2023 Shaw + Smith M3 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay

Product Description

The dynamic partnership of cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW began in 1989 when the duo decided to realise their dream of making wine together. A talent for wine runs in this family, with Martin honing his craft at the University of Bordeaux, and Michael being the first Australian to pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine exams in 1988. Since founding Shaw + Smith, they have consistently made exciting, refined wines, exclusively from the Adelaide Hills, that rank among Australia’s best.

Shaw + Smith’s wines are made from several sites throughout the Adelaide Hills and they specialise in grape varieties suited to the cooler climate, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. The Shaw + Smith winemaking team consists of chief winemaker Adam Wadewitz, one of Australia’s brightest winemaking talents, winemaker Matthew Large and assistant winemaker Alex Clark. Adam was named the WINE magazine Winemaker of the Year 2022 in recognition of his ten vintages at the helm of Shaw + Smith. The trio work closely with viticulturist Murray Leake, who succeeded Ray Guerin when he retired in 2015. Together they are taking Shaw + Smith to new heights. “30 years ago, we made the wines in the winery; today, we make them in the vineyard,” says Adam.

The original ‘M3’ vineyard was sold, as new clones and improved vineyard technology had left it a relic of an earlier period. Subsequently, the grapes for this wine are now a selection of the estate’s best fruit, a great deal of which now comes from ‘Lenswood’, a high-elevation vineyard purchased in 2012. This is one of the reasons why ‘M3’ Chardonnay has taken such a leap forward in quality over the past decade.