Purple Hands Wines Mataro Grenache Shiraz 2019

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 with your hands in wine. It takes a few weeks after vintage has finished for the purple stain to fade… 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

Mourvèdre, Mataró, or Monastrell is variety of wine grape used to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés. It is an international variety grown in many regions around the world.

In Australia

There are around 12 square kilometres of Mourvèdre in Australia, with the most significant plantings in South Australia and New South Wales. It is usually found in Rhone-style GSM blends of Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvèdre. It has also found its way into Australian fortified wines.

Characteristics

Mourvèdre produces tannic wines that can be high in alcohol, and is most successful in Rhone-style blends. It has a particular affinity for Grenache, softening it and giving it structure. Its taste varies greatly according to area, but often has a wild, gamey or earthy flavour, with soft red fruit flavours.