Our Best Australian Shiraz

Exclusive to The Vinorium

Mike Bennie (The Wine Front) "Jaysen Collins from Massena, well, he is his own man, but that’s his day job, doing a side project here. Or is Massena the side project? No matter. Some great wines emerging from this label, reminiscent of Standish in some respects, power but elegance, shaped by tannins, and the like, but wholly its own thing too. The last JC’s shiraz wine reviewed here was 2016 and from Stonewall, this from Greenock and 2017. Bold, brash, assertive red of booze-soaked stewed berries, sweet spice, earthy savouriness, brined black olives with a match between the fog of scent and wall of flavour. A freight train through the palate but finds graphite-licked tannin plumes and good shape with a surprisingly fresh and buoyant finish. Yes, a big red, but finds a groove, indeed, carves one out and leaves a lingering train of autumnal but sweet flavours. It’s a pretty darn epic wine here."

Jay Miller (RobertParker.com) "The 2005 Syrah Liandra Vineyard was sourced from 100-year-old vines. It is a glass-coating, deep crimson color with aromas of smoke, grilled meat, tar, and blackberry. Full-bodied, opulent, and layered, it neatly conceals its structure. This lengthy Syrah merits 6-10 years of cellaring but can be enjoyed in its youth."

Exclusive to The Vinorium

98+/99 Points Stuart McCloskey “Despite the huge reviews for the 2016, I personally prefer the 2017. In fact, I would declare all 2017 Standish wines superb and more to my liking. The 'The Standish' Shiraz is made from fruit farmed by the Laycock family in the Greenock sub-region of the Barossa Valley. Earlier releases from the now extinct Andelmonde and Borne Bollene came from this site – How wonderful would it be to see their return. Tell-tale Standish nose of pen ink, lead pencil, iron ore, graphite, warm earth, violets, dark plum and vanilla. Unbelievably harmonious for such a young wine – Seamless and graceful with satin-like tannins. The palate is sweet with black raspberry liquor, spice and offers a touch of relief with a core of crushed rocks. More and more notes build with time. It’s almost a life-long journey of an ever-changing scenery. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is another stunning wine from Dan Standish. Decanted for 4 hours and served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

96 Points - Joe Czerwinski (RobertParker.com) "Lifted, herbal notes of mint, thyme and sage appear on the nose of the 2017 The Standish Shiraz. They're followed by waves of raspberries and more raspberries, fleshing out the full-bodied palate and lingering onto the long, silky finish, where they're joined by savory roasted-meat and espresso notes. While almost approachable now, a few years in the cellar surely wouldn't hurt."

Exclusive to The Vinorium

Winemakers notes - "To create Shiraz Reserve, only the best vines in perfect balance, and the best bunches from those vines are harvested from two specific, low yielding sites (the 30 year old Original Vineyard at the winery, and the 26 year old Mt Pleasant Vineyard some 30km to the north. Applying gentle hand plunging ensuring extremely fine tannins, the wine is softly basket pressed into 100% new French oak barriques and was matured for 25 months resulting in an immensely structured, full bodied wine that will age gracefully for up to 20 years."

97+ Points - Stuart McCloskey “Sourced from the Howard family Somerset Vineyard and a blend of three slopes: Eastern, Northern and Western – planted 1966, 1968, and 1970. Warm earth, dried spices, raspberry, green olives and vanilla waft from the glass. Medium-bodied, layered, elegant and immensely appealing. The tannins are super-fine and meld beautifully with the fruit, which is ripe, crunchy and juicy. I love the subtle star anise, spice, liquorice, touches of violet and toast which I imagine emanates from the French oak in which the wine rested for 16 months. Incredible length and finely polished – sensitive winemaking and will drink beautifully over the next decade. Ideally, leave this in the cellar for 3-5 years. Served in Zalto Bordeaux glassware”

 Alan Cooper, Founder & Vigneron “Very much typical of our Syrah from a cooler year, aromatic on the nose, savoury spice and a fine dusting of black pepper to finish. The essence of granite. Focussed and expressive of our amazing terroir. The classic iron fist in a velvet glove. Huge latent power and structure to burn. This wine will reward you even more with age!”

Gourmet Traveller Wine 'Best buy wines over $30'  "It’s really hard not to think of the great syrahs of the northern Rhône (St-Joseph, Hermitage) when tasting this exceptional, nervy, peppery, thrillingly dark-fruited syrah. And even harder to ignore what great value it is in comparison to them."

97 Points – James Halliday "100% McLaren Vale from 106yo vines in Upper Tintara and from McLaren Flat. Open-fermented with pneumatic pigeage/punch down, 3 days cold soak, 14 days on skins. The vivid, deep crimson-purple hue tells of an intense mix of blackberry and blackcurrant flavours, with breathtaking texture, the ultimate fist in an iron glove. A 25-year life span is extremely conservative."

Exclusive to The Vinorium