Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay 2019 (Australia)

Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay 2019 (Australia)French oak Citrus & nectarine White flower Bright acidity "The nose presents a strong and compelling argument: firm white peach, pretty lemon blossom, a whiff of charred oak and a puff of graphite lurking beneath struck flint. Strikingly reminiscent of Penfolds' Bin Reserve Bin A, it helps define a new high watermark for Adelaide Hills Chardonnay. With a slender, nimble palate that is deceptively long, its clean persistent flavours and subtle

• French oak
• Citrus & nectarine
• White flower
• Bright acidity

"The nose presents a strong and compelling argument: firm white peach, pretty lemon blossom, a whiff of charred oak and a puff of graphite lurking beneath struck flint. Strikingly reminiscent of Penfolds' Bin Reserve Bin A, it helps define a new high-watermark for Adelaide Hills Chardonnay. With a slender, nimble palate that is deceptively long, its clean persistent flavours and subtle complexity leaves you contemplative long after the glass is empty. Released at AU$49." David Sly, Decanter

"Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay is in quite exceptional form. Brilliant release. Great intensity both to the palate and the finish and with plenty going on besides. Flint, smoke, grapefruit and stone fruit characters but it’s the emphatic energy of the finish that really sets it apart. One sip and I was hooked, convinced, and in its thrall." Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

"The clear expression of on-point ripe peach and nectarine fruits is this wine's calling card. A delicate little wrap of oak adds the spice of ginger-nut biscuit with the swell of an appealing creaminess; subtle acidity holds it in balance all the way. Fruit, oak, spice and tang - the whole varietal experience." Tony Love, Halliday's Wine Companion

Aiming for elegance, restraint and the ability to age, acid is bright and there’s generosity of flavour. Typically it shows white flowers, citrus, and nectarine notes. The 2019 vintage was defined by tiny yields, great acid levels and warm temperatures. This has produced an M3 of power, persistence and balance. Ideally served betweem 10-12 degrees celsius.

The Shaw & Smith winery was built in 2000 giving the ability to whole-bunch press chilled grapes for the first time, and underpinning the evolution of style from that first M3 Chardonnay vintage in 2000 through to the present day. This varietal is from Piccadilly, Lobethal and their Lenswood Vineyard, at 455–500 metres 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.

The 2019 growing season was one that challenged even the most experienced and well equipped vignerons. Those that made the most of it produced small crops of very clean fruit with wonderful flavour and intensity. Natural acidity is a feature in all of the wines despite the warm dry summer. Grapes were hand picked and whole bunch pressed. Fermented and matured on lees in French oak barriques and puncheons. Now until 2029.

Food pairing: roast chicken or rich seafood.