The Standish, The Standish Wine Company, Barossa Valley

Very dark ruby with lots of cloudiness. Spice garden on the nose. Powerful wine with notes of blueberries. blackberries, cedar - it’s still a baby. Not my style of wine but well made.

2003 vintage

A full bodied drop with a lot of flavor, unfortunately the 2003 The Standish just doesn’t have enough structural backbone and at 22 years old feels rather off balance. Not at all too old though and a good food wine. Not particularly aromatic although what it does have is a classic rich plum with a little herb, talc and leather. Full bodied and richly flavored on the palate, it has a nice mix of juicy, dark red fruit, leather, oregano …

2003 vintage

Intense, sweet and concentrated, it was back fruited but a touch rubbery. Spicy, there was black cherry, blackberry and raisins with notes of smoky bacon and mushrooms. There was layered complexity and a lingering finish to boot. Still holding up well. CHP 91pts

2003 vintage

drinking after 1 hour in the decanter. The nose was really sharp and alcoholic, and also really ripe with lots of stewed prunes. Maybe this was a tiny bit dusty and corked? Pretty exotic nose with woodsy notes, and there's some vanilla here, along with a tiny bit of leather.

2001 vintage

Age and drink ability lifts this wine up. Decanted for an hour+ and it tasted so smooth we thought the Shiraz was blended with another wine. We all agreed this was a wine that needed food, albeit pleasant to drink. TY Scott and Mary.

2003 vintage

Drank as part of a syrah grape tasting. This was sole representative of new world Aussie shiraz and was great. Slow ox for an hour then decanted for another. Had some funk on the nose which blew off. Still good dark fruit, well balanced. Drinking very well has some years left.

2003 vintage

Company CNY dinner at One Farrer. Drank in Grassl Cru. Appearance deep opaque intensity, black colour, sediments. Legs. Nose is clean, pronounced intensity, with fruity aromas of black cherries, blackberries, black plums, Amarone feel. Developed. On the palate, dry, high acidity, high alcohol (14.5%), big velvety tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of savoury black olives, blackberries, black cherries, black plums. Long spicy peppery finish. Very good quality. Probably a beast in its youth, now more tame and …

2003 vintage

Jan23. perfect cork. Lot of sediment. Such a beautifully resolved Shiraz. It’s amazing how such a concentrated precocious wine at youth, can stretch out, fine down & loosen up. Now more towards the red currant, red frogs, raspberry coulis spectrum, Palate is full bodied, black raspberry but with sprinkles of nuanced tertiaries. Swishing around the mouth rewards with excellent acid and fading tannins, the combination of which makes the mouth water. This wine may well have a whole other plateau …

2001 vintage

Still wow. Had with 3 buddies over a few hours with several other amazing wines and an amazing chicken dinner. Hard to find a flaw. Maybe should score even higher. Happy I have 1 more.

2003 vintage

Did not rock my socks like previous bottles. May be past its prime.

2003 vintage

Tremendous wine. Drank over 3 hours and needed at least the first 90 minutes to hit its stride. You could hold this even longer if you wanted.

2003 vintage

Really enjoyed but was at a party with about 20 other great wines. This did stand out. Had a sip the next day and it still held strong. Shows some age but also lots of layers and great structure. Balanced and tasty.

2003 vintage

Reminds me of the 1998 Grange I had last year but even better. This has everything one would want in a Shiraz, whether in Aussie or Rhône. The nose and flavors morph in the glass on each sip, from black and blue fruits, floral to truffle to mint and eucalyptus then to smoked meats, then back to fruits this time reddish then to some umami and fig, then to mint. All of this wrapped in silk and beautiful finish, long …

2003 vintage

at Christmas dinner, alongside an '01 Bonnes Mares and a Robt Mondavi Reserve '99... this was very very nice, as expected it was super full bodied (which is not my deal normally) but also had very good acidity and structure to carry the opulent, brooding dark fruit, also had nice minerality to provide lift... my daughter-in-law liked cabs / Syrahs (ie bigger wines) and she seemed to like it more than most of the bottles we have had over the …

2003 vintage

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 …

2003 vintage

what a beautiful Shiraz, certainly full bodied but not over-the-top (as I find many Aussie Shiraz), good darkish red fruit with some mineral and spice, good acidity... lovely, remember having this in Sydney at a restaurant and before returning to the US I found a half case to take home... good call!!

2003 vintage

one of best Australia shiraz taste, big, fruity, with tobacco & herb but a bit sweet

2003 vintage

my 2/10/20 note said it well... due to my taste for restraint / elegance my rating would be 91... someone who loved big / in-your-face Shiraz would probably give it a 93... so 92 for now... well made for sure for its style and with at least 5-10 years left

2003 vintage

if you like Shiraz in typical Aussie fashion, this is a gem... tho a little "big" for me (and not having as much of the minerality I enjoy from Hermitage or Cote-Rotie) it was enjoyable drinking... I gave it an extra point (to get to 92) and I suspect if your thing is Shiraz you would have given it a 93

2003 vintage

From a magnum, great at 16 years old. Harmonious fruit, smooth and juicy. Almost a hint of viognier peach / apricot (think Relic or Runrig and not The Standish) after 3 hours, offering a level of perfume not expected.

2003 vintage

Still working well but think time to drink is now. Does take some time to emerge, be patient, but still kicking. Well made.

2003 vintage

Still derinking great. Cellared upon release. Great fruit, nice purity. Enjoyed with ham & split pea soup. Perfect match! Great wine!

2001 vintage

Very good! Big, juicy, but nicely structured and not over the top at all. Quite delicious!

2003 vintage

Wow this was great, I did a 60 min decant and I could not be happier the wine was powerful but never overwhelming lots of dark cooked fruits on the pallet but a great length on the finish.

2003 vintage

Appearance: deep garnet, with lots of residual, beautiful legs with petillance On nose : pronounced intensity, dark fruit : black cherry, black berries, mineral, hint of vanilla oak, tobacco, thyme, black pepper spiciness but not that impressive. On palate : medium+ intensity, dry, medium+ acidity, sweet fruitiness on front palate, I wonder if it went through maloetic fermentation as it has some creaminess on mid palate, medium+ body, high alcohol(14.5% abv), black pepper spiciness, savoury and some chocolate bitterness at …

2003 vintage

I've had this a few times and oh man was this the best one. Just perfectly on form. Straight from the open and 6 hours later. Opulent, perfectly balanced. Rich but not at all over the top. At 15 yo this was magnificent and no reason it couldn't keep going and going. No aged raisin, generous amounts of vanilla tannin and red luscious fruit.

2003 vintage

If you appreciate this style of wine this is fantastic. Drank with friends, paired with duck. Decanted over two hours. Nose standard. Opaque wine with very lush and integrated dark fruit. Tastes young and very much new world. Looonnnggg finsh. A crowd pleaser, probably wish I had a case left.

2003 vintage

Decanted about 90 minutes. Inky purple. Nose not as good as the '90 Bordeaux we opened. But the wine was spectacular. Rich lush black and purple fruit. Not over the top, no glycerin, minimal alcohol, complex and pleasant. Big finish. Not sure it deserves a 99 but an outstanding wine.

2003 vintage

big, rich and just beginning to show, well balanced with gobs of black fruit and plums.

2001 vintage

A perfect cork. Impenetrable dark brick red. Concentrated nose resembling the palate with black olives, red currant, stewed cherries and plums. Prominent raisins. Alcohol not noticeable. With a good cork should have at least another 10 years ahead of it, this still seemed like a baby needing time to soften up. Certainly hasn't peaked yet.

2001 vintage

My first really good bottle of this. Ripe without any pruny/hot notes, a big barossa bruiser - this example could have done with 5 more years

2001 vintage

Pre-Holiday Dinner @ Home : Ripe sweet fruit with intriguing spices, however the sweetness was a bit too much for me.

2001 vintage

Decanted 3 hours. Similar to the 2003, but a bit more concentrated. Tight, not giving much on the nose or palate. Balsamico, molasses, smoke, fig, and blackberry pulp. Slightly porty, raisiny aromas subside with time in the decanter. Palate is extremely concentrated, with black cherry and black currant, powerful with the magnitude of fruit but actually quite subtle with the nuances of the fruit flavors. This will easily last 10 more years but will probably be at its best from …

2001 vintage

Just an outstanding wine. Needs a long time to breathe. Once open, there are layers of flavors from nose to finish.

2001 vintage

Beautiful, thick and juisy

2001 vintage

This was a truly monumental wine that was showing perfectly last night. I hadn't had this wine for a few years, and I was remembering it as being more 'Aussie' in style, and by 'Aussie' I of course mean that it was going to be thick, jammy, low acid and so on and so forth. My friend, not even close. Massive aromatics, density without the fat, great acid and chew tannins. It was amazing watching (smelling, drinking) this wine open …

2001 vintage

One of my favorite tasters anywhere Cwheeler had two bottles of this "medicine wine" and rated each 82 points so I wasn't expecting much in this one. To my suprise, not the case. This wine was delicious. Oak, spice and smoke balanced against the still abundant raspberry fruit. Tannins along with substantial alcohol well integrated. No medicinal "iodine" notes at all. Lithe and sweet finish. Fruit is holding so nicely. Smoke and spice notes along with black tea round out …

2001 vintage

Reminds me of the Alban syrah's. Good acidity keeps it light on it's feet for a wine of this size. Long finish and years of life left. A real deal for $45 but alas the more recent vintages are now in the triple digits.

2001 vintage

NY Berserkers Dinner @ Café Cortadito (210 E. 3rd St., NYC) : For me this wine was very one dimensional showing a sweet molasses and berry compote characteristic. Big in the mouth with the similar sweet berries melange. In spite of the lack of complexity, I liked it.

2001 vintage

Day one this showed aromas of charcoal, orange blossum, plum and lots of ink. Medium to full bodied with blackcurrant, orange and white flowers. The finish was biting with lots of pepper and high tone oak. Day two there was more of a savory edge but the inky VA was very evident particularly on the finish. The last bottle was much better.

2001 vintage

Syrah tasting

2001 vintage

A wine made in the Barossa genre of thick, concentrated, ripe and hedonistic true, and many will find that reason enough not to go on, however, there is great richness and purity of fruit with monsterous dollops of oak, bacon fat, spice and cassis which is really well balanced here. Lots of chunckiness, baby fat, lots to love in this one. Not a svelte seductress now, but with 10-15 years of maturity, this one will suprise a lot of folks. …

2001 vintage

Best Aussie I have ever had. Intense. I don't want to say over the top or something, but almost. It is nuts how dense, rich, concentrated, lush this is. The nose is like grappa and kirsch or berry liquor almost like really good old dark rum. This is like a dark berry dessert. This is really wild juice, but what sets it apart, really, is the fact that it never tastes awkward, or out of balance, or hot. Really different …

2001 vintage

Popped and poured. Very enjoyable aromas of dusty stone, ink, precise blackberry and a touch of grilled meat. The palate reveals flavors of licorice, white flowers, crushed berry and a hint of vanilla. The finish was edgy with prickly acidity. Half the bottle went into the fridge and emerged 48hrs later showing a delightfully savory style with wonderful sappy cherry.

2001 vintage

delicious with roast beef - nice blueberries, currants.

2001 vintage

I have tasted two bottles of this in a couple of weeks, and if they were representative, hopefully they will be the last two I taste. Iodine, brine, ink and raspberry nose. Palate is angular and struggling for focus.

2001 vintage

Australian Cult Wines (Sydney, Australia) : Shows dominant medicinal characters, chocolate, vanilla and sweet, ripe raspberry jam on the nose. The palate is dense, jammy and lacks any sense of cohesion.

2001 vintage

Dark and rich with characteristic leather and licorace aromas. Full mouth feel, well balanced with lots of up front dark fruit and tar. The finish disappoints a little as it seems to get muddled and fade, perhaps that will straighten out with age. Appearence (5/5), Nose (12/15), Taste and Finish (16/20), Quality and Potential (9/10)

2001 vintage

This is more of a syrup than wine. Incredibly thick, blue and black berry overwhelm anything else. Inky black, in need of more time but is fun to drink now, just make sure you are not serving any other lighter wines with or after this.

2001 vintage

The First Biennial Big Beastly Shiraz-o-rama (Vancouver) : I know I enjoyed this wine, but at this point I had pretty well stopped taking notes. For relative purposes, I recall it was much better than the Mitolos and closer to the Two Hands Bella's in quality.

2001 vintage

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The Standish, The Standish Wine Company, Barossa Valley

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