Chardonnay M3 2019

SHAW + SMITH

Chardonnay M3
2019

  • Sustainable
  • Vegan
  • In conversion
Country
Australia
Regulated designation
Table wine
Region
South Australia
Subregion
Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
Varietal(s)
Chardonnay 100 %
Colour
White
Producer's website

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

Product notes

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.

Press reviews

James Halliday (Australian Wine Companion)

- 98 points -

GOLD MEDAL

August 2021

Sourced from 3 vineyards in Piccadilly, Lobethal and the estate’s high-elevation Lenswood block. Whole-bunch pressed, fermented and matured on lees in French barriques and puncheons. The first thing that strikes you is an elegance that is so fundamental to the style and respectful to the elite fruit within. The faintest of oak lifts adds a complexity to start, but the energy and concentration of the fruit become the prime focus on the palate. It's all about chardonnay's finest flavours and a vibrant acidity to drive it long into the future.

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James Halliday (Australian Wine Companion)

- 97 points -

June 2022 (Vintage 2021)

Hand-picked, whole bunch-pressed, fermented and matured in French oak. Its crystal clear quartz-green hue signals the ’21 vintage in all its glory, the bouquet and palate a seamless array of nectarine, grapefruit and cashew. The feel and flow of the aftertaste implore a second glass.

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James Suckling

- 96 points -

James Suckling, July 2020 (Vintage 2019)

This is a very concentrated, complex and refined chardonnay that locks in on very intense white peaches, lemons and grapefruit, framed in a wealth of fresh, spicy, young French oak, as well as flinty elements. The palate has mouthwateringly fresh acidity, powering fresh lemon and peach flavors into a long, tautly wound finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

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Decanter

- 96 points -

August 2020 (Vintage 2019)

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. 

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Wine Business Monthly

- 96 points -

June 2021

Beautiful elegance and purity, a wonderfully harmonious assemblage of the richness of white peach, the crunch of grapefruit, the complexity of subtle struck flint reduction and the understated support of classy French oak. Brilliant zest and verve of crystalline acidity define an outstanding finish of sensational lineand length.

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James Suckling

- 96 points -

2021 (Vintage 2020)

Ripe peach, lemon and plenty of toasted hazelnut oak, sitting on a mix of flint and wet
stones. The palate has great density and depth with concentrated peach and lemon. A
little pastry, too. Smooth, with bright acidity. Impressive depth and balance here.

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James Suckling

- 95 points -

October 2022 (Vintage 2021)

This is such a beautifully crafted Adelaide Hills chardonnay! Complex, flinty nose with notes of toasted baguette, lime zest, Asian pear and fresh pineapple. I love the underplayed power on the very focused, medium-bodied palate. Fine tannins underline the long and intense wet-stone finish.

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Decanter

- 94 points -

April 2021 (Vintage 2020)

Savoury notes take the lead in a striking tenor voice. Lacks the feistiness of previous vintages, but 2020 was hardly kind in the Hills. Clean, firm, proud and very well built, this is the elegant, talented diplomat that shows no emotion.

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James Suckling

- 93 points -

April 2023 (Vintage 2022)

A sleek, mid-weighted & very contemporary chardonnay, embellishing a pungent mineral chassis with roasted cashew, nougat and curdy creaminess. Vanilla-cedar oak, an integrated framework. Apricot pith, white peach and nectarine, too. The acidity, palpably natural of feel and really juicy, towing impressive length. One of the better recent iterations of this rightly popular cuvee.

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