Big Wave Dave

9.3

My first SA Chenin, and not a bad place to start. Poised and perfectly balanced with a delicate structure. Brown apple with stone fruit balanced with med+ acidity. Mild malo and lees notes, but perfectly judged. — 7 months ago

Shangliao Sun

9.0

Lemon peels and citrus aroma, sweet entry, with abundance of acidity and saline taste, good balance, also buttery and can sense some oak influence, medium finish. Excellent. — 2 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.5

Nice medium gold color. Great weight. An even better nose. Notes of apricot, ocean breeze and sea shells, some tan spice, white clay, wet river stone and some citrus. Great mouth feel, coats the palate with good fruit and tingling acidity. Awesome. — 3 years ago

John Frederick

9.2

Oily coating mouthfeel gives you just a touch of decadence before the mineral and acid cleans and refreshes your pallet. Ripe yellow Mellon, pineapple guava and a hint of lime and sweet grass. Stunning wine. — 3 years ago

Chris Stenseth

9.3

Delicious SA chardonnay. Almost like the baby of a fatty Meursault and a more structured and mineral Burgundy white (Chablis). Oak, flint, juicy apple, lemon and a beautiful, lingering acidity. — 4 years ago

Alaina Hohnarth

9.2

A Christmas gift from my spouse. Really nice berry on the nose. Tasted pomegranate, cherry, black soil. Balanced by nice tannins. — 4 years ago

Meg Herring

9.0

Red apples, cranberries, spices, clay, white flowers. Earthy. Med+ acidity. — 5 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.4

Ready to rock and roll. Blackberry and red clay on the nose. Entry of black cherry and cola with acidic character. Middle is dark, smoky, leather, more blackberry and hint of cocoa. Still finishes with a young semi sweet baking chocolate and Rutherford dust! Black pepper finish is unmistakable with a ton of black fruit, and plenty of life left. Dang. — 5 years ago

April Hill

9.0

KSA Progressive Party 🍷 — 7 months ago

Nathan Renfro

9.4

Lovely nose. Dark fruit, ripe yet somewhat muted. Still a bit tight. Definite minerality, but also a clay earthiness. Powdered tannins. Nice mouthfeel. Well structured. Nice finish. First bottle of my 06s. Many many years left. — 9 months ago

Mike Saviage

10

Tasted blind. Light gold color, youthful and heavy in the glass. Notes of citrus, white clay, sea shells, wet river stone, kiwi and some honey. High pitched. Massive fruit and structure. This powered along all night and never slowed down. Easy to guess as the 90 Raveneau Clos as we've had this many times. A debate ensued about what is a perfect white burgundy and where this sits... it would be really hard to get better than this, IMO. Spectacular. — 2 years ago

Chris

9.0

Great wine. Lots of fruity flavor. Robust and rich. Paired perfectly with beef Wellington. $21 — 3 years ago

Dimes

9.2

From nice :) — 4 years ago

Heidi Schneider

10

Had this at a dinner party. Thought it was at least a $50-$60 bottle of wine....was $12 here in Ohio. Totally amazed. — 4 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.6

Nice regal gold hue. Amazing pit fruit and wet stone nose. Plus notes of apricot, white clay soil, salty ocean breeze and some Raveneau honey on the finish. Rich and powerful in the mouth. Coats the palate with lots of fruit and fine grained acidity. I’ve had this a few times and this was at its best. Great Raveneau at age 30 is an amazing treat. — 4 years ago

Heather Venard

9.2

Blackberry and tobacco... Love the balance of sweet and savory. — 6 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

The best Phelps Napa I’ve had & had a ton. This 97 was stored perfectly & still just the other side of its peak. Balanced, lovely w/ nothing that bites back. Well worth the $75 or so that I paid. Likely around $25 on release. Now, 24 yrs in bottle better than some other Napa wines I’ve paid $150. The nose is also one of the better Napa Cabernet’s I’ve inhaled. Ruby; blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, poached, dark cherries, spiced strawberries with raspberries hovering. Anise to black licorice, dark Indian/Asian spices, slightly dry tobacco, nutmeg, cinnamon, sandalwood, hints of sweet lead pencil shavings, dry & fresh herbaceousiness, charcoal, black tea, hints of menthol, dark, slightly withering florals, framed in lavender & violets.

The palate is lush, ruby, juicy fruits. Those that think fruit is lost at this age, not the case here and in many of the well stored wines I’ve had. Ripe & juicy; blackberries, black plum, black raspberries, black plum, plum, poached, dark cherries, spiced strawberries with raspberries hovering. Anise to black licorice, tarry notes, some fig & dates, dark Indian/Asian spices, slightly dry tobacco, dry brush/twig, nutmeg, cinnamon, sandalwood, hints of sweet lead pencil shavings, dry & fresh herbaceousiness, charcoal, black tea, hints of menthol, moist volcanic clay, very fine, dry, crushed rocks, dark, slightly withering florals framed in lavender & violets, perfect acidity. The finish is outstandingly; knitted, tensioned, structured, layered, balanced for days that lasts minutes. Outstanding!!!

What a treat. The integration & evolution is epic & everything you hope for in every wine you open. You’ve heard of a velvet wine wrap in an iron fist. This is a velvet wine wrapped in a velvet glove. — 7 months ago

Amy Simone

9.0

Heavy tannin, dry/sharp finish, full bodied — 3 years ago

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. — 4 years ago

Pamela Gleeson

9.0

Very nice oaky wine.
— 5 years ago