Michael Twelftree owner of the Two Hands winery, Barossa Valley, South Australia converted a new legion of followers with his Master Class at the Lanesborough Hotel, London on Monday 7th September.
Richmond, UK, December 21, 2010 — Michael Twelftree owner of the Two Hands winery, Barossa Valley, South Australia converted a new legion of followers with his Master Class at the Lanesborough Hotel, London on Monday 7th September. Wine lovers who may have formerly been loyal to French 1st growths experienced a new source of palate satisfying liquidity with an evening dedicated to the Two Hands winery’s best produce. The evening along with Michael Twelftree’s involvement had been arranged by Cult and Boutique Wines of Richmond upon Thames who have worked very closely with the Two Hands winery since its inception in 1999.
Somewhat bizarrely for a pacesetting member of the Australian fine wine community, Michael Twelftree hails from the construction industry but was invited along to a wine tasting by a friend and fell in love with the whole essence of wine instantly. His love affair with wine gained pace over the next few years along with his knowledge of the area and also his palate became fine tuned, he says, by drinking some vastly inferior wines.
Various people advised him that he should be working in the wine industry and he opened up a company exporting Australian fine wines to virtually anywhere in the world that wished to purchase them. Michael is your typical “hands-on” entrepreneur and would co-ordinate with merchants his products were popular with and organise wine tastings. During these tastings his range would be tried where its intricacies and subtleties would be explained to a more discerning palate.
Fine wine drinkers do tend to traverse the upper slopes of the financial range and his list of colleagues and contacts grew rapidly. More expensive tastes were met and catered for and his range of contacts and customers became more elite and more extensive. Accountant Richard Mintz was introduced to him and they became ever more embroiled in the idea of growing their own wines. Each borrowed $30,000 to crush fruit they had from land they had rented in the Barossa valley. The touch paper was well and truly lit and Two Hands winery started on their way.
The winery has grown organically through focusing on quality across its entire range, attention to detail and pricing points to suit its audience. The mission statement of Twelftree and Mintz was to produce top quality shiraz based wines from fruit sourced from the best shiraz producing regions of Australia. The aim is to make the highest quality products from each particular acreage and, more than anything, show Australian wines at their best whilst retaining an inherently Australian axis through taste and texture.
Twelftree’s Single Estate series consisting of Zippy’s Block, Barney’s Block, Coach House Block and his one-off Zippy’s Amarone was very warmly received by all with special mention to the last named. Each wine is defined by its terroir and this series holds the distinction of hailing from the Roenfeldtt Road region of the Barossa Valley which yields amazing wines year after year. The Amarone is a remarkable attempt to doff the Twelftree cap to the Italian varietal and he has produced a floral scented gem of a wine. The finish is sublime and seemed to last a good twenty to thirty seconds before leaving every attendee craving more. And they got it!
Michael then unveiled his Flagship wines with the Antares gaining universal praise before the Ares 2007 was followed by the 2008 for a “contrast and compare” exercise. The density of the 2007 was structured around a complex mellowness with a gorgeous finish which drifted around the mouth. The 2008 displayed all the same characteristics of its elder whilst having the obvious benefit of youth on its side and, like a teenager of above average intelligence, it strutted around in the knowledge that, given time, it’s superiority over it’s sibling will be proven in public.
The winemaker then followed his crowd pleasers with a rarely experienced opportunity to taste his 2009 barrel samplings, procured from source an hour before he left for Melbourne airport two days before. Although allowances obviously had to be made for youth the wines drank fantastically well and Michael was blatantly very proud of the Single Estate series 2009 samples which he deservedly believes to be his best vintage yet. There didn’t seem to be anyone in attendance who would have disagreed with him on that point and this array of produce from the Barossa’s most forward thinking and entrepreneurial winery owner proved to be a very fitting ending to the evening’s alcoholic offerings.
Paul Evans, Head of Communications at Cult and Boutique Wines, ( http://www.cultandboutique.com ) was clearly impressed by the reception given to his guest of honour and the reaction of the small, but select, gathering of clients in attendance. “Everyone has made their appreciation of the evening known and also, just what a high regard they have for Michael and his whole demeanor. For a man who has achieved so much at such a level in his chosen profession he is remarkably modest and humble, something that definitely cannot be said about his wines.”
The Lanesborough provided the perfect backdrop to wine of such quality, the star of the show meant the evening would have been wonderful even without the alcohol and the next visit to our shores by this man should not be missed if at all possible.
Press & Media Contact:
Paul Evans
Cult and Boutique Wines Ltd
Richmond, Surrey TW9 1HY UK
0208 948 9433
webmaster@cultandboutique.com
