Standish The Relic Shiraz 2021

98% Shiraz with 2% Viognier co-fermented, with 25% whole bunches in the ferment this year, up from 15% to 20% in 2020.

Dan Standish’s personal wine label showcases the very best Shiraz wines crafted by the master winemaker who has been working his magic at Torbreck winery in the Barossa Valley for many years. His family have been based in the Barossa Valley for six generations, and in 1999 Dan decided to set up his own winery based around an ancient plot of vines owned by his father.

Fragrant, juicy, dark cherry and apricot stone, some white flower and spice. It’s full-bodied, rich and kind of syrupy in dark fruit flavour, but the tannin here is very high quality, quite stony and graphite in texture. There’s a bit of warmth, but also lavish blue and black fruit concentration, apricot and caramel, with a strident and tannic finish of excellent length.  15.5% ABV

98pts- Robert Parker