SHAW + SMITH

Chardonnay Lenswood Vineyard
2021

Sustainable
Vegan
In conversion

Country

Australia

Regulated designation

Geographical Indication (GI)

Region

South Australia

Subregion

Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

Varietal(s)

Chardonnay 100 %

Colour

White

Sugar

Dry

Producer's website

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About this winery

Shaw + Smith winery was founded in 1989 by Michael Hill Smith and Martin Shaw with the goal of producing elegant, refined, world class wines from the cool climate Adelaide hills region of Australia. That Shaw + Smith have succeeded in spades should come as no surprise given the resumes of the winery's two founders. Michael Hill Smith was born into wine, a member of the Yalumba family. A Cordon Bleu trained chef, wine writer, wine judge, and Australia's first Master of Wine he relished the...

See the SHAW + SMITH detail page for more information on this brand

Tasting notes

A fine boned Chardonnay that reflects the conditions of the vintage and the character of this unique vineyard site. Pale lemon straw colour. Restrained on the nose, with white flowers and a touch of struck match. A long, fine, and delicate palate but with underlying intensity of fruit, with chamomile, lemon pith and slightly under-ripe nectarine notes. Understated, with purity and finesse, but there is also texture and drive that hint at the great potential to age

Press reviews

- 96 points -

February 2023 (Vintage 2021)

Fermented wild in new and used 500L puncheons; matured for 10 months with the occasional stir. Among the country's varietal exemplars. Transparent and tensile with an additional nuance of flavour, vibrato and mineral cohesion etched into the firmament of complexity each year. White peach, toasted hazelnut, jasmine and nougatine teem long. The oak, nestled beautifully, serves as a framing backdrop rather than the centrepiece. A wine of precision, intense flavours and immense class.

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- 95 points -

Erin Larkin, November 2023 (Vintage 2021)

The 2021 Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay is creamy and restrained. It's a wholly classy affair layered with chalky phenolics, salted peach, lashings of white miso green apples, leafy things (bay and sage) and loads of salted crushed nuts. Elegant to the end, and totally streamlined, all elements are in harmony. It's composed of a combination of Bernard clones 95 and 76 and planted at the Lenswood site at an elevation of 500 meters. It's a good-looking site—lush, healthy, gorgeous. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

See detailed press review