Standish Lamella 2020

98 Points - James Suckling “The Eden Valley fruit gives a unique cool fruit character of blue fruits, iron and white pepper. Granite. Medium to full body, with tight and integrated skin tannins and a gunpowder undertone. Fantastic length. A little closed now. Drink after 2025.”

98-100 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Unfurling at a glacial pace - my note arrives after three days in the decanter (without any signs of oxidation), which provides an insight into the wine’s sheer concentration. Glass-staining beetroot red journeys to a core of midnight black. The bouquet interests the heck out of me – potency juxtaposed with a sense of unerring restraint, which is an artform. Savoury at first, and brooding. Cooling graphite, coal and coconut provide lift before the wonderfully heady aromas of mulberry, blackcurrant pastille, creme de mûre, black raspberry, violet and dark, bitter chocolate arrive, star anise too. A wonderfully, exotic and sensational perfume which keeps you hooked. Make no mistake, this is a towering wine, but perfectly proportioned with a masterful touch. Texturally, Lamella is one of those wines that delivers immediate impact, the quality indisputable. The flavours run deep, as deep as the ocean and quite honestly are difficult to convey. Concentrated dark berries, crème de cassis, mulberry and blueberry liquor flood the palate. Mid-palate provides relief from the richness – bitter chocolate, wild herbs and liquorice. I sense bitter orange zest – Negroni-esque which spikes even more intrigue. Acidity provides freshness and lift. Structurally, this is rock-solid with firm, grippy tannins. The complexity and animation of this wine is simply jaw-dropping. Alas, this is one for the cellar and will be drinking from 2032 to 2050+. If you cannot resist, decant for at least 48 hours. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

97+ Points - Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com "The 2020 Lamella Shiraz was made with fruit from the Angas family vineyard in the Eden Valley (Hutton Vale Farm), with cuttings from the Mt. Edelstone vineyard, which is close by. It is made with 100% whole bunches in the ferment. "This is the last pick, and by that time the stems have fully lignified," said Dan Standish. It is floral, and granitic and minerally and über spicy all at once. It is the elegant wine of the lineup, thanks to the elevated vineyard and the cooling acid, but it also is possessed of a nuance and range of flavor that makes it distinct from the others. The Lamella has the breadth and range that the other two do not (making it neither better nor worse, just an observation), and it covers a lot of ground within that. It is shaley, and rocky and mineral, but it is also slightly herbal (there is fresh coriander and a hint of bay in there); the fruit is concentrated and pure and also has a splay of spice through the finish—licorice, star anise and a shake of allspice. Zoom out, and the wine has volumes of flavor and pillowy texture—it really does have it all. Due to the vintage conditions, I expected to be met by a dense wall of unforgiving flavor and tannin. Instead, it is possessed of a galaxy of flavor, pintucked into folds of texture and all of it spooling out over an interminable finish."