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ACellars Newsletter 15th June, 2022 - Radikon + Standish + Staff Pick

by Annandale Cellars

Radikon

"The future of wine is in this direction. We need something more from white wine."Saša Radikon

Tucked away in the far-eastern corner of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region lies a small winery called Radikon. You might have heard of them.

Despite its small size and minimal production, Radikon wines have had a major impact in the wine world, through their championing of orange wines and lo-fi, natural winemaking. Their path was set when founder Stanilaus (Stanko) Radikon began his stewardship of the 12 hectares of vines near the Slovenian border. He began to make wine from the local indigenous variety, Ribolla Gialla, but Stanko felt that the pale, fairly unexciting wines being produced throughout the region were not truly indicative of the grape and its potential for flavour. So in 1995 he began to change his methodology. He started with a fairly conservative 7 days of maceration on skins to boost the colour and flavour -something that the DOC didn't agree with. Radikon have been proudly outside of the DOC, and happily declassified since 2001.

Sadly, Stanko passed away in 2016, but his son Saša, stepped in to fill the void. Saša had been working side by side with his father for the 15 years before Stanko's death, so the change over was seamless, and the wines have never looked better. The Radikon philosophy is beautifully simple: "If you have good grapes, you can make good wine. If you have bad grapes, you can only have bad wine," says Saša. "We try to move the sensation you have when you eat the grape to the wine. And the skin keeps the energy from the sun and the information from the vintage. If it was good, if it was bad, if it was rainy, if it was sunny – the skins keep the information and I think it is very important to use that information. "Needless to say, the wines are thrilling and vibrant, complex, layered, filled with energy and vitality, and packed with texture and flavour.

If you've never tried one, perhaps now is the time to get your Radik... on. (Sorry!)

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The Standish Wine Co.

2020 Release

Dan Standish is about as Barossan as you can get. His family has roots in the region going back six generations. It's in his blood. In my opinion, Dan produces the finest examples of Shiraz coming from its spiritual home in Australia: the Barossa Valley.

His winemaking experience covers some of the finest regions in the world, working at wineries in the Sonoma Valley, Rioja and the Rhone Valley. He then rose to become head winemaker at Torbreck, where he raised the wines to new heights and showed the wine world his talent. It was clear he was one to watch. In 1999 he started The Standish Wine Co and began the journey to producing some of the most exciting wines in Australia.

The fruit Dan uses is sourced from several sites across the Barossa and Eden Valleys - primarily from his family's vineyard in Vine Vale. Planted in 1912, the grapes from this site go to produce The Standish and The Relic. These are deep, concentrated and dense examples of Shiraz made from the low-yielding Centenarian Vines, with The Relic seeing an addition of Viognier, adding a floral lift which channels Dan's time in the Rhone Valley. This addition of Viognier makes The Relic the most accessible on release, however as with all good things, patience is rewarded.

For his Lamella Shiraz, Dan sources fruit from the Fechner Vineyard in the Eden Valley. Lamella is a cooler climate expression, savoury and herbal. The final piece of the puzzle is The Schubert Theorem, made with fruit sourced from 100-year-old vineyards in Greenock and Marananga.

These are wines that love time in a cellar and need time in a decanter - rushing the experience will only take away from it. We received tiny quantities of these wines and expect that as the popularity of this estate grows that number will decrease each year. We really do mean it when we say these are not be missed.

 

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Staff Pick

Mandi Sangiovese 2020

The team at Quealy have branched out to make these super-affordable, super-drinkable, super-loveable wines from Mildura - Mandi! The Sangiovese is really true to style - medium bodied, juicy red fruits and a dusty, fine tannin that works so well as a quaffer with your mid-week favourite meals. Give me a Mandi Mum! - Chris L

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