James Halliday Wine Companion

Purple Hands Wines

In 2013, Purple Hands Wines first entered the James Halliday Wine Companion and was awarded a 5 star rating and included in the Top 10 New 5 Star Wineries.

2015 saw Purple Hands Wines transition into a red 5 star winery. This is awarded to wineries regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and have at least two wines rated at 95 points or above, plus have had a five-star rating for the previous two years.

This 5 Star rating places Purple Hands Wine in the top 10% of wineries listed on Wine Companion.

James Halliday published a review of Purple Hands in 2011 and stated:

“Both the Shiraz and Grenache have a common theme of elegance, and a voice distinctly different to that of mainstream Barossa.”
– James Halliday Weekend Australian Magazine Oct 2011

In 2019, our 5 star rating continues and James wrote – “This is a partnership between Craig Stansborough, who provides the winemaking know-how and an 14ha vineyard of shiraz (northwest of Williamstown in a cooler corner of the southern Barossa) and Mark Slade, who provides the passion. Don’t ask me how this works – I don’t know – but I do know they are producing outstanding single vineyard wines (the grenache is contract-grown) of quite remarkable elegance.

After Five Wine Co.

The After Five Wine Co. range hit the 2019 Halliday Wine Companion for the first time and received rave reviews. Two of our wines,rated at 96 pts and one at 95 pts with the observation that “These ‘After Five’ wines have arrived on the marketplace in emphatic fashion.”

Winemaker’s recognition from peers

Craig Stansborough was awarded the 2014 Barossa winemaker of the year by the Barons of the Barossa.

The Barons of Barossa was founded in 1974 by a group of influential Barossa wine industry personalities. Throughout the years, the focus of the Barons of Barossa has remained unchanged and it continues to proudly and enthusiastically support Barossa wine, viticulture, gastronomy, heritage and the arts.

Each year at the Declaration of Vintage one Barossa winemaker is awarded the Winemaker of the Year. This recognition showcases peer recognition of outstanding achievements throughout a solid career.