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.”
99 points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate “The 2021 The Schubert Theorem Shiraz was made with fruit from the Roennenfeldt Road vineyard, in Marananga, with 70% whole bunches in the ferment. The north-eastern corner of this vineyard is matured in concrete egg to preserve the blue-fruited core that defines the style of this wine; it is the only cuvée that features an alternate maturation vessel. I knew (before and) when I tasted the 2019 and 2020 vintages what I was going to get, by and large. When I was in the Barossa in June 2021, I was already thinking about what the Schubert would look like from this year, as the perceived fit of season and style had the potential to dovetail in a most titillating fashion—a “stars aligning” kind of thing. A cool season overlays a warm site capable of producing dark, dense, sometimes brooding, always pure Shiraz. The combination of concrete egg (and, in this case, a slightly shorter maturation in this vessel) and cooler year has produced a wine of scintillating precision and fruit sweetness. It glows with its own black light. It shimmers and oscillates between fruit luminescence and plush tannic texture, and in doing so, it barely contains its own energy and abundance. The distinction between this profusion of fruit and the old “fruit bombs” of yore is the precision of acid and pliable fruit tannin that defines the middle palate and the ability of the fruit (courtesy of the winemaking) to shine through the vessels in which it matured. The tannin that shapes the wine is plentiful, make no mistake, yet it is ductile and fine and threads through every aspect of the palate. A thrilling Schubert this year, it’s like a strike of lightning on a dark night. This wine appeals most fervently to my penchant for freshness, energy and resonant bass line. 14.9% alcohol. “
94 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous “You cannot miss the striking colour on the 2021 The Schubert Theorem, which shows good power and focus. It is a little shy to start, but then slowly, cherry liqueur, blackberry compote with a smoky, roasted edge and fine-grained oak emerge. Quite muscular in style but also shows the brightness and juicy quality of the vintage. Strong scents of coffee grounds and oak over layers of just ripe blackberries and chocolatey tannins, which wind down to a silky finish.”
97+ points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front “My word, what an intense purple beast this wine is. Dark cherry, blackberry, liquorice, exotic spice and wafts of incense perfume, dark chocolate and coffee. It’s full-bodied, insanely concentrated and powerful, purple and black fruit, toast and liquorice, a mass of rich sooty black tea tannin, rippling with fresh picked blackberry acidity, scorched peanuts, and a massive black fruit and tannic finish. Kind of earthy and ferrous too. So much flavour. So much tannin. The level of concentration here is almost painful as a young wine. It saturates the palate. It takes no prisoners. I love tannin, but I’d suggest leaving this alone for maybe a decade.”
RRP $159 Our Special Price $139.99 – LIMITED TO 2 BOTTLES PER CUSTOMER – While Stocks Last
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