Tasting Notes
Shaw + Smith Shiraz is a medium bodied cool-climate Shiraz, in which balance is more important than power. The 2017 vintage was very cool, and Shiraz was picked four weeks later than usual. The wine is particularly fragrant as a result of the season.
Growing & Making
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.
Story
The Adelaide Hills was long considered too cool to ripen Shiraz. By the early 2000s, though, the potential for outstanding Shiraz from the right sites in the Adelaide Hills was compelling, and the first Shaw + Smith Shiraz was made in the 2002 vintage. Since then, Shiraz in the Hills has gone from strength to strength, its hallmarks being fragrance, intensity, and medium bodied elegance.
Reviews
Vinonotebook – December 2019
An incredibly spice driven nose: clove and peppercorn with earthy anise hints and a cavalcade of delicious dark berries wrapped in fine oak. The palate is right on point, medium-full bodied with a satin feel imbuing effortless and power that persists long while cool climate spice rides across impeccable dark fruit and near-flawless oak. The rockstar team have done it again. Rating: 19.25/20
Huon Hooke – December 2019
Medium to deep colour, with a strong whole bunch bouquet, very vegetal and undergrowth like, the palate leanish and nervy, crisp and firm with some astringency and good intensity. It lingers on well and has a sinewy texture. Very spicy and bunchy. A very interesting style – a cool – climate shiraz with power and depth. 95 points.
Campbell Mattinson – Wine Companion – August 2019
Time for a standing ovation. This is superb in its complexity, fruit power and persistence. It’s a meaty, clovey, spice-ridden shiraz, but the core is spread with dense plum, redcurrant, anise and violets. That meatiness though: it’s gorgeous. And when combined with wood smoke and peppercorns, it puts the stars within reach. It is simply gorgeous. 97 Points.
GOLD – Royal Melbourne Wine Awards 2018
Campbell Mattinson – The Wine Front – November 2019
It’s from such an unusual/cold/late season that shiraz was picked four weeks later than average. It’s a peppery, twiggy, bunchy shiraz. It smells, feels and tastes like the result of a cool season. This wine will split drinkers down the middle. It’s smoky, herbal, berried, smooth-skinned and stringy at once. It both walks the tightrope and is one. There are menthol, alpine herb, walnut and peppercorn characters here in abundance. There are also substantial ropes of well-placed tannin. It’s a medium-bodied wine with a great deal to say. 95 Points.
Reviews
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