are probably in a class just below. I'd argue that buying a bottle of bordeaux, or even napa cab in the same tier will cost you >$50. Think lynch bages (5th growth), silver oak, etc. In fact, if you take it one step further, a case can be made that syrah is the most affordable of the high end grapes, no matter where it comes from (rhone, australia, southern CA, washington) with few exceptions.
Thoughts? -
wineotim commented:
5/24/15, 10:40 AM - Your points are well taken. ...I just had a '10 Torbreck ($40) that I will compare to the Bella's, which I will open soon.
-
mrmikemtr commented:
5/24/15, 11:20 AM - I am surprised@ the negativity. I had 1 bottle last year and I thought it was jammy on the nose ( like a shiraz should be) but smooth on finish fully considering the high abv. I bought3 more after tasting. I am storing for a few years in a dark cool basement.
-
Slaz commented:
5/24/15, 7:27 PM - @ mrmikemtr: Your first comment made me smile (thanks for that!), I will be sure to report back with the next bottle (in a year or so). And, no, I have no reason to think the wine was cooked or corked (my storage is both temperature- and humidity-controlled); the wine was shipped to me during safe weather.
@ jviz: I agree with your larger point about many good wines costing more than $50. To be more specific in my reference points, take for example Clarendon Hills that has a fairly broad portfolio of wines. Going by my tasting notes, 2005 Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Syrah ($55), 2006 Clarendon Hills Moritz Syrah ($40), and 2008 Clarendon Hills Brookman Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) are all the wines I enjoyed some years ago more than this 2012 Two Hands. -
jviz commented:
5/25/15, 7:44 AM - Great examples of solid wines in the same playing field. I've had the 06 brookman cab on several occasions and tried the hickenbotham Syrah as well and both were excellent. Just goes to show how keeping good notes furthers an understanding of one's preferences (I bet you're not a big mollydooker fan).
Cheers and I look forward to reading more of them! -
Slaz commented:
5/25/15, 11:17 AM - Thanks, jviz! Glad to hear my notes/comparisons are of relevance.
P.S. How did you figure the Mollydooker part? ;)