Are you a Shiraz enthusiast?
Then The Standish Wine Company is your dream come true.
This Barossa Valley highlight doesn’t just make Shiraz – it lives and breathes it.
With four unique offerings, each with its own personality, The Standish Wine Company has won over wine lovers and collectors.
From their passionate winemaking philosophy to their exceptional vintages, Standish proves that when you hone in on one thing, you can do it exceptionally well.
Let’s dive into the story, the wines, and discover why Standish is a must-add for your cellar.
The history of the Standish Wine Company
In 1999, Dan Standish left his prestigious gig at Torbreck to create something truly unique.
To depart an Aussie legend, you must have a serious vision – and that’s exactly what Standish had.
He wanted to make something truly unique, something that carried on the Standish legacy. So, he turned a small family-owned crop of Shiraz into one of Australia’s top vineyards.
You see, for six generations, the Standish family had been producing wines way back in the 19th century.
To make his vision complete, he sourced oak barrels from the highlands of central France, where the cold conditions produce finer tannins.
Dan’s philosophy is simple – only the best. Each batch is individually fermented and goes through strict quality control. Sometimes, up to 80% of the harvest is tossed if conditions aren’t perfect.
This ensures each Standish vintage is rare, and wine lovers know exactly what to expect from the vineyard’s bottles.
Caption: The French oak barrels used offer a tighter wood grain, which slows oxidation and prevents premature ageing.
The Standish Wine Company wines
Standish is known for four different types of Shiraz – and to be honest, you can’t go wrong with any of them.
The Relic
The Relic is the only non-varietal Shiraz Standish offer. The blend includes the lightest sprinkling of Viognier, a white wine grape associated with Rhone Valley’s Côte Rôtie. And when we say light, we mean it – The Relic is 99% Shiraz and 1% Viognier.
But in the case of this aromatic, complex vino, less is more.
The Standish
The Standish is the Standish Wine Company’s standout wine (sorry for the tongue-twister).
This label uses traditional winemaking techniques including open-top fermentation and wild yeasts, giving The Standish old-school appeal.
It’s almost as if the wine is time-travelling – combining the wisdom of the past with the innovations of the future to create something timeless.
The Schubert Theorem
The Schubert Theory comes from something known as knot theory.
It can get very complex very fast – but simply, Shubert proposed that all mathematical knots can be decomposed into simpler, prime knots.
What’s this got to do with wine, you ask?
Well, the Schubert Theorem blends the best Shiraz grapes from different parts of the Standish vineyard.
So, just as every knot can be broken down into its prime components, the grapes in The Schubert Theorem come together to form a wine with layers of complexity and depth.
Lamella
The Lamella Shiraz is a wine that critics rave about, with its deep, complex flavors that capture the essence of the Barossa Valley.
What makes this wine even more extraordinary is the history behind it – the grapes come from vines dating back to the late 1800s, giving each sip a rich connection to the land and its past.
Key vintages
The Standish Wine Company meticulously hand-picks and tests each of its vintages, so it’s basically impossible to find a “weaker” harvest.
However, the last decade has seen some of Standish’s most impressive vintages to date.
- The 2019 vintage was a standout year for Barossa Valley Shiraz, with all four offerings from Standish Wine Company receiving exceptional acclaim. Stuart McCloskey described The Relic as "totally astonishing," scoring it 99–100, while The Schubert Theorem achieved a perfect score, cementing its status among the finest wines of the year.
- The 2022 vintage is already generating significant buzz as it hits the market. Critics, including Robert Parker and The Wine Advocate, have awarded perfect scores to The Relic (100/100) and The Lamella Shiraz (100/100).
- The 2015 vintage was another strong offering, with The Standish Shiraz earning 96 points from The Wine Front. This year was marked by harvests roughly 10% lower than the average, enhancing the rarity and concentration of these highly sought wines.
Why collectors love the Standish Wine Company
Standish wines give collectors access to a blue-chip asset for an affordable price.
The vineyard’s top vintages rack up critical acclaim like Tiger Woods collecting golfing championships.
The Relic, The Standish and The Schubert Theorem are each classified by Australia’s top wine ranking system, Langton’s, as “second-growth”. This places them in the top 100 Aussie vinos.
The 2022 “Standish Shiraz” hit the markets in May 2024 at an average sale price of AU $127.
Within just a few months, the average bottle will set you back AU $139 – on pace for 18% annual growth. This is significantly higher than the 5-year average for the stock market (approx. 12% for the S&P 500)
The high demand for The Standish’s 2022 vintages is already coming into play, with supply already trending downward in less than half a year.
Caption: The buzz around the 2022 Standish is so intense that its availability has started to waver according to WineSearcher.
Vintages with a bit more market history, like the 100/100 2019 Relic, is already starting to excel on secondary markets.
Despite a slight dip at the beginning of 2024, the Relic has surged upward to post annual gains of 11%.
Caption: 11% annual gains outpace the average annual return of the S&P 500 since 1957 (which yields around 10.26%). Source: WineSearcher
Summary
The Standish Wine Company shows that Shiraz isn’t just a drink — it’s an art form.
The Relic’s touch of Viognier delivers a rich, floral experience, while the Lamella’s ancient vines tell a story that began centuries ago.
Together, they showcase the craftsmanship and history embedded in every bottle.
With perfect scores for recent vintages and skyrocketing demand, Standish wines are more than just delicious – they’re worthy investments. Cheers to that!
