2025 Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills

Perhaps one of Australia's most recognisable white wines, or at least one that delivers reliable quality and drinkability each year. It's charming in its glide and gloss to texture, a little bite of freshness through the finish. The perfume and palate match well in green pear, light passionfruit and guava notes, pretty citrus lift and a faint riff of green herbs. A good intensity and concentration of flavour. It's pretty and pitch perfect; nails the variety and has a sense of upfront charm.

93 points Special Value Mike Bennie winecompanion.com.au

The 2025 Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc captures everything that has made this wine a modern Australian icon. Sourced from high-altitude vineyards across the cooler pockets of the Adelaide Hills, including their estate sites in Balhannah and Lenswood, the fruit benefits from chilly nights, misty mornings and long, mild days that coax out piercing aromatics and vibrant acidity.

Winemakers Adam Wadewitz and Martin Shaw have refined this style over decades, and the 2025 vintage is pitch-perfect: racy, bright and utterly invigorating. Aromas of passionfruit, gooseberry and grapefruit leap from the glass, with layers of kaffir lime, elderflower and just a whisper of jalapeño. On the palate, it’s precise and mouthwatering, with a juicy core of citrus and tropicals wrapped around a chalky, mineral spine that lingers long after the first sip.

The 2025 vintage brought ideal ripening conditions in the Hills, with a dry, even growing season and no heat spikes. That’s translated into a Sauvignon Blanc of clarity and finesse, with all the energy and zip the label is loved for, but with more composure and textural detail than ever.

This is the kind of wine that turns simple food into something special. Pair it with kingfish crudo, grilled asparagus with lemon zest, or Vietnamese rice paper rolls with prawn and mint. Best enjoyed young while its vibrant aromatics sing, but it will hold its line gracefully over the next two to three years.