Standish the Standish Shiraz Barossa Valley 2022
"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. Drink 2024-2047." Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 98 points
"Plush and perfumed aromas of dark cherries, blackberries, blueberry bush, violets and graphite. The palate is full-bodied with finely integrated tannins, precise acidity and notes of mulberries, potpourri, ferric earth and boysenberries. Densely focused with a seamless mouthfeel and almost perfect balanced. Excellent. Drink or hold." James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 98 points
"Pop and pour: Very exotic, a whole lot of structure, black tea, some pepper, iodine, lively acidity, so much black tea tannin and depth. It’s almost painfully intense now. Shows maybe a little booziness, but gee it’s really tight. Very intense! 96 points.
Open for two days: Surprisingly peppery and exotically spiced, blue and black fruits, it has precision and bright but fine acidity which really marks it out, and structurally it’s the wine that has the bone structure and carriage that pushes it well beyond the usual Barossa pack. Tannin is all chalk dust and spicy grip, and the finish is very long and pure. It has a strong Earl Gray tea character too. So much tea. I like tea, and I like it strong. Excellent. 96+ though it’s touch and go for 97. Either way, I reckon the best Standish The Standish to date, and a candidate for wine of the vintage from this producer." Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 96+ points
"From the Laycock Family Vineyard which is in the Greenock parish of Barossa Valley. The 2022 release certainly have a distinct presence and potency in the glass, which could be a calling card of Standish, of course, though tannin profile is lighter and finer in 2022 overall, is an observation. They’re a bit more potent and powerful in a way. No slouching in cred, just a theme.
Midnight black colour. Whoosh! There’s incredible density and concentration here, but such focus and an attractive lift to the wine that seems counterintuitive to how much is going on. Marrakesh market stall scents and flavours, with dark cherry, rose hip tea, black tea, graphite, cardamom and caraway seed spices too. It’s incredible how much of a event this wine is, but how much finesse is here too. Epic stuff. IMAX movie theatre vibes. Immersive, is the gist, and done so well. Drink 2024-2040." Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 96 points
"Made with 100% shiraz sourced from the Laycock vineyard in the western parish of Greenock. Deeply coloured with heady, pure fruit of substantial weight and density. Dark plum compote and black berry fruits studded with dark spice, licorice, cassis, earth, dark chocolate, cold tea and wood spice. It's like a piston on the palate, all compression and release, the core of fruit and spice propelled across the palate with impressive cadence. Some lovely fine, chewy, ferrous tannins and a seamless extended finish. Grace and power. Drink: 2024-2044." Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points
"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. Drink 2024-2047." Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 98 points
"Plush and perfumed aromas of dark cherries, blackberries, blueberry bush, violets and graphite. The palate is full-bodied with finely integrated tannins, precise acidity and notes of mulberries, potpourri, ferric earth and boysenberries. Densely focused with a seamless mouthfeel and almost perfect balanced. Excellent. Drink or hold." James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 98 points
"Pop and pour: Very exotic, a whole lot of structure, black tea, some pepper, iodine, lively acidity, so much black tea tannin and depth. It’s almost painfully intense now. Shows maybe a little booziness, but gee it’s really tight. Very intense! 96 points.
Open for two days: Surprisingly peppery and exotically spiced, blue and black fruits, it has precision and bright but fine acidity which really marks it out, and structurally it’s the wine that has the bone structure and carriage that pushes it well beyond the usual Barossa pack. Tannin is all chalk dust and spicy grip, and the finish is very long and pure. It has a strong Earl Gray tea character too. So much tea. I like tea, and I like it strong. Excellent. 96+ though it’s touch and go for 97. Either way, I reckon the best Standish The Standish to date, and a candidate for wine of the vintage from this producer." Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 96+ points
"From the Laycock Family Vineyard which is in the Greenock parish of Barossa Valley. The 2022 release certainly have a distinct presence and potency in the glass, which could be a calling card of Standish, of course, though tannin profile is lighter and finer in 2022 overall, is an observation. They’re a bit more potent and powerful in a way. No slouching in cred, just a theme.
Midnight black colour. Whoosh! There’s incredible density and concentration here, but such focus and an attractive lift to the wine that seems counterintuitive to how much is going on. Marrakesh market stall scents and flavours, with dark cherry, rose hip tea, black tea, graphite, cardamom and caraway seed spices too. It’s incredible how much of a event this wine is, but how much finesse is here too. Epic stuff. IMAX movie theatre vibes. Immersive, is the gist, and done so well. Drink 2024-2040." Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 96 points
"Made with 100% shiraz sourced from the Laycock vineyard in the western parish of Greenock. Deeply coloured with heady, pure fruit of substantial weight and density. Dark plum compote and black berry fruits studded with dark spice, licorice, cassis, earth, dark chocolate, cold tea and wood spice. It's like a piston on the palate, all compression and release, the core of fruit and spice propelled across the palate with impressive cadence. Some lovely fine, chewy, ferrous tannins and a seamless extended finish. Grace and power. Drink: 2024-2044." Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points
"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. Drink 2024-2047." Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 98 points
"Plush and perfumed aromas of dark cherries, blackberries, blueberry bush, violets and graphite. The palate is full-bodied with finely integrated tannins, precise acidity and notes of mulberries, potpourri, ferric earth and boysenberries. Densely focused with a seamless mouthfeel and almost perfect balanced. Excellent. Drink or hold." James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 98 points
"Pop and pour: Very exotic, a whole lot of structure, black tea, some pepper, iodine, lively acidity, so much black tea tannin and depth. It’s almost painfully intense now. Shows maybe a little booziness, but gee it’s really tight. Very intense! 96 points.
Open for two days: Surprisingly peppery and exotically spiced, blue and black fruits, it has precision and bright but fine acidity which really marks it out, and structurally it’s the wine that has the bone structure and carriage that pushes it well beyond the usual Barossa pack. Tannin is all chalk dust and spicy grip, and the finish is very long and pure. It has a strong Earl Gray tea character too. So much tea. I like tea, and I like it strong. Excellent. 96+ though it’s touch and go for 97. Either way, I reckon the best Standish The Standish to date, and a candidate for wine of the vintage from this producer." Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 96+ points
"From the Laycock Family Vineyard which is in the Greenock parish of Barossa Valley. The 2022 release certainly have a distinct presence and potency in the glass, which could be a calling card of Standish, of course, though tannin profile is lighter and finer in 2022 overall, is an observation. They’re a bit more potent and powerful in a way. No slouching in cred, just a theme.
Midnight black colour. Whoosh! There’s incredible density and concentration here, but such focus and an attractive lift to the wine that seems counterintuitive to how much is going on. Marrakesh market stall scents and flavours, with dark cherry, rose hip tea, black tea, graphite, cardamom and caraway seed spices too. It’s incredible how much of a event this wine is, but how much finesse is here too. Epic stuff. IMAX movie theatre vibes. Immersive, is the gist, and done so well. Drink 2024-2040." Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 96 points
"Made with 100% shiraz sourced from the Laycock vineyard in the western parish of Greenock. Deeply coloured with heady, pure fruit of substantial weight and density. Dark plum compote and black berry fruits studded with dark spice, licorice, cassis, earth, dark chocolate, cold tea and wood spice. It's like a piston on the palate, all compression and release, the core of fruit and spice propelled across the palate with impressive cadence. Some lovely fine, chewy, ferrous tannins and a seamless extended finish. Grace and power. Drink: 2024-2044." Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points
