2021 Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay

The 2021 vintage was one of the best on record in the Adelaide Hills producing ripe, healthy fruit which resulted in Chardonnay with great intensity, fresh acidity and long finishes. Sourced from Shaw & Smith’s Lenswood vineyard which was planted in 1999 the wine was fermented and matured on lees in French oak barriques and puncheons.
Brilliant very pale straw colour with greenish tinged edges and a watery hue. Rising from the glass with ample intensity are nectarine and white peach scents which are intermeshed with hints of dried honey, biscuity oak, citrusy nougat characters and gun flint. Still somewhat restrained, the mid weighted palate is elegantly detailed with nectarine, white peach and subtle biscuity oak nuances which evolve into citrus, light roast almond and gun flint elements on the back half. Fleshy mouthfeel finishing fresh with a long, refined Burgundian like aftertaste.
Drink over the next 5-6 years.
Alc. 13%

Other Reviews….
Its impeccable self. Flavours of pear and quartz, nectarine and cedar, a gentle floral element, a subtle lactose note. It feels powerful, taut and refined at once. This is not a smack-you-in-the-eyes chardonnay and yet its quality and intensity are clear. As with many of the finest Australian chardonnays now, this will need a year or three from release to start showing its best self. Drink 2024-2029+
95 points
Campbell Mattinson – The Wine Front

The '21 M3 release sees a price rise, which the makers clearly consider fitting for a wine celebrated as one of the best chardonnays in the country. It's also an outstanding vintage. Quietly, it wields its magic. Its youthful exuberance is tightly wound, with whispers of green apple, grapefruit, lemon peel and almond, firming and rising through the wine. Acidity drives and energises the pristine fruit with oak a gentle accompaniment. Fine and elegant now. An outstanding future is writ large. Drink by 2031.
97 points
Jeni Port - James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion