Shaw & Smith Adelaide Hills M3 Chardonnay
The dynamic partnership of cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW began in 1989 when the duo decided to realise their dream of making wine together. A talent for wine runs in this family, with Martin honing his craft at the University of Bordeaux, and Michael being the first Australian to pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine exams in 1988.
Since founding Shaw + Smith, their goal has been to make exciting, refined wines, exclusively from the Adelaide Hills, that rank among Australia’s best. The wines are made from several sites throughout the region and they specialise in grape varieties suited to the cooler climate, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.
Shaw + Smith own two vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, at Balhannah and Lenswood, totalling 55 hectares. The vineyards are planted to varieties that perform particularly well in the region, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz. This wine is sourced from Piccadilly, Lobethal and their Lenswood Vineyards, at 455–500 metres elevation. Undulating with east and west-facing aspects, the soils are brown loams over clay with broken shale on the ridges. The Lenswood vineyard was planted in 1999.
The 2022 vintage began with cool temperatures that resulted in low yields for early-budding varieties. This meant that the vines were able put their energy into a small crop, resulting in intensely flavoured fruit. The season remained mostly mild and dry, but with some well-timed rain that kept the vines healthy right up to harvest.
The hand-picked grapes were chilled overnight, whole bunch pressed, and then transferred to French oak barrels, a third of which were new, to undergo alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. The fermented wine was matured in oak for nine months, with some lees stirring, then blended in stainless steel vats and finally bottled.
This wine opens with intense aromas of white flowers, nectarine and citrus. Aiming for elegance, restraint and the ability to age, the acidity is bright and there is generosity of flavour.
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