A little sweet, a little funky, nice full body. Loved it with duck. — 2 years ago
Celebrate Labor Day with In-N-Out Double Doubles & protein style burgers....it required a decently aged wine!!
1 hour decant (a little cloudy sediment). A phenomenal inky dark garnet color with little signs of aging. On the nose: dark cherries, mocha, spearment, smoke, planting soil, creme brulee. Taste: Nice!...A rich, elegant and soft wine with blackberry, chocolate, currants, spice, and a blueberry caramel sweet tannin long finish with a slight hint of alcohol burn at the end.....must have been a beast when young..tamed and drinking great now and more years to go. — 4 years ago
Just love this wine, great value, can’t get enough! Belle Pente (bell-pont') means "beautiful slope" - for their 70 acre hillside vineyard & winery site in Willamette Valley. Bright Ruby red with aromas of red fruits, herb spices and hints of blossom notes. On the palate strawberry and cherry flavors, slight sweet undertones, herb notes and smooth tannins. Well balanced on a long finish ending with mineral herb notes. Nice!! Great value. — 5 years ago
A blend of 40% Corvinone, 30% Corvina, 15% Rondinella, remained indigenous grapes derived from 18-acre vineyard. Ruby with with aromas of dried fruits with floral and smoky spice notes. On the palate plum and sweet cherry flavors, savory, with citrus, tobacco & cacao. Soft tannins, chewy on long finish ending with a juicy fruit and oak character. — 3 years ago
This is hard to beat at $25.
White cheese starter.
Copying over & updating earlier notes...
The nose reveals; waxy, sweet & sour lemons, the light, good/softer aspects of lemon pledge, lime zest, green & golden apple, overripe pineapple, honeysuckle, apricots, white peach, orange rind, grapefruit w/ pith, tree bark, flintiness, notes of roasted caramel, vanillin, beautifully, elegant, grey volcanics, salty, powdery, even slightly floral chalkiness, white to lightly brown spices, sea spray, oyster notes, limestone/sandstone, fruit blossoms, yellow lilies framed in a field of spring flowers.
The body is thick, rich, lush and nicely rounded. If you like viscosity, no issues here. It guides over the palate presenting no mouth arguments. Waxy, sweet & sour lemons, the light, good/softer notes of lemon pledge, green & some golden apple with skin, lime zest, overripe pineapple, honeysuckle, apricots, white peach, orange rind, tropicals green melon, tree bark, notes of roasted caramel, beautifully, elegant, grey volcanics, salty, powdery, even slightly floral chalkiness, white to lightly brown spices with some medium palate heat, sea spray, oyster notes, sulfur/flintiness, limestone/sandstone, fruit blossoms, yellow lilies framed in a field of spring flowers. The acidity is near dead on...like a gentle cool stream. The long finish is, gorgeous & sexy, elegant, rich, good balance all around and persists gently for minutes.
Just gets better & better as it warms & opens up in the glass. This Bourgogne will add another point or two when I open my next bottle in 2-3 years. Except now, I own a bunch more of this 2018. Have some to enjoy early.
Excellent with our soft, white cheese...Jasper Hill Farms-Harbison. If you can find this cheese, it gets one of my highest recommendations. Bought it at Whole Foods but, you can always check JasperHillFarms.com if N/A where you shop.
Photos of; Masion Henri Boillot, Owner/Winemaker Henri Boillot, tasting room that looks into the barrel room and his Bonnes Mares Vineyard. — 5 years ago
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 — 5 years ago
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. — 4 years ago
John Willison
Black cherry, sweet tobacco, berry compote. — 3 months ago