Standish / Dan Standish
The Standish Wine company was founded in 1999 by Dan Standish. He started at that time with a small, family-owned plot of almost hundred-year-old Shiraz vines in the heart of the Barossa Valley, in the sub-region of Vine Vale. He is part of the sixth generation of immigrants who settled here in 1848. In his career, Dan Standish gained experience not only in his home country, but also in California, Spain and France. He is passionate about the great wines of the Rhône Valley.
His wines all reflect outstanding personalities. They stand out for their complexity, concentration and elegance, and never for excessive opulence or heaviness, as a first glance might have you believe. They all come from authentic roots, literally meaning non-grafted vines, as this region was fortunately spared from the global phylloxera plague. The oldest ones, over a hundred years old, are used for Standish and Relic. The vineyards are all located in the Barossa Valley except for those for the Borne Bollene, which come from the Eden Valley, West of Barossa.
Dan Standish is an advocate of "hands-off and natural winemaking" – a more natural and traditional vinification technique involving little or no intervention. The grapes are crushed by foot and spontaneously fermented with their own yeasts in open wooden fermentation casks. Old basket presses are used to apply a gentle press. The maturation is carried out in used French oak barrels.
Along with Jayson Collins, Dan Standish is also the winemaker of Massena wines, also featured in the Baur Lac Vins product range. He is undoubtedly one of the most exceptionally gifted winemakers in Australia, with the ability to elicit a whole universe of aromas from some of the oldest vines on our planet.
Red wines from Standish / Dan Standish
from Standish / Dan Standish
Producer
Château Biac
Sometimes life is full of surprises. The Lebanese Asseily family experienced this first-hand when they became the owners of Château Biac as if by accident in 2006. They regularly spent their summer holidays near Biac, but never would they have dreamt that they would own and manage this wonderful property themselves one day. It’s a fascinating story that Tony and Youmna Asseily are happy to share over a glass of their wine.
Paolo Conterno / Fam. Conterno
Giorgio Conterno and his Baroli from Piedmont, is one of Baur au Lac Vins' long-standing partners. He talks about his new Tuscan passion with beaming eyes:
Dominio de Pingus
The first Pingus was bottled in 1995. This limited production wine from Ribera del Duero made history with a legendary rating from Robert Parker Junior (1998): "One of the greatest young red wines I have ever tasted." The vintage is also at the centre of a somewhat mythical-sounding story – the freighter carrying a quarter of the limited production sank off the Azores, with the wine ending up in Davy Jones's locker at the bottom of the sea.