January 15, 2025
Standish 2022s - Do not miss - Scoring up to 100-Points from the Wine Advocate
Standish 2022s - Do not miss
If there is one winemaker from Australia to be drinking right now it’s Dan Standish, his wines are exceptional. So pure, seductive and so much going on. You can easily make a whole evening out of just opening the wines and watching them evolve. Let us tell you more about them!
Founded by the visionary winemaker Dan Standish, this esteemed winery has redefined the boundaries of Australian winemaking, creating exceptional wines that captivate the senses and push the limits of what is possible. Standish is a 6th generation Barossan who honed his craft at the legendary Torbreck winery in Australia. Seeking to elevate his winemaking skills to new heights, Standish embarked on a global quest for knowledge and inspiration. From the Rhone Valley to Napa and beyond, he absorbed the wisdom of the greatest winemakers, letting their expertise influence his own unique winemaking philosophy.
Across the board, the winemaking is uniform for the range: grapes are handpicked and wild fermented in open-top fermenters, followed by an 18-22 month aging period in French oak barrels from four rotating coopers. This method is carefully chosen to highlight the vineyard's own voice over the signature of the cooper, allowing the unique characteristics of each season to be expressed through the oak.
The last few vintages the wines have been getting better and better and after the hype of the 2021 vintage being a classic vintage, it was going to be hard for the 2022s to surpass them, but surpass them they have. Erin Larkin writes:
“The 2022 season in Barossa was an impressive follow on from the excellent 2021 vintage, and the wines so far have shown themselves to be balanced, long and harmonious. In the context of the Standish wines, I have never seen them looking better on release. While previous seasons have here and there surpassed my lofty expectations of greatness form this producer (CC: 2021 Schubert's Theorem), the 2022 release seems to me to be everything that I expected of the 2021 collection.”
Each wine has its own personality which we have written about below on a per wine basis. To give you an opportunity to taste each of the different personalities of the wines, we have listed them as singles and we highly recommend buying at least one bottle of each. The full reviews and scores are below for your perusal.
Erin Larkin of the Wine Advocate has released a video explaining the wines and vintage which can be viewed here:
Standish The Standish 2022
€95* In Bond per bottle
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.
One of the crown jewels within the Standish portfolio is self-titled "The Standish" Shiraz. Sourced from the esteemed Greenock vineyard, this wine captivates with its opulence and concentration. Balanced with precision and a purity of fruit, it boasts an aromatic nose. It’s savoury, full-bodied, spicy, full-bodied and powerful but incredibly balanced.
98 Points | Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin
The 2022 The Standish Shiraz is again providing me with the opportunity to assess bottles two days apart, and how different they are. The freshly opened bottle, as we would all experience upon our first opening, is tight and fresh, with cracked fennel seed, black peppercorns, cumin and ras el'hanout, then dried blueberries and licorice, hints of arnica and raspberry. It's cool and mineral, with a graphite finish. I cannot overstate how much better the wine tastes after two days. All of the edges smooth out, and it is composed and complete ... what a wine. Balance and harmony in a single swoop. It's savory, though. Super. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and foil.
Standish The Relic Shiraz Viognier 2022
€95* In Bond per bottle
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.
The Relicis is often the most charming wine in the range. Blending 99% Shiraz with 1% Viognier sourced from Krondorf, the wine is reminiscent to those of Cote-Rotie which use a small portion of Viognier to add lift the bouquet of the wine. The wine is elevated with alluring floral notes, spice, a hint of lavender and offers great balance, fine-grained tannins, and a long, harmonious finish.
98+ Points | Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin
The 2022 The Relic Shiraz-Viognier contains 2% Viognier skins, and this addition presents in this vintage as a core of raspberry and pomegranate. It is pure fruited and powerfully aromatic, as this cuvee always is. Interestingly, I am tasting this wine from two different glasses: one opened two days ago, one opened this morning. They are quite different, telling us once again that oxygen really is a friend to this producer, especially if choosing to drink these wines young. While the bottle opened two days ago is complete, balanced and utterly refined, it speaks more of its florals and fruit than it does its savory register of spice and complexity. However, the wine opened today has nuances of bacon fat and exotic spice. It is tightly coiled and springy and nowhere near as giving as the former. So, choose your own path. This vintage is a prettier, finer but no less long or coiled version of itself, and it will prove to be one of the greats in the cellar. The tannins certainly are a highlight for me. Built for age but also, in the framework of this beautiful season, absolutely available to you right now. An effortless beauty, here. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
Standish Schubert Theorem 2022
€95* In Bond per bottle
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.
The Schubert Shiraz is sourced from the famed Roennfeldt Road vineyard. In the range, the Schubert is the darkest wine. The fruit is dark fruit such a black cherries and blackberries and the nose has plenty of mocha and dark chocolate. Overall, it’s very concentrated, and tannic but with a sophistication that is incredibly impressive.
98 Points | Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin
I'm excited to taste this, as it was my favorite cuvée last year. It usually changes year to year, given the seasons, and I like that. It's usually the only cuvée to enjoy the benefits of an alternate vessel—a concrete egg—and this year, the 2022 The Schubert Theorem Shiraz joins the Relic and the Standish as well. The impact of the egg in this wine is one of refinement, or so I see it; it retains a purity of fruit at the core, which speaks to the chalky tannins that spool through the finish. They're chewy and seductive and really great. It's a beautiful release—not shimmering like the 2021, but textural and fine and elongated in its way. It's a beguiling wine, a thinking wine. And, as with the other wines tasted alongside, the bottle that has been open for two days is infinitely more complete; however, it must be noted that this review is built on the freshly opened bottle. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
Standish Lamella Shiraz 2022
€95* In Bond per bottle
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.
This wine is ‘On Allocation’ and not available on the website freely. Priority will be given to customers supporting the range of wines from Standish. For an allocation request, please reply to the email.
The Lamella Shiraz is sourced from the Eden Valley. This cool-climate region imparts distinctive characteristics to the wine, resulting in a captivating expression of Shiraz that is elegant, refined, and beautifully structured. The Lamella often has a savoury, bacon fatness that you often find in Cornas in the Rhone. Crushed rocks and Asian spice usually follow suit to round of this pure expression of Shiraz.
100 Points | Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin
The 2022 Lamella Shiraz has a little secret held within, and it's one not noted on the label. Within this cuvée, is just two barrels of fruit from the Stonegarden Vineyard, the original Lamella Vineyard, before the current Huttonvale Farm. Stonegarden was planted in the Eden Valley in the middle 1800s and is a historic site. The wine rises with Chinotto and blood orange, black tea and pressed flowers. It is, in its quiet way, kaleidoscopic and mottled ... it does not stay still, it gently moves across the palate like sunlight over the course of a day. The long finish speaks of raspberry pip and sandalwood, pomegranate, Boscobel rose and even the softest suggestion of scraped vanilla pod. If you have the benefit of time, I would recommend tasting this on both day one and day two. As I see it, day two has all of the complexity of day one, with the added seamlessness and silk that only time can bring. This is the most alluring Lamella I can recall ever tasting on release, despite many previous releases' flirtation with perfection. 100% whole bunch. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.