Standish Lamella Shiraz 2020 (RP97)

Country:             Australia
Region:               Barossa Valley Rating:               RP97
Grape Variety:  100% Shiraz
Type of Wine:   Red Wine
Bottle Size:       750ml

By Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 97
The 2020 Lamella Shiraz was made with fruit from the Angas family vineyard in the Eden Valley (Hutton Vale Farm), with cuttings from the Mt. Edelstone vineyard, which is close by. It is made with 100% whole bunches in the ferment. "This is the last pick, and by that time the stems have fully lignified," said Dan Standish. It is floral, and granitic and minerally and über spicy all at once. It is the elegant wine of the lineup, thanks to the elevated vineyard and the cooling acid, but it also is possessed of a nuance and range of flavor that makes it distinct from the others. The Lamella has the breadth and range that the other two do not (making it neither better nor worse, just an observation), and it covers a lot of ground within that. It is shaley, and rocky and mineral, but it is also slightly herbal (there is fresh coriander and a hint of bay in there); the fruit is concentrated and pure and also has a splay of spice through the finish—licorice, star anise and a shake of allspice. Zoom out, and the wine has volumes of flavor and pillowy texture—it really does have it all. Due to the vintage conditions, I expected to be met by a dense wall of unforgiving flavor and tannin. Instead, it is possessed of a galaxy of flavor, pintucked into folds of texture and all of it spooling out over an interminable finish.