New Arrivals

99-100 Points - Stuart McCloskey “We decanted the full suite at 4:00pm on Wednesday 10 February with round one of my sampling taking place the following day at 10:30am. The ’19 Schubert Theorem provides a bouquet which is quite frankly haunting in its beauty and leaves me struggling to find a starting point. The perfume is so exotic and is juxtaposed between mineral laced black fruit to a heady mix of wildflowers. Damsons, mulberry, cold steel, sea kelp, graphite, violets, lavender are just a few of the aromatics – this is quite honestly bottomless with its offering. The unerring sense of purity is staggering. The palate is saturated with super concentrated blueberry, blackberry and plum complemented by this overwhelming sense of mineralité. The palate feel is sensual and seductive – almost creamy in texture, but this camouflages the seriousness of the wine’s structure, which is huge. The chalky tannins provide a little relief as do the whispers of lavender, black liquorice and a marine undercurrent that I adore. There’s a density and richness that is obvious, but with no excess weight. A towering and remarkable wine, which simply leaves me in awe… . Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware. Drinking window; Another one for the cellar but can be approached with 24 hours in the decanter. In many ways, this is already a perfect wine, but in 20-30 years’ time, will provide something otherworldly. Until then, be satisfied with perfection…”

99-100 Points - Stuart McCloskey “We decanted the full suite at 4:00pm on Wednesday 10 February with round one of my sampling taking place the following day at 10:30am. The bouquet is a mesmeric and heady mix of dark cocoa, mocha, graphite, iodine, mineral accented black and blue fruit (almost liqueur-like), Crème de mûre, mulberry, woody spice box, so exotic, blood orange and all brushed with a wand of dried lavender. A little musk on round two with the dried spice box on the finish. The palate is extremely dense, full-bodied and demands your attention. As with Lamella, this packs a concentrated punch, but carries no excess weight. The fruits are sweet, expansive and reach those hard to find areas. Monolithic but with so much grace and skill on show. Spice cake and violet pastille interwind with damson and blueberry compote. Black cherry too with the faintest whisper of vanilla. The mineral laced fruit component builds and builds as does the power that knocks you sideways. This is exquisitely balanced with tannins that provide a little edgy grip. The finish is never-ending as it keeps giving. More spice and I adore the marine / saline tinge. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware. Drinking window; Yet another one for the cellar and requires a decade to truly unfurl, but and with 24 hours in the decanter, will provide you with a special, vinous moment. Unless you’re below the age of 30, this will outlive us all…” 

99-100 Points - Stuart McCloskey "We decanted the full suite at 4:00pm on Wednesday 10 February with round one of my sampling taking place the following day at 10:30am. Demure and beguiling are the best, two words to describe the bouquet. I am fascinated by the perfume which offers the full spectrum of ‘marine’ influences ranging from salinity to sea kelp, to hot oyster shell melded perfectly with cold stones, iron ore, black liquorice to milky earl grey. The palate is extremely well poised and ineffably pure. Despite the wine’s muscularity, this still manages to provide such grace and femininity which I find beguiling. Clearly this beauty is finely chiselled, agile and perfectly controlled despite its fleshiness. I love the whispers of white pepper which linger for an age. Ripe, black fruits tinged with orange rind flood the palate. Totally effortless, sensual, precise and without fault. An astonishing wine and one that will provide fifty years of pleasure. I cannot wait to resample in six months. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

** Lamella 2019 is only available in this special four pack **

1 x Standish Lamella Shiraz 2019 (99-100 Points)

1 x Standish The Standish Shiraz 2019 (99-100 Points)

1 x Standish The Relic Shiraz Viognier 2019 (99-100 Points)

1 x Standish The Schubert Theorem 2019 (99-100 Points)

98 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Extraordinarily fragrant with dark, sweet blueberries, mulberry, graphite and sweet spices – a little peppery red fruit too. Incredibly fresh on the nose. The palate delivers freshness and elegance by the bucket load. The mineral soaked fruit provides a rich, velvety depth that fills every facet of your palate without being too big. The tannins are fine grained. Effortless concentration and winemaking – I adore the ‘cool’ feel to the wine. Who said John’s Blend is ‘old school’? This is a very sophisticated wine with great depth and breadth. The finish is super long and full of richly spiced red and black fruits. Beautifully made with everything being confined by freshness. Exemplary. Drinking window: 2021 (decanted for 3-4 hours) through to 2040. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware”.

97 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Gosh, this is a serious, evolved Cabernet which comes across older than its physical years. The colour has a dark core running out to brick orange. Contrary to my Shiraz statement concerning ‘old school’ – Well, this is old school but that is far from a negative observation.  The oak bounds across the surface with some punch however, the sheer intensity of the fruit and liquorice provides balance. I have been sampling over two days and find day two more satisfying – the bouquet has evolved beautifully with chocolate, camphor, tea leaves, graphite, cigar box, cold steel, liquorice and blood orange dominating. Like the Shiraz, there is obvious freshness which I believe is necessary. The palate mirrors the nose – perhaps a touch more cedar. There’s admirable density and structure – rather muscular and not dissimilar to a Pauillac from Bordeaux. There’s freshness and energy all the way through to the pencil lead finish…  Stylistically, fans of the 2005 Robertson of Clare Max V (and there are lots of you), will absolutely adore this wine. The similarities are striking. Drink now to 2030. Decant for 3-6 hours. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware”

96+ - 97 Points - Stuart McCloskey “The bouquet fills the room with layers of sweet spice, violets, liquorice, raspberry, bay leaf – there’s a cool mineral feel and a resemblance to a maturing Pinot Noir which intrigues. The palate is supple, succulent, and layered with spiced, sweet red and black fruits roll gently into the arms of supple, ripe tannin. The flavours keep coming with currant, bay leaf and a smidgin of dried herbs – liquorice too. Bitter coffee and dried mint creep in after a few minutes. The density is admirable – I enjoy the chew. There’s a touch of salinity rather than obvious acidity which provides relief from the richness. This is certainly a suave, seductive number and provides immediate pleasure, but does have the quality to carry on for another 5-7 years. I would suggest a few hours in a decanter before dipping your toes in. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

95-96 Points - Magdalena Sienkiewicz "Voluminous perfume filled with blackberries, mulberries and damson plums with a mix of sweet spices and black liquorice. There is a tinge of alcohol, indicative of a hot vintage but interestingly, there is also a delicate lift from fresh mint. Heady mix, certainly on the dark side of Shiraz. Nevertheless, the Small Batch Shiraz retains vigour and vibrancy as the flavours cascade on the palate echoing the exhuberant perfume. The texture is lush and savoury and the finish is super long. You get a lot of bang for your buck. Sampled without decanting, using Zalto Bordeaux glassware which brings out more savoury complexities I find."

96+ Points - Magdalena Sienkiewicz "It’s great to see Artisans venturing onto alternative varieties, which is no gimmick here as they know their craft. It includes a dash of Tempranillo (14%). The perfume exhibits the purest form of red and black cherries which dominate the nose in a most alluring way. A touch of violets and crushed minerals complement the bursting cherries. The palate follows suit although it displays a much more savoury tone than expected. A great touch of cooling minerals, dried herbs and a perfectly judged zip of acidity add a lift to the flavoursome, round structure. Those juicy cherries linger forever with a little black liquorice and minerals. Sampled without decanting and using Zalto Bordeaux glassware, which brings out more savoury complexities I find."

This wine is blended from barrels selected by the winemakers from each of their cellars. Each parcel of wine is selected for its rich and generous character, deep black fruit and spiced flavour, and smooth texture. The hallmarks of top-class Barossa Shiraz.

Fruit was sourced from vineyards across the northern and western sub-regions of Barossa Valley, including Moppa, Ebenezer, Greenock, Marananga, and Eden Valley.  A portion of the fruit was fermented whole bunch providing savoury texture, with the balance on skins for 8-10 days. The wines were aged in seasoned French and American hogsheads for approximately 12 months.

This wine is blended from barrels selected by the winemakers from each of their cellars. Each parcel of wine is selected for its rich and generous character, deep black fruit and spiced flavour, and smooth texture. The hallmarks of top-class Barossa Shiraz.

Fruit was sourced from vineyards across the northern and western sub-regions of Barossa Valley, including Moppa, Ebenezer, Greenock, Marananga, and Eden Valley.  A portion of the fruit was fermented whole bunch providing savoury texture, with the balance on skins for 8-10 days. The wines were aged in seasoned French and American hogsheads for approximately 12 months.

97 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Gosh, this is a serious, evolved Cabernet which comes across older than its physical years. The colour has a dark core running out to brick orange. Contrary to my Shiraz statement concerning ‘old school’ – Well, this is old school but that is far from a negative observation.  The oak bounds across the surface with some punch however, the sheer intensity of the fruit and liquorice provides balance. I have been sampling over two days and find day two more satisfying – the bouquet has evolved beautifully with chocolate, camphor, tea leaves, graphite, cigar box, cold steel, liquorice and blood orange dominating. Like the Shiraz, there is obvious freshness which I believe is necessary. The palate mirrors the nose – perhaps a touch more cedar. There’s admirable density and structure – rather muscular and not dissimilar to a Pauillac from Bordeaux. There’s freshness and energy all the way through to the pencil lead finish…  Stylistically, fans of the 2005 Robertson of Clare Max V (and there are lots of you), will absolutely adore this wine. The similarities are striking. Drink now to 2030. Decant for 3-6 hours. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware”

99-100 Points - Stuart McCloskey “I received an email from Dan Standish just as I was taking my first sip of the Lamella. “As you are aware our yields were down by 50% for the 2019 harvest so these are quite concentrated wines. I’m sure you are all over it but I would suggest giving them plenty of air and time to open, especially at this early stage. I really look forward to reading your tasting notes on them.” We decanted the full suite at 4:00pm on Wednesday 10 February with round one of my sampling taking place the following day at 10:30am. The bouquet is a mesmeric and heady mix of dark cocoa, mocha, graphite, iodine, mineral accented black and blue fruit (almost liqueur-like), Crème de mûre, mulberry, woody spice box, so exotic, blood orange and all brushed with a wand of dried lavender. A little musk on round two with the dried spice box on the finish. The palate is extremely dense, full-bodied and demands your attention. As with Lamella, this packs a concentrated punch, but carries no excess weight. The fruits are sweet, expansive and reach those hard to find areas. Monolithic but with so much grace and skill on show. Spice cake and violet pastille interwind with damson and blueberry compote. Black cherry too with the faintest whisper of vanilla. The mineral laced fruit component builds and builds as does the power that knocks you sideways. This is exquisitely balanced with tannins that provide a little edgy grip. The finish is never-ending as it keeps giving. More spice and I adore the marine / saline tinge. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware. Drinking window; Yet another one for the cellar and requires a decade to truly unfurl, but and with 24 hours in the decanter, will provide you with a special, vinous moment. Unless you’re below the age of 30, this will outlive us all…” 

98 Points - Stuart McCloskey “Extraordinarily fragrant with dark, sweet blueberries, mulberry, graphite and sweet spices – a little peppery red fruit too. Incredibly fresh on the nose. The palate delivers freshness and elegance by the bucket load. The mineral soaked fruit provides a rich, velvety depth that fills every facet of your palate without being too big. The tannins are fine grained. Effortless concentration and winemaking – I adore the ‘cool’ feel to the wine. Who said John’s Blend is ‘old school’? This is a very sophisticated wine with great depth and breadth. The finish is super long and full of richly spiced red and black fruits. Beautifully made with everything being confined by freshness. Exemplary. Drinking window: 2021 (decanted for 3-4 hours) through to 2040. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware”.

99-100 Points - Stuart McCloskey “I received an email from Dan Standish just as I was taking my first sip of the Lamella. “As you are aware our yields were down by 50% for the 2019 harvest so these are quite concentrated wines. I’m sure you are all over it but I would suggest giving them plenty of air and time to open, especially at this early stage. I really look forward to reading your tasting notes on them.” We decanted the full suite at 4:00pm on Wednesday 10 February with round one of my sampling taking place the following day at 10:30am. The ’19 Schubert Theorem provides a bouquet which is quite frankly haunting in its beauty and leaves me struggling to find a starting point. The perfume is so exotic and is juxtaposed between mineral laced black fruit to a heady mix of wildflowers. Damsons, mulberry, cold steel, sea kelp, graphite, violets, lavender are just a few of the aromatics – this is quite honestly bottomless with its offering. The unerring sense of purity is staggering. The palate is saturated with super concentrated blueberry, blackberry and plum complemented by this overwhelming sense of mineralité. The palate feel is sensual and seductive – almost creamy in texture, but this camouflages the seriousness of the wine’s structure, which is huge. The chalky tannins provide a little relief as do the whispers of lavender, black liquorice and a marine undercurrent that I adore. There’s a density and richness that is obvious, but with no excess weight. A towering and remarkable wine, which simply leaves me in awe… . Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware. Drinking window; Another one for the cellar but can be approached with 24 hours in the decanter. In many ways, this is already a perfect wine, but in 20-30 years’ time, will provide something otherworldly. Until then, be satisfied with perfection…”