Enrico Pallazzo

9.4

Delicious but not quite as good as it used to be. Lots of cherry. — 4 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2017 vintage — 5 years ago

Eric Urbani

9.5

Outstanding @ 10 year point — 7 years ago

Shay A

9.5

Today was an absolutely fantastic Friday hosting at the City Club by @Dan Fitzgerald. 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert wine. Great job Dan!

My notes against the first white were that this was more lifted and slightly lighter in body. In fact, I called this 2012 Aubert (one of their Sonoma Coast Vineyards) as I picked up lemon cream on the nose and palate. Sea salt, marzipan, honeycomb and lemon pound cake dominate the senses. Touch of heat on the finish. This is drinking marvelously right now. — 7 years ago

with joe, Dan and 3 others

Shay A

9.5

This is absolutely ridiculous. One of the best chardonnays I’ve ever had...all have been from Dan! Best nose on a Chardonnay I can remember. Salted popcorn kernels, toasted brioche, sweet caramel. The palate is gorgeously textured...lingers full of savory notes and wet rock. Benchmark Chardonnay. — 8 years ago

with Dan, Benjamin and 1 other

Jonas Johansson

9.0

Easy fun lightly baked apples. Lovely — 9 years ago

Allison Heilman

9.3

Dan is my hero. — 9 years ago

Ryan Carey

Founder Wine Confidential

9.2

Finally trying Cherry Pie (from Hundred Acre). 3 different single vineyard Pinots from 2012. Stanly Ranch is dynamite (and a vineyard to keep an eye on). Reminiscent of Kosta Browne. Next up is Rodgers Creek. Darker fruit. Less explosive, but a nice wine. Third up is Carinalli. Way lighter, though some spice to it. It's fine, but doesn't hold a candle to the other two. (Thanks Mastro's in Scottsdale for hosting me!) — 10 years ago

Randolfo Gumenick

10

Terrific at the open, silky smooth texture and very round and balanced with a nice long finish. Kosta Brown's elegant touch shows in the structure of this big subtly jammy syrah. Too bad there's probably no '04's available but I'm loving this wine. — 11 years ago

Erich Broksas

Early Mountain Vineyards

9.5

Nice work Dan. — 12 years ago

David Walser

9.4

Could wait on drinking other bottles of this for another 5 years. Delicious tonight…I expect better in a few years. — 4 years ago

Steve Medbery

9.5

Stunning. Love the pure 667 clone. Strawberry with floral notes. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.6

Happy Valentines Day!

If you have not looked for this wine on WineSearcher.com or other, you should. Dan Standish has no American Importer. However, you can mail order off his list. Good luck with the Australian/United States import costs. Very prohibited.

Most quality Barossa wines take 15 years in bottle to show their ultimate beauty. Dan’s wines are no different. His Estate vines are 100 years old and produce 500 pounds of fruit per acre...very concentrated. Contrast that to extremely expensive & high quality Napa fruit, those Napa producers are at 2,000-2,500 pounds per acre.

We visited Standish in April 2017. We found Dan to be extremely talented & definitely marches to his own drum. He is salt of the earth and has traveled & worked in many of the world wine regions honing his craft and landing as Torbreck’s Winemaker in Barossa before starting, “The Standish Wine Company.”

As good as the 04 is tonight, it has 15 years of good life ahead...properly stored of course.

The nose is very intoxicating. It is a nice blend of purple, black & blue fruits. Mulberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, black plums, plums, blackberries, dark cherries, deeply extracted raspberries, some baked strawberries, black licorice to anise, dark fruit cola, black olive skin, medium dark spice, black pepper, charcoal, graphite, dry tobacco & underbrush, some bay leaf, alluvial soils, grey volcanic minerals/limestone with fresh & only slightly withering, purple, dark, blue florals framed in violets & lavender.

The body is full, rich, ripe, lush and creamy on the palate after a two-hour plus decant. The structure, tension, length and balance are a little short of its peak and will hold there for 5-8 years. It’s a glorious glide on the palate. The fruits are ripe & lightly baked. Mulberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, black plums, plums, blackberries, dark cherries, deeply extracted raspberries, some baked strawberries, cherry kirsch, red & black licorice to anise, dark fruit cola, black olive skin, the dark spices are heavier on the palate & bring just the right amount of heat, sweet, dark tarriness, black pepper, used, dark expresso roast grounds, charcoal, graphite, dry tobacco & underbrush, some bay leaf, alluvial soils, grey volcanic minerals/limestone, moist clay, with fresh & only slightly withering, purple, dark, blue florals framed in violets & lavender. The acidity is round, flush & perfect. The long finish is a unique even balance of; lush fruits, spice, herbs and earth that persists on the palate for minutes.

Photo on the left of Sofia’s 2 dozen long stems. Love you so much!

@Oswald — 6 years ago

Steve Anderson

9.4

Late add from a few weeks ago- courtesy of @Dan Blackwell. One of the best and most consistent Viognier out there IMHO. — 7 years ago

Tyler Christensen

9.6

When popped the nose was red cherry, cola and cherry compote. After a couple hours of air the wine has evolved into black cherry with some secondary herbal notes. This is drinking incredibly well now. Don’t hold for long. — 8 years ago

Roman Sukley

9.7

2012 CIRQ Estate Treehouse Pinot Noir. Michael Browne’s (of Kosta Browne) personal project which as I understand is an homage to the Summers he spent at a ‘Circus Camp’ in his youth. Treehouse is an amazing hilltop (stunning elevation) property in west Sonoma County with red, iron-rich soil surrounded by (say what?) coastal cypress trees. I had the pleasure of visiting, hosted by Damon Wong, and it's an amazing Vineyard. Unlike anything else I've ever seen. I can understand Michael's fascination with it. The wine: On the nose, red fruits, cedarbox, with notes of rhubarb and fennel. On the palate, pomegranate, kirsch, black tea, spices, roasted herbs along with hints of black truffles and white pepper. Beautiful texture. Lengthy finish. Classic expression of Pinot Noir. If I had to distinguish it from Kosta Browne from a flavor-perspective, I would say higher acidity and a bit of tannin give it a quality more accustom to Grand Cru Burgundy which is not bad company. I'm a fan. Congrats to Michael as well as his partner in this project, my friend Kenny Rochford, one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. — 9 years ago

Justin Ennis

9.3

Great Job Dan! This went so well with the home made tostadas. Great wine🤘 — 10 years ago

Brian Duffy

9.0

Named for the wives of Dan Kosta and Emeril Lagasse, this Pinot is not readily available, yet quite enjoyable with the bacon wrapped Pork tenderloin at Mayacama. — 11 years ago

Nestor Tsioustas

9.3

I love Dan Standish. He is one of the best winemakers. Lovely wine, very young. Blueberry and Red silky fruit. Full Bodied but not overly alcoholic, heat isn't obvious in this wine. Great length and layers of flavours. Big points from me 95 points. A producer I highly recommend! Typical sweet Barossa fruit, very seductive... — 11 years ago

Monique Ferguson

9.1

This is a cheap but a very good wine — 13 years ago

Shay A

9.4

My last bottle of Cirq. I think the quality is extremely high, but the evolution and secondary market is hard to justify when similar priced wines (ex: Marcassin) are in a different realm.

This straddles bright and moderately lean Sonoma coast Pinot with ripe OR style pinot. When compared to Michael Browne’s Kosta Browne wines, its got a more elegant profile while retaining the rich fruit. Plenty of ripe cherry, black cherry, potpourri, and sandalwood aromatics. The palate here retains a lot of freshness to go along with the spiced rhubarb, black pepper, and maple drizzled black cherries. Acidity is very vibrant and keeps this wine afloat.

Pretty? Yes. Do I see this getting better? Not necessarily, just different. — 4 years ago

Jay Eagan

9.1

This is Dan Kosta (Kosta Brown) new label. It’s a good example of Sonoma with raspberry and cherry tones with a brightness and acidity that work great with our spicy miso salmon. — 6 years ago

with Kristine

Shay A

9.5

Today was an absolutely fantastic Friday hosting at the City Club by @Dan Fitzgerald. 1 sparkler, 3 whites, 4 reds, 1 dessert wine. Great job Dan!

The third of four Colgin’s served blind. This and the fourth were my favorites and both were different. This was much brighter and had a sweet core. Very perfumed...potpourri, violets, black cherry, cocoa dusted dates. Starts light at the entry and gains density as it hits the mid palate and finish. Retains fruit from start to finish but it’s not a show stealer, simply accompanies everything else. Total balance. My guess was between Napa Cabernet or Syrah. — 7 years ago

with joe, Dan and 3 others

Shay A

9.2

Forgot to post these from the other day. Mark, Dan and I were able to enjoy a relaxed afternoon at the wine storage facility, and some unique stuff was opened, as always!

Don’t think I’ve ever had this PM Chardonnay. Great nose of salted popcorn kernel and the finish had a mineral & stone driven note. Hint of caramel too. Probably in its best drinking window. Thanks Dan. — 8 years ago

with Dan and Mark

Shay A

8.9

Another great last minute gathering at the storage facility!

Dan is the king of busting out these old Marcassins, and every single one has been a revelation...until this one 😕. Don’t get me wrong, this was nowhere close to terrible, but it smelled and tasted of bubblegum. Very faint nuttiness notes to it. — 9 years ago

with Mark

Anthony Lombardi

9.2

Serious acid backbone here- the PG adds a round component which is welcome and adds some fleshy richness. @Dan Petroski is a master when it comes to white wine. — 9 years ago

Steve Anderson

9.2

Mrs A is re-evaluating her general disdain for French wine after trying this one. Thank you @Dan Blackwell , Prince of Pegau. — 9 years ago

Peter Plaehn

9.3

Oh hell yes. Love @Dan Petroski's wines. Another stunner. — 10 years ago

Rhonda Mayeda

9.5

A really enjoyable Pinot ...thanks, son.
— 11 years ago

with Ryan and Donna

Lindsey Zarlengo

9.8

Shelly and Dan — 13 years ago