From a prolific sixth generation Barossa Valley grape growing family, Dan Standish knows a thing or two about vines and the vineyards of the region. Harvest stints in California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys, La Rioja and Yecla in Spain coupled with extensive travel and study of France’s Rhône Valley reinforce his intricate local knowledge with a diverse international bent. The Standish Wine Company vintage cellar and barrel store is intimately designed to fully embrace and nurture the individuality afforded by clone, soil and aspect. Tiny open top oak fermentation vats allow single parcels – even single rows – to be vinified separately, enhancing the intricate personality of each specific soil profile.

There’s great balance of blue and black fruit, with undertones of licorice, minerals, potpourri, bresaola, bitter chocolate and cherry confit. The palate is firmly framed yet silken in texture, with length and body that carry the finish for minutes. Made from 100% whole-cluster fermentation, from vines planted in 1858. Spiced, perfumed and textural, with a firmly built structure that will live for decades yet is delicious now, showing all the hallmarks of a world-class syrah. Excellent. Rating: 99 Points; James Suckling

Following on from the perfect 2022 release, I find myself opening this wine with a fair bit of excitement. I called Dan Standish one day in early May 2023 (I think to ask my questions about the wines I was tasting), and he was in the vineyard up in Eden Valley, picking the Lamella fruit for this wine. 2023 was a wet, cool season, so much so that the fruit for this cuvée was picked in May. Still, aromatically, the 2023 Lamella Shiraz leads with sumac and orange peel, fresh raspberry, black cherry, licorice, petrichor, wet asphalt and river stones. Sandalwood and rose petals follow through the finish. This is velvety and grainy, supple and pliable. The tannins are dry and silky, and they perfectly balance the intensity of sweet/spicy fruit in the mouth. This wine is a clear example of why you must back a producer over a vintage, because a good producer will triumph no matter the conditions. 14.9% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax. Drink 2025-2045. Rating: 98+ Points; Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

This year's Lamella, an Eden Valley wine, sees the majority of the shiraz sourced from the epic Stonegarden vineyard down near Springton, with a smaller proportion of fruit from Hutton Vale. Last year it was the other way around, but vintages are like that. The fruit, again at its core pure dark plum and blue fruits, has some redder shades in play, with plenty of exotic spice, meadow herbs, purple floral tones and that Eden Valley sage thing going on and the thinest wisp of spearmint rising from the depths. I love this wine's powdered granitic heft and mineral cadence, the wink of Campari and bunchy nuance done just right and its composed 'Eden Valleyness'. It's lovely. Drink by 2042. Rating: 97 Points; James Halliday Wine Companion

Ripe raspberry, mint and sage, something of a maple syrup smell, exotic spice, slight cut capsicum and creamy oak. So, quite a bit going on here. Full-bodied, black and red fruit, a nutty toffee thing, firm chamois-like tannin, plenty of length with a cool ‘mineral’ feel to acidity. Nice wine. Distinct. Date: Jun 2023; Alcohol: 14.9%; Closure: Cork; Drink: 2025-2035; Rated: 95+ Points; Gary Walsh; The Wine Front

A mesh of red berries, regional Aussie bush characters, white pepper, alpine herb and touches of mocha and salted liquorice. Incredibly dense but almost held to a medium bodied weight, a sense of quality, lacy tannin but with authority and a distinct persistence of complex, layered flavours of fruit and herbal inflection. A beautiful overall feel to the wine. It feels symphonic. Energetic too. Date: Jun 2023; Alcohol: 14.9%; Closure: Cork; Drink: 2025-2035; Rated: 96 Points; Mike Bennie; The Wine Front