The Schubert Theorem, The Standish Wine Company, Barossa Valley 2020

Unbelievable! Another insane wine. The length of this is endless. The blue fruits and Asian spices are mind-blowing. It’s medium- to full-bodied with a mouth full of polished and refined, creamy tannins. It goes on for minutes. Endless. Seamless and gorgeous. Leave this for years ahead if you can keep your hands off it. Better after 2025.

The 2020 The Schubert Theorem Shiraz was made with fruit from the Roennfeldt Road vineyard in Marananga, with 70% whole bunches in the ferment. This is the only cuvée in the collection that sees any inclusion of a different maturation vessel: the northeastern corner of the vineyard goes into concrete, because it retains the pure blue fruit characters that so define the wine. When one considers the dirt that is in this vineyard (and I ask you, without dirt, just where would we all be?), when one sees its black, shaley sparkle, one can get a sense of what to expect in the wine. It is always the black, brooding beast of the pack, but there is always—and I repeat, ALWAYS—a core of very pure fruit at its heart. This year is no different, and it is encased in fine but structuring tannin. It soars long across the palate, and yet within it, this wine is elegant and pliable. If the Lamella is the intriguing, pretty wine, and The Standish is the savory powerhouse, then The Relic is the iron fist–velvet glove... which makes this the enigma. I cannot overstate how attracted I am to the prowling, slinking nature of it. The tannins here—of all the wines—have a blueberry skin gravel to them; they are chalky and fine and a little bit gritty… excellent. This is a sensation, in every respect. A hot contender for best wine in the release this year.