Description

A brilliant producer making wine from the Adelaide Hills region. Beautifully set up Shaw And Smith has a strong focus on quality and sustainability. These guys are constantly making some of the best Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Shiraz in the country.

This is nothing short of amazing. The extra few years in bottle have turned this wine into a succulent, spicy red. Dripping with dark berry fruit and set off with violets. Juicy on the palate with some fine grained tannins just poking through. Long finishing and bags of flavour, this is a winner. Drink it from not until 2024 (possibly longer). I’d be cooking a lovely mushroom dish for this wine.

The 2009 growing season in the Adelaide Hills began with a cool spring, which resulted in a relatively small but high quality crop. A short burst of heat in late January had little impact as it occurred 5-6 weeks before harvest. The autumn weather leading up to picking was cool and dry, which resulted in excellent flavour development and wines of freshness and elegance. Maturated in new (1/3) and older French oak barriques for 14 months to retain fruit integrity and brightness.

Adelaide Hills

This is a big and varied region that basically stretches from the top of the McLaren Vale all the way to the bottom of the Barossa. This means there is a big scope for climatic conditions. In the central part where its altitude is quite high you can get some of the best sites in the world for Sparkling wine. In the slightly warmer parts of the centre, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme with Riesling, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc worthy of honourable mentions.

Shiraz/Syrah

A bit of a chameleon, Shiraz can change how it looks depending on terroir and/or wine maker influence. The Syrah based wines of Northern Rhone are dry and austere while the Shiraz of Barossa is rich and fleshy. A variety that lends itself to long aging but can be drunk at any time of its evolution.