Standish 'The Lamella' Shiraz 2023

Following on from the perfect 2022 release, I find myself opening this wine with a fair bit of excitement. I called Dan Standish one day in early May 2023 (I think to ask my questions about the wines I was tasting), and he was in the vineyard up in Eden Valley, picking the Lamella fruit for this wine. 2023 was a wet, cool season, so much so that the fruit for this cuvée was picked in May. Still, aromatically, the 2023 Lamella Shiraz leads with sumac and orange peel, fresh raspberry, black cherry, licorice, petrichor, wet asphalt and river stones. Sandalwood and rose petals follow through the finish. 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. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax.

A mesh of red berries, regional Aussie bush characters, white pepper, alpine herb and touches of mocha and salted liquorice. Incredibly dense but almost held to a medium bodied weight, a sense of quality, lacy tannin but with authority and a distinct persistence of complex, layered flavours of fruit and herbal inflection. A beautiful overall feel to the wine. It feels symphonic. Energetic too

Ripe raspberry, mint and sage, something of a maple syrup smell, exotic spice, slight cut capsicum and creamy oak. So, quite a bit going on here. Full-bodied, black and red fruit, a nutty toffee thing, firm chamois-like tannin, plenty of length with a cool ‘mineral’ feel to acidity. Nice wine. Distinct. 95+ points.