2021 MMAD Vineyard Chenin Blanc

Other Reviews....
I hope the producers in the east don't take this the wrong way, but as a West Aussie, it is a heartening and thrilling thing to witness such beauty in Chenin Blanc here from McLaren Vale. The area is so suited, it surprises me there aren't more great ones made. The only other that comes to mind is Aphelion. Two-thirds of the grapes from the newly acquired vineyard in Blewitt Springs were crushed and fermented in concrete fermenters, the other third was whole-bunch pressed and fermented in old 500-liter puncheons. Took a long time for it to chart its course over the year. The 2021 Mmad Vineyard Chenin Blanc matured on the lees, left cold and untouched for quite a long time. In the mouth, this has soapstone, green apple and cheesecloth. The acidity is briny and fine, with a lanolin character that is woven throughout the palate. It has a fabulous texture in the mouth—this is wonderfully typically Australian, distinctly different from South Africa and Loire. It has a brilliant intensity of flavor, purity, concentration, poise and shape. Very good. There are notes of white peach, pear, waxy grip. Awesome. It will be better in time, too. Drink 2022 - 2032.
94+ Points
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (July 2022)

MMAD is an exciting (based on the quality of the initial releases) new project by Michael Hill Smith MW, Martin Shaw, Adam Wadewitz and David LeMire MW (M,M,A,D). If you like the wines of Shaw + Smith and/or Tolpuddle then you’re likely to dig these wines, because they exhibit that same kind of care and consideration, though of course we’re talking a very different region here. The jewel that is the Blewitt Springs sub-region proved too strong a lure; they liked it so much they bought the company (or, in this case, the vineyard). There’s old vine Chenin involved here, planted in 1964, with some more recent plantings involved too. A variety of techniques were employed in this wine’s vinification but some skin contact was allowed, as was time in concrete vats, as was time in puncheons.
Seriously good wine. Intense, textural, a bit of x-factor and a finish that goes on and on. Citrus juice and rind, river stones, a peppery note, a hint of the sea. Some honey or perhaps honeyed but notes in there too; whispers on that sea breeze. Refined and powerful at once. MMAD has hit the ground running. Drink 2022 - 2027.
94 Points
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front (August 2022)

Hand-picked, half whole bunch-pressed to used French puncheons for fermentation, the balance crushed into concrete tulip-shaped vessels before maturation in used French puncheons. The blend of components give rise to textured, layered citrus peel flavours sewn together by a shaft of glistening acidity.
95 Points
James Halliday - The Weekend Australian