The Standish Wine Company Shiraz Andelmonde
100% SHIRAZ - JOHNS VINEYARD, LIGHT PASS
Sourced from terra rossa clay soils surrounding the winery in the Light Pass sub-region. With gentle gully breezes cooling the vine plants each evening during ripening. An ode to the worlds earliest recorded female owner of Shiraz vines. Eleven centuries ago on "a Friday in the month of April in the second year after the death of Charlemagne, Madame Andelmonde donated her Syrah vineyard to her local church, perhaps in a bid to secure a place in 'the big wine cellar upstairs'.
A 6th generation Barossan, Dan Standish established his eponymous winery in 1999 whilst still working as winemaker at Torbreck Vintners. His endeavour initially began around an ancient parcel of Shiraz owned and farmed by his father. Due to family upheaval this source is now gone but has been supplemented by various sites throughout the Barossa Region that he has identified as significant and unique.
All batches of fruit are fermented and matured individually then follows a strict selection in the winery that can see as much as 80% of the original blend discarded and sold off in bulk. As with the finest producers in Europe only the finest material is sold under the Standish Wine Company label.
Stylistically Dan's wines are as rich and profound as you would expect from Barossa Valley old vines but they have a satin texture and dreamy perfume that sets them far apart from his contemporaries. Here, dark fruits are encased in cocoa and earthy richness but with gentle spice, soil tone, asphalt and a stony minerality that gives the wines a beautiful dimension. These are special Australian wines.