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.”
96 points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate “The 2021 The Standish Shiraz was made with fruit from the Laycock family vineyard, Greenock, with 30% whole bunches in the ferment. The Standish Shiraz was the first cuvée launched by Dan Standish in 1999, and the wine is routinely typified by its muscular tannin shape and earthy, savory fruit. The most attractive part of this wine is the splay of exotic market spice (namely sumac, black pepper, star anise and fresh cardamom) that sails in on the coattails of the red/purple fruit. It has all the exoticism and romance of a hike through the mountains of Morocco, yet it, perhaps more than any other wine in the collection, speaks of the Barossa in a clear enunciated voice. So, where does it fit in 2021? The 2021 The Standish Shiraz is finer, prettier and lighter than I have ever seen it at this stage of its life. It has all the spice and Barossan identity that is expected; however, it misses the dense baritone of fruit that is present in earlier iterations. Whether you think that is a positive or not is up to you—I am fond of this wine throughout all its incarnations. Vintage variation is responsible for the spark of curiosity and joy that I experience every year during this release, and the real triumph in 2021 is the ability of the vineyard (this vineyard) to shine through the season that shaped it. 14.9% alcohol.”
96 points, Angus Hughson, Vinous “.. shows exceptional colour, which is mirrored with impressive fruit density and subtlety. A smoky/granitic edge lifts poised dark chaerry, cocoa and baked earthy tones. The Key to this wine is its composure and balance. The tannins, fruit and acidity are all perfectly in place to deliver a long, sustained, and complex finish that retains definition to the very end.”
RRP $59 Our Special Price $139.99 – EXTREMELY LIMITED – While Stocks Last
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