Mike Regina

9.9

One of Amy’s favorites — 8 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

My 2nd half bottle from Flower Drum last week. Delectable this is the Dry Red No. 2 which is a Syrah based blend. No notes as such but this is a very Northern Rhone style. Like many great wines Intensity without heaviness. Medium to full bodied. — a year ago

Ron R

9.7

My wife to the left, David’s wife to the right. This is drum tight. 11 years in. Superb. Abreu pips this, but still excellent. — 5 years ago

with Mike, Diana and 3 others

Joe Fischer

9.0

Burnt Butterscotch aroma. Quite nice. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

I took this bottle from my cellar to a friend who just received his complete allocation of 2022 Wendouree. We obviously compared this 2011 Shiraz Mataro with the latest 2022. If this exercise proved one thing that was that any cuvée of Wendouree should not be opened at under 10 years of age. The 2011 had a gorgeous nose of blackberry, liquorice and spice…..intoxicating! Whereas the 2022 was as tight as a drum…giving very little. The palate was fluid and smooth with those same aromatics coming through on the palate with that amazing old vine opulence and persistence. I had my first bottle back in August 2022. Notes are here on Delectable. — 8 months ago

Ron R

9.0

At $12 I’m throughly impressed with this. Sandalwood nose eases into a velvety mid palate of cherries, and a wisp of cinnamon. Acidity is in the background and overall finishes moderately sweet. If you see it, try it. — 4 years ago

LeMel Humes

9.3

One of my favorite Pinot noir‘s I’ve ever had introduced by Paul Gaiser — 5 years ago

with Suzanne

Vino Joe

9.3

Tight as a drum at open. Loosened to trampoline tension after 2 hours. Finally was loose after 4. Spicy and hefty. More inward. A sophisticated mix and quite good but as with most Leoville Las Cases it needs to sit longer for the next iteration. — a year ago

Gene Buonviri

8.9

Straw yellow. Medium body with light apples and .citrus notes with hins of grapefruit. Good balance and finish. Excellent pairing with Johnny Mazetti. — 2 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

So, many of you have not had the pleasure of having Dan’s wines. It is largely due to the fact he doesn’t have a US importer. He sells all his mid production level wines through his mailing list. That makes importing from his mailing list as restrictive as the import fees. They are equal to the price of the wines you order. Not something you’ll do. I didn’t. You need to find his wines on the secondary market to be cost effective.

We had the privilege of visiting his Cellar Door in the Spring of 2017. What a fantastic visit and walk of his Estate with him. The age of his Estate vines are 100 plus years old and their yield is less than a ton per acre which, does not make for a lot of wine but, instead a very concentrated wine.

Dan traveled to and worked in many of the key wine regions before settling in as Torbreck’s Winemaker and then marching to his own drum doing his own thing as “The Standish”, his way. No compromises.

The first thing you need to know about Dan’s wines is you can drink them early but, that would be a huge mistake. This 03 is sensational now but, is worthy of more cellaring. It has 10-20 years of life ahead of it...proper storage of course.

This is a second night wine for us and it is still big.

The nose reveals smokey; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, blueberries, mulberries/boysenberries, baked/poached strawberries & some raspberries, sweet tarriness, dark berry cola, black pepper, steeped tea, eucalyptus, mint, tree bark with sap, herbaceous, dry crushed rocks, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, moist, forest floor with dry leaves with withering; dark, red, purple flowers framed in violets & strong lavender.

The body is full, round, lush & ruby. The tannins are still big, round, tarry & meaty. The structure, tension, length & balance are just there & yet still not there. It is still a monster on day two. Smokey; blackberries, black raspberries, black plum skin, black cherries, blueberries, mulberries/boysenberries, baked/poached strawberries & some raspberries, sweet tarriness, grilled meats, dark berry cola, black pepper, steeped tea, eucalyptus, mint, tree bark with sap, herbaceous-sage & rosemary, used charcoal, graphite, dark spice with palate heat, burned ambers, incense, rubber toy, dry crushed rocks, moist clay & top soil, dry stone, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, vanilla, moist, forest floor with dry leaves with withering; dark, red, purple flowers framed in violets & strong lavender. The acidity is round and a rushing river. The extremely long finish is, big, round, elegant, floral, well balanced, runs juicy to dry with persistence for days falling onto earthiness & dark spice on the long set.

Photos of, a plaque that hangs above my kitchen sink that speaks to me always, Dan Standish, his Cellar Door and surrounding buildings. — 5 years ago