Description
“A 6th generation Barossan, Dan Standish established his eponymous winery in 1999 whilst still working as winemaker at Torbreck Vintners. His endeavour initially began around an ancient parcel of Shiraz owned and farmed by his father. Due to family upheaval this source is now gone but has been supplemented by various sites throughout the Barossa Region that he has identified as significant and unique.All batches of fruit are fermented and matured individually then follows a strict selection in the winery that can see as much as 80% of the original blend discarded and sold off in bulk. As with the finest producers in Europe only the finest material is sold under the Standish Wine Company label.
“Stylistically Dan’s wines are as profound as you would expect from Barossa Valley old vines but they have a satin texture and dreamy perfume that sets them far apart from his contemporaries. Here, dark fruits are encased in cocoa and earthy richness but with gentle spice, soil tone, asphalt and a stony minerality that gives the wines a beautiful dimension. These are special wines, among the very best being made in Australia today. When you see what Grange and Hill of Grace sell for these days, these are a bargain.” Andrew Guard, Distributor
About the 2021 vintage by Dan Standish: “2021 was a stunning vintage! With excellent Winter and Spring rains in the lead up to harvest, Mother Nature gave us a perfect growing season yielding fruit of vivid complexities. With no pressure on harvest timing each grape parcel was afforded the utmost attention to detail in the vintage cellar. Whether this was an extended cold soak or post-ferment maceration, more foot stomping, a longer less aggressive basket pressing to restrain tannin or even playing a little more Vivaldi to the bubbling vats.The hauntingly beautiful wines show an upfront poise and luminosity from the balanced acidity yet are tightly wound, richly structured with inky black depth. These will be long-lived offerings and will benefit from a vigorous decant in their youth. You definitely want some of these in your cellar.”
Review on the 2021 Standish Releases by Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate, 12th May 2023 : “If 2018 was the “unicorn” vintage in Barossa Valley (an overused term, sure, but the wines from this ripe vintage are still showing to be excellent and fresh—it was very special and proving highly collectible), then that must make the long, cool 2021 season “Goldilocks”—not too hot, not too cold, it was just right.The consensus so far on the 2021 vintage for Shiraz in Barossa (Eden and Barossa Valley) based on my tastings up to this point is that the best wines will be extraordinarily long lived. The cool nights during the growing season allowed for the retention of natural acidity, and the wines, as a result, feel fresh and balanced.So, what does this all mean for the Standish 2021 collection?The 2021 release is excellent. The wines are finer and less dense (although no less intense) than the vintages that precede them, and as usual, the top wines are different this year compared last. There is a clear superstar in the mix (hint: it is not the crowd favorite, the Lamella, despite being one of the top performers this year). The collection is cohesive, exciting and worthy of all of the praise that it will undoubtedly receive.The winemaking remains consistent across the range: handpicked, wild fermented in open-top fermenters and matured in French oak (the same four coopers on rotation—the aim is the let the vineyards express through the oak rather than an exposé of cooper over vineyard) for 18-22 months, depending on the attributes of the season; although this year, winemaker Dan Standish “pulled some of the more aromatic parcels out of oak and egg a little earlier and put them in tank to protect the freshness.” The whole-bunch components/inclusions are largely the same as they were in 2020 (Lamella 100%, Schubert Theorem 70%, Standish 30% and in The Relic 25%, up from 15% to 20% in 2020), although the integration of this characteristic verges on seamless in the 2021 wines. I assume this is because the grapes were able to hang on the vine for as long as it took for full lignification of the stems, without fear or risk of disease.”
98 points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate “The 2021 Lamella Shiraz is made with fruit from the Angas family vineyard, Hutton Vale Farm, Eden Valley. The vineyard was planted with cuttings from the Mt Edelstone (Henschke) vineyard and represents the final pick of the season each year. Made with 100% whole bunches in the ferment, the wine opens with characteristic jasmine tea, bergamot, raspberry, graphite and star anise on the nose. The whole-bunch component, far from overtaking the fruit, is seamlessly integrated from the first instance this year. The wine is a cohesive whole and shows an elegance and presence that is beguiling, to say the least. If anything, the 2021 Lamella is full of aching potential; its future is writ upon the balance of fruit and skin/stalk tannin, freshness and density. For lovers of this cuvée, I cannot recall seeing it so balanced and poised on release. The 2018 (a vintage I reference constantly for its high quality and fruit presence) may challenge this statement, however the cool vintage that birthed the Lamella this year has produced a wine of definition and untold potential. Super. Sealed under natural cork. 14.9% alcohol.”
96 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front “Blackberry liqueur, praline and chocolate, sage and mint, dark XMAS cake, dried flowers and chamomile. It’s full-bodied, all the rich dark cherry and blackberry, chocolate sauce, so much ripe dark succulent fruit, with deep submerged dark chocolate tannin, and maybe a little warmth through it, but gee, so much flavour and power, We have dried herbs of Eden, and lavish chocolate, almost a saucy coulis level of sweetness, but tempered with lush and thick tannin and rich earthiness to close. It’s kind of overt, but wow, it’s a wine of presence and impact. Mind how you go.”
93 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous “..initially a picture of elegance and subtlety, with pristine violets and black olives over a base of licorice, coriander seed and black cherry. The fine oak complements the picture nicely. Good intensity to follow, the charry tannic backbone most prominent with layers of sage, spice and chocolate truffle slowly emergin. It’s juicy, punchy and tightly wound, fruit just a touch shy for those tannins in a a delicious package overall”
RRP $159 Our Special Price $139.99 – EXTREMELY LIMITED
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