2006 Shaw & Smith M3 Vineyard Chardonnay

Cousins Michael Hill-Smith and Martin Shaw established the Shaw & Smith winery in 1989 with the vision of producing exciting, refined wines from the Adelaide Hills region that rank among the World's best. Today, they’re regarded as one of the regions leading producers and their Chardonnay regularly receives high praise from wine critics around the world.

The cooler growing conditions of the Adelaide Hills tends to produce more elegant, refined Chardonnays that age more gracefully than their warmer climate counterparts. 2006 is considered to be an excellent vintage for whites in the Adelaide Hills with the fruit achieving optimal flavour development and a very high natural acidity. The wine was matured for a period of ten months in a combination of new and one year old French barriques. Some wild yeast fermentation, extended time on yeast lees, barrel stirring and partial malolactic fermentation are some of the winemaking techniques employed in order to add further complexity, flavour and mouthfeel to the wine.

An outstanding example of Australian cool climate Chardonnay.

Bright deep straw colour with pale straw hue. Top note of honeycomb, followed by nougat and yeast lees, showing complex barrel ferment characters. The palate has excellent weight and mouthfeel, with creamy texture. Full bodied, with flavours of yeast lees, nougat and hazelnut. Clean finish. Long aftertaste of nougat and hazelnut.
Cellar 3-4 years (2010-2011)
Alc/Vol: 13.5%