Australia
Penfolds
Grange Bin 95 Shiraz 1992
The Standish Wine Company
The Relic Shiraz Blend 2004
Happy Valentines Day!
If you have not looked for this wine on WineSearcher.com or other, you should. Dan Standish has no American Importer. However, you can mail order off his list. Good luck with the Australian/United States import costs. Very prohibited.
Most quality Barossa wines take 15 years in bottle to show their ultimate beauty. Dan’s wines are no different. His Estate vines are 100 years old and produce 500 pounds of fruit per acre...very concentrated. Contrast that to extremely expensive & high quality Napa fruit, those Napa producers are at 2,000-2,500 pounds per acre.
We visited Standish in April 2017. We found Dan to be extremely talented & definitely marches to his own drum. He is salt of the earth and has traveled & worked in many of the world wine regions honing his craft and landing as Torbreck’s Winemaker in Barossa before starting, “The Standish Wine Company.”
As good as the 04 is tonight, it has 15 years of good life ahead...properly stored of course.
The nose is very intoxicating. It is a nice blend of purple, black & blue fruits. Mulberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, black plums, plums, blackberries, dark cherries, deeply extracted raspberries, some baked strawberries, black licorice to anise, dark fruit cola, black olive skin, medium dark spice, black pepper, charcoal, graphite, dry tobacco & underbrush, some bay leaf, alluvial soils, grey volcanic minerals/limestone with fresh & only slightly withering, purple, dark, blue florals framed in violets & lavender.
The body is full, rich, ripe, lush and creamy on the palate after a two-hour plus decant. The structure, tension, length and balance are a little short of its peak and will hold there for 5-8 years. It’s a glorious glide on the palate. The fruits are ripe & lightly baked. Mulberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, black plums, plums, blackberries, dark cherries, deeply extracted raspberries, some baked strawberries, cherry kirsch, red & black licorice to anise, dark fruit cola, black olive skin, the dark spices are heavier on the palate & bring just the right amount of heat, sweet, dark tarriness, black pepper, used, dark expresso roast grounds, charcoal, graphite, dry tobacco & underbrush, some bay leaf, alluvial soils, grey volcanic minerals/limestone, moist clay, with fresh & only slightly withering, purple, dark, blue florals framed in violets & lavender. The acidity is round, flush & perfect. The long finish is a unique even balance of; lush fruits, spice, herbs and earth that persists on the palate for minutes.
Photo on the left of Sofia’s 2 dozen long stems. Love you so much!
@Oswald — 12 days ago
Sami-Odi
Hoffman Dallwitz Little Wine #8 Syrah
Hard to describe how satisfying a wine this is....super smooth and silky, tons of dark fruit and big structure..... great balance...If there was a doppelgänger for SQN this is it — 4 days ago
Frankland Estate
Isolation Ridge Vineyard Riesling 2012
Another comparative tasting - had the 2014 of this cuvée 2 days ago. This one with a little more age was showing a little kerosene unlike the 2014 which showed more talc on the nose. Lovely mature dry Riesling flavours of dusty nectarine, quince and mineral. More fulsome in the mouth and less acid than the 2014. A wonderful mature Riesling from the Frankland River District in Western Australia. — a day ago
Paringa Estate
Sparkling Shiraz 2016
Very good value and totally comfy wine. Pretty to look at and not challenging on the palate which is not to say it doesn’t pack a berry-rich punch with the barest hint at savory under all. Plush dry tannins. Plush bod. And jam but make it dry. — 17 days ago
Peter Lehmann
Mentor Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2006
Dusty, mint, tomato leaf and vanilla aromas. On the medium bodied palate with this Bordeaux blend which also adds Shiraz and Malbec there are black currant and savoury flavours. Finishes with some astringency. I have always thought the Barossa Valley is best suited to Shiraz personally although there are some historic blocks of Cabernet like Penfolds Block 42 which can produce some amazing Cabernet from ancient vines in the Barossa. — 12 days ago
Whicher Ridge
Elevation Geographe Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Seriously if you haven’t visited Whicher Ridge Wines and their sensory garden yet, pop it on the to do list for 2020 when you next head down south from Perth. We visited in 2015 and still look back on what a great spot it is.
Plus their wines are 👌
This here is a new release - the Whicher Ridge ‘Elevation’ 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. A big thanks to Cathy for sending us over this sample to try.
I convinced my red wine loving Dad to help out with the tasting note for this one.
In the glass it’s a deep garnet red shade. The nose is an interesting mix of fruit and savoury. It made me think of blackcurrants and berries with charcuterie, sweet spices, black olives and dark chocolate. While in the mouth it coats the mouth with flavour and is very approachable now but will age well too as it has sturdy acids and tannin in there. It’s full of berries - blue and black berries, boysenberries and a hint of tobacco.
This wine was sent to me as a sample, I was under no obligation to post about it.
All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective & always evolving, so make sure you drink what you enjoy! — 10 hours ago
Mollydooker
The Boxer Shiraz
Vintage 2016 / juicy cherries good concentration — 5 days ago
Bob McDonald
Crimson with a tawny rim showing its 28 years of age. Mocha, red currant loam and spice aromas. Medium weight sweet spicy notes on the palate with resolved Tannins - Seamless! Lacks the fruit power to be a great Grange - just merely Very Good, particularly for the cool growing season in 1992. More elegant than a blockbuster like 83, 86, or 91. A classy wine whichever way you cut it. — 4 days ago