Neil Valenzuela

9.4

A nice comparison of French St. Julien and French winemaker, in the US with a Napa Cab.
The 1972 vintage was one of the legendary five Cabs selected for the 1976 Paris Tasting.

This 1975, had a deep garnet color with a brick rim. Loads of blackberry on the nose, casis and earthy notes. Fruit forward, black fruit and plum dominate, nice tannins. This wine definitely evolved through the evening.

Previous Notes Apply to the 75 St Julien:
Deep ruby color. Aromas of red fruit, leather and earthy notes. Amazing flavors, blackberry, black currant, tobacco and baking spices.

🏅92 Points - Decanter — a month ago

with Quentin

Lyn Farmer

9.4

Deep Ruby, pronounced aromas and flavors of blackberry, plum, cassis, black cherry, cedar, vanilla, tobacco leaf and forest floor. Already showing some tertiary notes. Lovely balance of fruit and savory elements, ripe fine-grained tannin and a very long finish. Wonderful wine, easy to appreciate now but with 5 or 10 more years ahead. — 9 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

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. — 5 years ago

Jeremiah Diaz

9.2

Clear, deep ruby in color (almost purple); on the nose, it's clean with pronounced primary and secondary aromas of black cherries, cassis, and graphite; on the palate, it's dry with medium acidity, medium tannins, medium alcohol, medium body, and pronounced primary and secondary flavors of black plum, violets, blueberries, and wet slate with a long finish. This wine is intense and complex, but could use a bit more acidityto balance the fruit. Overall, I rate this wine as very good. Nellie liked it with food. — a month ago

with Nellie

Charles Garrison

9.4

At 10-years, a beautiful experience…deep, dark pour with no signs of bricking…dark fruit (more purple and black) aromatics that just keep on developing…palate mirrors aromatics with strong fruit profile…pleasing texture/mouth feel…medium finish…hard to say how much longer one should hold…tonight, it was in the right place for our dinner — 6 months ago

with Christie

Greg Ballington

Co-Founder of Millennial Drinkers Wine Blog

9.2

Perfect wine to celebrate the wife’s birthday this last week. Medium garnet red and clear in appearance. Well rounded nose with truffles, damp earthiness, cherries and some black berries. Medium tannins (5.5/10), balanced acidity and medium plus body. Balanced palate with tobacco, leather, earthiness, black plums and cherries. Long finish. Drink till 2027. — 4 years ago

with India

Doug Powers

9.1

Black raspberry, blackberry and spicy aromas and flavors, crisp, fresh and ripe, lovely balance and length, I’ve rapidly become a big fan of Bedrock’s Zins!! — 6 months ago

with Jim

Daron Watson

9.6

aromas of black currants, violets, loam, smoke, pine and felt tip marker ~ adding cassis, iron filings and graphite to the palate — 6 months ago

Jake Hajer

9.1

Touch of age on a savory dark Syrah. Black pepper, beef and blackberries. — 8 months ago

Nick Piccone

9.2

Christmas a day late! Dark, concentrated but not overpowering - black fruit and mocha - dry finish — 5 years ago