2023 Standish ‘The Relic’ Shiraz Viognier

"This gentle elongated ripening creating a special vintage giving us wines of great lusciousness and complexity... Some of our most complex and captivating wines to date."
- Dan Standish on the 2023 vintage

Stuart McCloskey (Tasted April 2025)
 This wine communicates another journey into the abyss. Even darker, deeper, more brooding than The Standish. The bouquet is reticent yet addictive. A chasm of iron ore, an underwater forest of sea kelp, sea salt, marine, iodine-like, the blackest liquorice imaginable, violet and bergamot. Dark fruits emerge from my glass, but at a glacial pace – Everything is shrouded in a blanket of warm earth and dusty spice. The palate is equally entrancing – it is so rare to sample such a commanding wine which delivers a sense of equilibrium (a skill that most winemakers can only dream of). The flavours run long and deep – saturating and epic in every sense. Minty! The palate feel is silky and slippery. Tannins and acidity are measured to perfection. An excellent iteration of this great wine, and with a magnificent life ahead of it. Perhaps the most commanding to date and will be around after I have popped my clogs (50-60+ years). That said, let’s revisit in a decade or so and reassess both our futures… Can I drink this now? Sure, but decant for at least 24-hours. Utterly captivating (give it the time it deserves) and puts many (more expensive) Aussie wines to shame. Decanted for 24-hours (poured back into the bottle – cork left out) Served using Zalto Burgundy glassware.