2021 Standish Wine Company 'Schubert Theorem' Shiraz
Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia
Grape: Shiraz
Culinary Suggestions: Grilled Red Meats, Hard Cheeses, Roast Lamb
Vineyard Practice: Vegan
About
A 6th generation Barossan, Dan Standish established his eponymous winery in 1999 whilst still working as winemaker at Torbreck Vintners. His endeavour initially began around an ancient parcel of Shiraz owned and farmed by his father. Due to family upheaval this source is now gone but has been supplemented by various sites throughout the Barossa Region that he has identified as significant and unique.
All batches of fruit are fermented and matured individually then follows a strict selection in the winery that can see as much as 80% of the original blend discarded and sold off in bulk. As with the finest producers in Europe only the finest material is sold under the Standish Wine Company label.
Stylistically Dan's wines are as rich and profound as you would expect from Barossa Valley old vines but they have a satin texture and dreamy perfume that sets them far apart from his contemporaries. Here, dark fruits are encased in cocoa and earthy richness but with gentle spice, soil tone, asphalt and a stony minerality that gives the wines a beautiful dimension. These are special Australian wines made to the same exacting standards as the leading Rhone Valley estates in my portfolio. - Distributor Note
Tasting Notes
The 2021 The Schubert Theorem Shiraz was made with fruit from the Roennenfeldt Road vineyard, in Marananga, with 70% whole bunches in the ferment. The northeastern corner of this vineyard is matured in concrete egg to preserve the blue-fruited core that defines the style of this wine; it is the only cuvée that features an alternate maturation vessel. I knew (before and) when I tasted the 2019 and 2020 vintages what I was going to get, by and large. When I was in the Barossa in June 2021, I was already thinking about what the Schubert would look like from this year, as the perceived fit of season and style had the potential to dovetail in a most titillating fashion—a "stars aligning" kind of thing. A cool season overlays a warm site capable of producing dark, dense, sometimes brooding, always pure Shiraz. The combination of concrete egg (and, in this case, a slightly shorter maturation in this vessel) and cooler year has produced a wine of scintillating precision and fruit sweetness. It glows with its own black light. It shimmers and oscillates between fruit luminescence and plush tannic texture, and in doing so, it barely contains its own energy and abundance. The distinction between this profusion of fruit and the old "fruit bombs" of yore is the precision of acid and pliable fruit tannin that defines the middle palate and the ability of the fruit (courtesy of the winemaking) to shine through the vessels in which it matured. The tannin that shapes the wine is plentiful, make no mistake, yet it is ductile and fine and threads through every aspect of the palate. A thrilling Schubert this year, it's like a strike of lightning on a dark night. This wine appeals most fervently to my penchant for freshness, energy and resonant bass line. 14.9% alcohol.
99 points - Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate May 2023
Drink: 2023 - 2058
My word, what an intense purple beast this wine is. Dark cherry, blackberry, liquorice, exotic spice and wafts of incense perfume, dark chocolate and coffee. It’s full-bodied, insanely concentrated and powerful, purple and black fruit, toast and liquorice, a mass of rich sooty black tea tannin, rippling with fresh picked blackberry acidity, scorched peanuts, and a massive black fruit and tannic finish. Kind of earthy and ferrous too. So much flavour. So much tannin. The level of concentration here is almost painful as a young wine. It saturates the palate. It takes no prisoners. I love tannin, but I’d suggest leaving this alone for maybe a decade.
97+ points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front May 2023
Drink: 2029 - 2045+