Shaw and Smith Shiraz

Shaw and Smith Shiraz

Shaw and Smith Shiraz – From low yielding vines predominantly at Balhannah, in the central Adelaide Hills, and Macclesfield, the warmer and drier sub-region to the south. Hand picked, sorted and fermented as a combination of whole berries and whole bunches in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal working. Aged in French oak (30% new) for 14 months. Shaw + Smith Shiraz is a medium bodied cool-climate Shiraz, in which balance is more important than power. The 2016 has intensity and generosity, showing darker fruits: a reflection of an excellent warm, yet even, season.

Winemakers Notes

Hand picked and fermented as a combination of whole berries and whole bunches in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal working. Aged in French oak for fourteen months, of which one third was new. September’s start to the growing season was warmer than average leading to good canopy and fruit development. January rainfall provided relief from earlier warmer temperatures and was timely to aid fruit development through the ripening period, resulting in healthy fruit being harvested two weeks earlier than average.

Vibrant purple-black; seduces with swathes of dark cherries dipped in kirsch, florals, ferrous and woodsy spices, with toasty oak sewn to the shape of the fuller-bodied palate. Everything is in its place, creating an immaculate whole – the fine-grained tannins, the length, the freshness and detail. It’s polished and totally convincing.

Information on the Producer

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. Site selection is particularly important in the Adelaide Hills, with its diversity of altitude, aspect, microclimate, and soil. We also use a number of different cultivars or ‘clones’ of each grape variety, which contribute different qualities to the final product.

The Lenswood Vineyard, about 10km north west of the winery, is planted mainly to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, at 455 – 500m elevation. Undulating with east and west facing aspects, the soils are brown loams over clay with broken shale on the ridges. The vineyard was planted in 1999 and is 20 hectares in total.

M3 now comes from selected sites over the Adelaide Hills, not from the vineyard previously called M3. Pale strawgreen; it may be autosuggestion, but this has great freshness, vibrancy and finesse, the flavours pitched halfway between white peach/stone fruit on the one hand, grapefruit/citrus on the other. Obviously fermented in French oak, but is not obviously oaky. 97 points

You can see our range of Shaw + Smith product at our web page

For more information on the Shaw & Smith  winery go to their website