The Standish Wine Company
“New Barossa”, Same Brilliance -The Standish Icons in context, plus the 2023 New Releases!
Founded in 1999 by Dan Standish — sixth-generation Barossan and a winemaker of rare conviction — The Standish Wine Company has grown from cult status to icon. It’s not just about heritage, though there’s plenty of that. It’s about vision — and Standish has it in spades.
“…Dan Standish of The Standish Wine Company, who makes some of the most innovative, small-production, single-vineyard wines in Australia.”
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
"I consider Dan Standish the reigning king of Barossa Shiraz."
Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
“In the context of Australian shiraz, the Standish wines are continually regarded as being exceptionally high quality- among the very best"
- Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
“In the right context, these are some of the finest expressions of Syrah in the world today.”
- Huon Hooke, The Real Review
The Standish Wine Company is a quiet one. No loud marketing or flashy bravado. The fact that they are one of the Barossa’s best producers probably explains this – the winery, tucked away on Kalimna Road off the usual wine tourist path and open by appointment only, adds to that allure. Talented winemaker Dan Standish, a 6th-generation Barossan, honed his craft making wine in the Rhône Valley, Spain and US, founding The Standish Wine Company in ’99 while working as the winemaker at Torbreck. The Standish leitmotif is fruit purity and transparency of site, and the offering focuses on profound shiraz from Greenock, Marananga, Krondorf and the Eden Valley. A much-admired flagbearer for the ‘New Barossa’.
- Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
“The Standish Shiraz, grown in the Barossa Valley, is rising up the collectable charts with a bullet.”
Campbell Mattinson, ‘Australia’s Most Collected Wines 2023’ Article’ campbellmattinson.com
The Flagship Collection
The Standish Wine Co. releases its flagship collection each year, comprising of four core wines:
The Standish Shiraz | The Relic Shiraz/Viognier | The Schubert Theorem Shiraz | The Lamella Shiraz.
Single Vineyard Syrah – Nothing Else
The Standish Wine Company produces just a handful of wines each year, all from single-vineyard Shiraz (Syrah) sites scattered across the Barossa and Eden Valleys. Each wine is an expression of terroir at its most unflinching — no blending, no fining, no filtration, no distractions.
James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines ft. The Standish Wine Company over the past few years…
Top 100 World Wines 2020 #4 - 2018 The Schubert Theorem, 100 points - James Suckling
“For us, the epitome of this greatness is the No.4 The Standish Wine Company Shiraz Barossa Valley The Schubert Theorem 2018, a 100-point red that showcases the character of Australian wines, especially Barossa and the superb quality of the 2018 vintage.”Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020 AND Australian Wine of the Year!! - 2018 The Schubert Theorem, 100 points - James Suckling
Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021 #8 - 2019 The Schubert Theorem, 99 points - James Suckling AND 2019 The Standish, 98 Points
”Just incredible shiraz, this has the x-factor of purity and inherent complexity. So layered and so detailed. The aromas and flavors of intense blackberry, rich plum, blueberry and cherry fold over and over each other, together with plenty of spice and a flicker of dark stones. The palate is so saturated and so deeply set with dark fruit cascading long and lively on the finish. Stunning shiraz once again. Drink over the next decade.”Top 100 Wines of Australia 2022 - The Standish Shiraz 2020
James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2023 - 2021 Lamella Shiraz, 96 points - Ned Goodwin MW, JamesSuckling.com
Top 100 Wines of Australia 2024 #5 - 2022 The Relic, 98 Points - James Suckling
“The old-vine story and family heritage are equally strong when it comes to the wines of South Australia. Dan Standish, a sixth-generation Barossan, makes The Standish Wine Company Barossa Valley The Relic 2022 (No. 5) from grapes sourced from old, ungrafted vines planted in 1912, delivering rich, textured flavors and a distinctive expression of Barossa terroir.”
Other Suckling ‘99 Pointers’ for The Standish Wine Company
2020 The Relic - 99 Points, James Suckling
”A pretty sensational wine with blackberry, grilled meat, dark chocolate, and licorice. Full-bodied and layered with righteous deep and poised tannins that coat the mouth. It goes on for minutes. Crushed stone, slate. Asian spice. Original vines planted in 1912. Drinkable, but better after three or four years. Try after 2025.”2020 The Schubert Theorem Relic - 99 Points, James Suckling
”Unbelievable! Another insane wine. The length of this is endless. The blue fruits and Asian spices are mind-blowing. It’s medium- to full-bodied with a mouth full of polished and refined, creamy tannins. It goes on for minutes. Endless. Seamless and gorgeous. Leave this for years ahead if you can keep your hands off it. Better after 2025.”
The Latest 2023 Release – A Snapshot of the New Barossa
Dan Standish on the 2023 Vintage:
“A gentle elongated ripening created a special vintage giving us wines of great lusciousness and complexity.”
“some of our most complex and captivating wines to date.”
“Following on from the perfect 2022 release, I find myself opening this wine with a fair bit of excitement...”
- Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
Below is a breakdown of the four core wines in the flagship collection, along with their past critic scores & accolades, followed by Erin Larkin’s reviews on the new 2023 releases.
You can also watch her YouTube Video Tasting which has been linked below for your convenience and enjoyment!
The Schubert Theorem
100% Shiraz. Sourced from various sections of the Roennenfeldt Road Vineyard in Marananga that is owned by the Helbig Family. Planted on own roots between 1994 & 1999 (12ft x 8ft spacing). The soils are deep red/brown earths with eroded protrusions of crystalline quartz - ranging between 272-296m above sea level.
The connection between the name of the wine and the vineyard is both the Schubert family, and the concept of the sum of parts being greater than the whole… reflecting the vineyard sourcing. The Schubert Theorem lies within a branch of mathematics known as 'knot theory'. It states that any knot can be uniquely decomposed as the connected sum of prime knots. Aptly named, this wine deconstructs the Schubert family vineyard into its distinct sections, taking the finest elements of each, re-assembling to connect and enhance their strengths.
2019
- James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021 and 99 points.
2020
- 99 Points - James Suckling
-98 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
2021
- Halliday Wine Companion Top 100 Wines of 2024 and Special Value Wine
- 99 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
2022
- 98 Points - James Suckling
- 98+ points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
The 2023 New Release
98 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
The 2023 The Schubert Theorem Shiraz is a gorgeous wine. It is silky, inky, pure, black as the ace of spades and long through the finish... It has rose petals, detail and delicacy, power and precision. Standish performs somewhat like a Burgundian producer—he works with one grape (I suppose two, if you count the small inclusion of Viognier in the Relic) to express different vineyard sites, soil types and elevations. There's no "declassified" fruit in these wines, no flow-on opportunities to other cuvées, just "make or break" viticulture and winemaking. The ancient terroir of the Barossa is writ large in these wines. It is striking. This 2023 Schubert, despite the cool and wet conditions, is a testament to Standish's clarity of vision."
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
2018
- James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020 (#49) and 99 points.
- 98-100 Points - Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
- 97 Points - Sarah Ahmed, Decanter
- 97 Points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
2019
- James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of Australia 2021 and 98 points.
2020
- James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of Australia 2022 and 98 points.
2021
- Langton’s Top 100 Wines 2024 - #3
- 96 Points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
The 2023 New Release
97 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
The 2023 The Standish Shiraz is the most "Barossan" of all the Standish cuvées. It exudes earthy brick dust tannins and layers sumac and exotic spices with roasted game and sweet marrow. There are notes of black cherry, dried rose petals, sandalwood, hung deli meat and licorice, all of it strapped to rails of grounded tannin. It's chewy, substantial and of the earth, in its way. The fruit is sourced from the Laycock family vineyard in Greenock, as always, and it expresses the red clay and loam soils there in its splay of tannic fortitude and density. This is very impressive. It is fresh yet meaty/rocky—both attractive qualities in Shiraz/Syrah. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. Drink 2025 - 2043.
Lamella
100% Shiraz. 100% whole bunch. Sourced from the Angas family vineyard, Hutton Vale Farm, Eden Valley. Cuttings came from the Mt Edelstone vineyard and were planted in the early 1960s. The Angas family originally owned the Mt Edelstone vineyard – they sold it to the Henschke family. This vineyard is right in the middle of Mt Edelstone and Hill of Grace vineyards as the crow flies. Dan exclusively sources from the northern part of the vineyard.
2019
- 97 Points - James Suckling
- 97 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
2020
- 98 Points - James Suckling
- 97+ points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
- 97 Points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
2021
- James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of Australia 2023
- 98+ points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
- 97 Points - Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
The 2023 New Release
98+ points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
Following on from the perfect 2022 release, I find myself opening this wine with a fair bit of excitement... This is velvety and grainy, supple and pliable. The tannins are dry and silky, and they perfectly balance the intensity of sweet/spicy fruit in the mouth. This wine is a clear example of why you must back a producer over a vintage, because a good producer will triumph no matter the conditions.
The Relic
99% Shiraz, 1% Viognier. Sourced from the Hongell Family Vineyard, Krondorf. Planted on own roots in 1991. Clay Loam over weathered bedrock with intermittent bands of quartz. Shiraz grown in this part of the Barossa tends to be very aggressively tannic. We planted a single row of Viognier alongside the Shiraz, which is picked on the same morning and co-fermented. The co-fermentation of even a tiny amount of Viognier not only adds heady aromatics to the mix but also softens the otherwise firm tannins.
2020
- 99 Points - James Suckling
- 99 Points - Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
- 97 Points - Gary Walsh - The Wine Front
2021
- 98 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
2022
- James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of Australia 2024 & 98 Points
- Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion
The 2023 New Release
98 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate
The 2023 The Relic Shiraz-Viognier is texturally velvety and smooth; that may sound like a base observation to make, and perhaps it is, but the experience is overwhelmingly silky/ethereal this year... What more is there to say about this, other than that it is sensational? I find this to be an incredibly consistent wine year after year, with my scores rarely deviating too much from "excellent." This is among the very best Shiraz Viognier's in this country; it's a treasure. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.
Erin Larkin on The Standish 2023 New Release Flagship Wines
“The 2023 vintage in South Australia, Barossa Valley particularly, was cold and wet and certainly threw some curve balls for producers. Diligent and constant attention in the vineyards was the key to success in a year like this. As ever, I was anticipating the release of the 2023’s with bated breath, perhaps more than other more straight-forward vintages, if only to satisfy my curiosity with how a producer like Standish would handle a year like 2023. I was not disappointed. We, the drinkers, can find ourselves obsessed with vintage conditions, and that can disguise how important a role viticulture, vine age and experience with winemaking play in the success of a wine, over and above the lens of a given vintage. Love to hear what you think of the wines, and if you’ve had a chance to open any yet.” (Erin Larkin, 2025)