2023 Holy Grail Seppeltsfield Shiraz

COLOUR | Deep black in colour with a cherry red hue.

AROMA | A complex bouquet of elderberry, blueberry and fig, with tar, cardamom, curry spice and rose perfume.

PALATE | Bold from the outset, the palate bursts with concentrated, voluptuous black fruit, delivered with both energy and power. True to the finest Holy Grail vintages, this initial intensity gives way to a softer, more supple expression, carried by a fresh, lingering finish that is both vibrant and refined. Fine-grained, talcy tannins reverberate across the palate, creating exceptional length as they slowly fade through the late palate. Notes of dried meat, liquorice and Cherry Ripe deepen the complexity. Built for ageing, it is already showing beautifully, but patience will be rewarded over the next 8–10 years.

The 2023 vintage was one of the coolest, wettest and latest in Two Hands’ history. A wet winter and cold spring slowed early vine growth considerably, pushing the season several weeks behind normal before warmer conditions arrived in early summer. With a cooler ripening period ahead, yields were carefully managed and vineyard work focused on achieving healthy, open canopies and optimal fruit maturity. Harvest began in late March and continued through to 2 May, our latest finish on record. Careful picking decisions and patient winemaking proved crucial, resulting in wines of impressive quality and consistency, with excellent balance, freshness and a distinctive expression of this long, cool growing season.

WINEMAKING | Several small parcels from the Holy Grail vineyard were picked on the 5th of April. Upon arriving at our Marananga winery they were de-stemmed into 5T stainless steel open-top fermentors. Gently pumped over 2-3 times daily, these parcels were pressed after an average time on skins of 10 days. All free run and pressings were combined in tank and then racked off to barrel for malolatic fermantation. The wine was bottled with minimum fining and no filtration.

MATURATION | Aged for 18 months in 1-4 year old French oak hogsheads. 5 barrels produced, bottled in November the following vintage.

CLOSURE | Diam Cork
VOLUME | 750ml
VARIETAL | Shiraz
ALCOHOL (% vol.) | 14.4%
SUB-REGION | Seppeltsfield
VINE AGE | 8-22 years
ALTITUDE | 250m
AVERAGE RAINFALL | 450-500mm
SOIL TYPE | Predominantly rich red/brown clay.

Wine Advocate
93 points
Erin Larkin
Published June 2026

"The 2023 Holy Grail Seppeltsfield Road Seppeltsfield Shiraz is charry and black on the palate, with savory tannins and black fruit. The tannins feel almost ashy in their texture, and the fruit exists squarely at the blackberry/blueberry/mulberry end of the spectrum. This is an interesting iteration of this wine. The 2023 season was cool and wet, so perhaps it is the character of the cooper that is perceived here, given that the fruit feels a little more delicate than usual across the board."