Standish The Standish Shiraz 2018

James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020

Dan Standish has the Barossa Valley running through his veins. A 6th Generation native, Dan created his Standish label in 1999 whilst still working at Torbreck. Today his wines are some of the most highly sought-after in the world and are critically acclaimed both here in Australia and internationally.

"This is really moving into like a midnight black spectrum. The fruit is blackberry, boysenberry, mulberry, spicy, pepper, anise, fennel, clove almost. Wow. Utterly thrilling and impressive. Incredible structure. The tannins are superfine but they're everywhere. I'm feeling a bit of regret at the moment for not buying this wine. Wow. It's speechstopping and that doesn't happen very often for me."  Erin Larkin 

Erin Larkin reviews the 2018 Standish The Standish Shiraz (5:20 into the video)

Expert reviews

"The 2018 The Standish Shiraz (a sample blend from barrel) is a bit stalky (it's about 50% whole cluster), but it's gorgeously perfumed, with hints of herbal tea, raspberries, blackberries and licorice. It just exudes complexity, while also being full-bodied, plush and creamy, with a long, elegant finish. This seamless beauty is a candidate for perfection."  Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate - 98-100 points

"Greenock parcel with an ironstone base and plenty of ironstone through the top soil. This has is super complex and fragrant with some orange zest, intense raspberries, blackberries and an almost Rhône-like blood-orange edge. There's a deeply spicy thread, driven by oak, which suits the dark-berry and dark-chocolate aromas. Sheer, polished and glossy with a very intense, concentrated delivery of blackberries and dark plums. So polished and silky, powerful and graceful. This has luxurious texture and such underlying power. Drink or hold."   James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 98 points and Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020

"Spicy black fruit, dark and brooding, but finds its way through the mouth as surely as a cat in the night. Black liquorice, fresh picked blackberry and boysenberry, deep but with no shortage of energy and freshness, the tannin grips with a fine chalk powder texture, green tea perfume adds a little edge, and the finish is so long, stony and bright. It's a class act from start to finish. Drink 2023-2040."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 97 points

"The acid and tannin structure is assertive at first but knits together given time and air. Intense, sinewy and creamy raspberry, damson and blackberry fruit joins spice, mint, mocha and nuances of charcuterie and earth. From the Laycock Family Vineyard in Greenock planted in 2002 on ironstone gravels and schist over red clay and ironstone bedrock."  Sarah Ahmed, Decanter – 97 points

Awards

Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020 - James Suckling

The standish

100% Shiraz. Sourced from the Laycock Family Vineyard, Greenock. Planted on own roots in 2002 (5.39 Hectare – 9ft x 6ft spacing). Dan Standish has worked closely with this great vineyard since 2005. Ironstone gravels and layered schist on a bedrock of solid ironstone at 314m above sea level. With its easterly aspect protecting it from the harsh western afternoon sun and the gentle sloped gravels draining away any untimely excess rainfall. Bedded deep on their own roots in fragmented ironstone and layered schist this Shiraz clone is in its element.

"Right clone, right aspect, it's all about the place. Ironstone gravels and layered schist on a bedrock of solid ironstone at 314m above sea level."  Dan Standish 

About the Winery

Dan Standish has the Barossa Valley running through his veins. A 6th Generation native, Dan created his Standish label in 1999 whilst still working at Torbreck. Today his wines are some of the most highly sought-after in the world and are critically acclaimed both here in Australia and internationally.

Standish Wine Company is a strikingly beautiful winery located in the Barossa Valley. The winery and vineyards are owned by Dan and Nicole Standish. Dan was first introduced to the art of pruning grape vines by his grandfather at the young age of six in their ancestral vineyard. He founded The Standish Wine Company in 1999 after securing a section of his family vineyard in the Barossa Valley. The same ancient plants that Dan carefully hand pruned are now used to produce his old vine shiraz, fittingly titled 'The Relic'.

Dan and Nicole work side by side at their modern, cavernous winery. The large stone and brick building is framed by lavender bushes and grand old vines. They purchased the site in 2013 a decade after it was built by French-managed company The Colonial Estate. The structure is like something straight out of France's Rhone Valley or Spain's Rioja, both parts of the world that Dan has worked in. He also made wine in California's Napa and Sonoma Valleys, before working for Torbreck. 

The estate produces a number of examples of Barossa Shiraz, including 'The Relic', 'The Standish', The Schubert Theorem and Lamella. Each wine is produced with the utmost attention to detail, blending traditional techniques with modern technology.