Translation missing: en.Standish + Lucy M + Guiberteau: Standish + Lucy M + Guiberteau
The Standish Wine Co.
2021 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 or 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. - Peta W
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LUCY M
"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist."
- Pablo Picaso
"A winemaker can choose to be either an artist or a chemist."
- Anton von Klopper
Anton von Klopper, the pioneer of Australia's natural wine movement, with his cult, minimal intervention, "just grapes" label of Lucy M.
Following a decade of working as a chef and sommelier, Anton the bookworm graduated with first-class honours in oenology from the University of Adelaide in 2001. But after working in Germany, New Zealand and the US with winemakers who challenged the textbook or "recipe" approach to winemaking, Anton's desire took hold to express the grapes themselves, in their terroir, with the local microbiome only, without any additions, including sulphur. Anton was challenged to break the rules.
Breaking the rules with Lucy M has never been an easy walk on the wild side. Rejecting the comforts of control that come with conservative winemaking means that everything is up front. There are no lies in natural winemaking, and nothing can be masked or hidden. But over the last few years, Anton has taken control where he can to break in the wild filly that is Lucy M. He has drastically reduced the volume of organic fruit he works with to controllable levels, and careful viti- and vinicultural practices mean that the undesirable qualities associated with natural wines are restrained.
Anton's wines are not the work of a chemist, but of a rule-breaking artist. And such the artist he is, every label on each release of Lucy M is hand-drawn by Anton, still often just hours before they find themselves on the bottle. - Peta W
Visit Anton's gallery on the link below.
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"Romain Guiberteau’s white wines made him famous.
When they hit the mainstream, they blew everyone’s minds with their power, energy, and sharpness. These wines are so potent and high energy as to require sometime in bottle, so don’t open too early.
The reds are great, too.
Some contend Romain Guiberteau is in fact a better red-wine maker, despite his white-wine fame."
- Rajat Parr, The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste
Domaine Guiberteau is a relatively new Domaine, certainly in the context of Loire Valley producers. Their Saumur fruit (Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc) was supplied to the local co-operative for many years until Romain Guiberteau decided it was time to bottle his holdings himself.
Romain's mentor is Nady Foucault of Clos Rougeard, arguably the best estate in the Loire Valley and certainly the most sought after. You really couldn't find a better mentor. It certainly helps to explain how a new-comer has been able to produce wines of such high quality and praise in a relatively short space of time. Combine that with a focused and meticulous approach in the vineyard and cellar and we start to understand why these wines have become so sought after globally.
This estate is no longer one to watch - it's not to be missed. - Peta W