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A delightful, Italian inspired, medium bodied, three way blend of Montepulciano, Negroamaro and Aglianico. Superb fruits here, with cherries, plums, dried oregano, florals and cedar all playing a part in what is both a complex, beguiling and seamless red wine. A ripper, thoroughly deserving of its Gold and Top Gold medals at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show.
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Doing vintage you can’t help but have permanently purple hands. The red colouring and tannins seep into your pores and, as your hands crack and glaze, become a temporary and changing tattoo, a memento of working your hands in wine. The two purple hands are Craig Stansborough, chief winemaker for Grant Burge, and Mark Slade. They have a small patch of Shiraz near Williamstown, a cooler part of the Barossa. They buy in Grenache and Mataro. Quality of the wines is utterly exceptional, made with purple hands and guaranteed to stain your tongue black. James Halliday rated Purple Hands Wines as one of the 10 best new 5 star wineries in his 2013 guide. It has retained the 5 star rating in the 2025 guide.
This week we sipped on not one, not two but three bottles of Mr Riggs Montepulciano wine. Mr Riggs is a James Halliday 5 star rated winery which is a pretty amazing achievement in itself. You know when you crack open any wine from these guys we are talking about a glass of seriously good wine and this one didn't disappoint either!
There is nothing better than a cooler evening, a bowl of Wild Mushroom Risotto and a bottle of pinot in hand. Well, the glass in hand but the bottle pretty close to hand too. It's a cracking match. This week thanks to my buddy Dan at winedirect.com.au, I am sipping a Picardy Pinot Noir. This Pinot comes out of Pemberton in WA. In fact, it's my first Pinot from WA. Thanks Dan, you gave me my first.
Our favourite pairs of purple hands belong to Craig Stansborough, chief winemaker for Grant Burge, and Mark Slade who own a tiny Barossa winery called Purple Hands. Quality of the wines is utterly exceptional; made by purple hands and guaranteed to stain your tongue black. We have the ‘15 reds and while reviews are still pending, we can tell you that given their 2012, 2013 and 2014s averaged a staggering 96 points from James Halliday, we are quietly confident these will end up in that same territory.
Craig and Mark buy in some fruit however they grow the bulk of their own fruit in the cooler, southern end of the Barossa, allowing them to produce powerful and fruit intense wines
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