Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020

The Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020 is light and bright in its flavours. You get notes of blueberry and raspberry with a hint of floral from rose and jasmine. The texture is very well balanced with just the right amount of tannins to give it a kick with good acidity to round it out. This wine is easy drinking and just plain delicious.

I got to try the Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020 as part of the Dark Arts Blending Box we tried a couple of months ago. It was so much fun having an at-home blending night with friends. The kit came with everything we needed to blend our own wine including three wines, instructions, measuring equipment and even special placemats. We had a great time coming up with our dream blend and didn’t end up where we thought we would, but it was seriously good!

The best part about the kit is that if you stuff up (which you’re unlikely to because they give you everything you need), they give you a bottle to enjoy of their own blend. We didn’t open it when we were doing the experience because we had so much fun blending and enjoying our own wine. But recently I got a chance to try their version of the blend and it was seriously good!

About Hugh Hamilton

Hugh Hamilton is the fifth generation of a large wine dynasty, and his daughter Mary continues the legacy today. This makes them Australia’s oldest wine family. Hugh was known as the black sheep of the family explaining their branding and logo, as well as their fun wine names.

Hugh Hamilton has a fantastic range of wine from more well-known varieties to those you may have never tried before. From Italian varieties to interesting blends, there is always something new to discover. Their cellar door is also beautiful if you are in McLaren Vale and they have some great wine tasting experiences you can try both there and now at home!

This wine is from their Black Sheep range and I personally love the labels because they tell a story. Each label is a pattern made up of symbols that represent the wines in the blend. The pattern is generating using the exact percentage of each wine that is in the blend too! So it’s sort of like reading a work of art – how cool is that?

What I loved about the Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020

The Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020 is a blend of 82% Grenache, 12% Frontignac and 6% Shiraz. These are the wines you blend in the kit so it was great to see the difference between our blend and theirs. The team say they didn’t blend it by mistake but they were surprised by how well it turned out. I for one think this was a great mistake because the wine is seriously good!

The wine is light and bright with flavours of blueberry, raspberry and a touch of floral thanks to the addition of the Frontignac which is actually a white wine. It has a great texture with balanced tannins and more depth than a straight grenache. It also had a long finish which I loved. I think the best part about this wine was how interesting and yet perfectly balanced it was. Each wine brought something different to the mix but they all came together into a wine that keeps you guessing but also keeps you sipping.

What to enjoy it with

The Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020 is a great food wine that you could pair with a number of dishes. It isn’t too heavy and so could easily be paired with something lighter as well as meat dishes. I love how versatile it is! If you weren’t really in the mood for food I think you could also enjoy this wine on its own and simply enjoy the flavours.

In terms of a good food pairing, I think Asian flavours would pair well with this. Something with a lot of spices like steamed buns or duck would be a perfect pairing. I could also see this wine going well with lentils and roasted vegetables.

In summary: Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020

The Hugh Hamilton Agent Provocateur 2020 is a blend that keeps you guessing. I’m certainly glad that this happy accident came about so we could enjoy this wine. The flavours blended perfectly and created complexity that kept you guessing and wanting another sip to unpack the wine. It’s a great wine for enjoying with or without food, and offers something different to what you might have tried before.

To purchase this wine and get the Dark Arts Blending Box for yourself, visit their website here.

Note: I was sent this wine as a sample. I was under no obligation to post about it.