Awards and Accolades

97 Points, Special Value Wine - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion
"From central and southern (the latter warmer) parts of the Adelaide Hills, hand-picked, part destemmed, part whole bunch, open-fermented with gentle plunging. The colour is bright, the bouquet full of red fruits, darker fruit notes and delicious pepper and spice nuances. These characters flow through to the medium-bodied palate of Shaw + Smith's most consistently outstanding wine, the '15 vintage making it seem so easy."

95 Points - Huon Hooke, The Real Review
"The best shiraz yet under this label: deliciously intense with blood plum, raspberry, black cherry aromas laced with subtle pepper and spice nuances. Marvellous richness and a seamless, soft-textured palate which is fruit-driven, with barely perceptible oak. Drink now or cellar."

From the Winery

Shaw + Smith Shiraz is a medium bodied cool-climate Shiraz, in which balance is more important than power. This vintage is fresh and vibrant with red fruit aromas, and some dried herb notes. The palate shows bright fruit, (cherry, raspberry, and mulberry) a hint of dark chocolate, and plenty of structure, with grippy tannins that build through to the finish.

From low yielding vines predominantly at Balhannah, in the central Adelaide Hills, and Macclesfield, the warmer and drier sub-region to the south. Hand picked, sorted and fermented as a combination of whole berries and whole bunches in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal working. Aged in French oak (30% new) for 14 months. 2015 was a remarkable vintage. Above average winter rainfall ensured a good start to the growing season and warm weather in late-December / early-January was moderated by useful rain on the 13th of January. The season concluded with mild, steady conditions and delivered fruit of wonderful quality to the winery.

The Adelaide Hills was long considered too cool to ripen Shiraz. By the early 2000s, though, the potential for outstanding Shiraz from the right sites in the Adelaide Hills was compelling, and the first Shaw + Smith Shiraz was made in the 2002 vintage. Since then, Shiraz in the Hills has gone from strength to strength, its hallmarks being fragrance, intensity, and medium bodied elegance