2015 Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills

Aiming for elegance, restraint and the ability to age: the acid brings freshness and there’s generosity of flavour. Typically it shows white flowers, citrus, and nectarine notes. The 2015 vintage is true to style. The palate is long and flavoursome, with mid-palate texture and bright acid. A note of brioche adds complexity.

97 points – James Halliday

‘M3 now comes from selected sites over the Adelaide Hills, not from the vineyard previously called M3. Pale straw-green; 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.’

Trophy: Best Chardonnay, 2016 Adelaide Hills Wine Show.

Tony Love – The Adelaide Advertiser – June 2017:

A benchmark Hills example of the finest chardonnay expression, green to gold tones in the glass with remarkable clarity and shine before you even go deeper, slightly grilled peach aromas wafting, beautiful chardonnay fruit characters unfolding as you taste,classic white stone fruits, delicate acidity underneath, underpinning its more complex notes and textures. Totally seamless, there’s no greater compliment than to consider, this an utterly delicious gem. 

Toni Patterson - The Real Review - May 2017: 

Five Stars 

Ray Jordan - Weekend West - May 2017: 

"Really good vintage. Really good wine. A winner for Shaw and Smith for some years, and this is absolutely one of the best. Comes off the Lenswood vineyard in the Adelaide Hills. Light toasty stone fruit and grapefruit with a creamy texture spliced with a subtle lees character and some understated minerality. Lovely balance." 96/100    

Mike Bennie – Herald Sun – April 2017:

“This Adelaide Hills chardonnay is sleek and refreshing. It’s a real upmarket head turner that garners attention for its incredible flavour yet inherent vitality. A class act from first sip, it has that satiny texture that makes you want to gulp.”

Ben Thomas – Melbourne Times – April 2017:

“Power and complexity define this wine, which is one of the benchmarks in Australian chardonnay. It’s equally elegant, with subtle stonefruit, citrus and spicy oak aromas. It’s tightly structured – buy one for now and more for a year or two – but is still enjoyable straight off the bat. The balance between tannins, intense fruit and acid is spot on.” 94 points