Winemaker: Dan Standish

THE WINE THAT STARTED IT ALL!

Dan Standish is a good mate who makes some of the most polished and expressive wines from the Barossa. He once light-heartedly suggested that we embark on a collaboration using some of the fruit from our family’s Presser Road vineyard. So began a project set upon creating a cuisine-appropriate red wine that echoed some of the characters we find so attractive in the wines of Sierra de Gredos in Spain and in Cru Beaujolais.

The fruit was hand-picked by the whole family, painstakingly dropping all but the most perfect berries. The flavours, straight from the vine were vibrant and sweet. Whole clusters were foot-stomped and fermented before a 15 month élevage in concrete egg, a puff of sulphur at bottling the only addition. Flavours are herbal, smoky and surprisingly complex. Campari and chinotto. Tingly natural acidity and a suggestion of spritz energise the oral membranes. Despite early picking, the Barossa DNA shines through with undercurrents of richness and structure.

“…almost pinot like texture, a haziness to tannins that reminds me of great Burgundy… I love this wine” – Mike Bennie