I was looking forward to this tasting. Shaw and Smith is royalty in the Adelaide Hills, and the purchase of the Tolpuddle Vineyard in the Coal River region, Tasmania certainly proved to be a very astute one, certainly from a wine quality point of view.
First up is the 2015 Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay. Citrus dominates the palate. This is a very fresh wine with good acidity, but certainly not the best year for this wine (92 points). The 2015 Tolpuddle Chardonnay is a revelation. I felt that in the past, Pinot Noir from this vineyard was more impressive, but this wine turned out to be the wine of the tasting. Again, citrus dominates on the palate. What impresses, is the drive on the palate. This wine is tightly wound with beautiful fruit and acidity integration (95 points).
The 2016 Tolpuddle Pinot Noir is more similar to the 2014 than the outstanding 2015. The fruit is strawberry and red cherry, beautiful fruit in a wider, somewhat looser expression on the palate. For that, it is not quite big enough in its mouthfeel. The finish is long (93 points). The 2016 Shaw and Smith Pinot Noir is the more traditional wine, in the cherry spectrum, with savoury mushroom characters adding to its complexity (93 points).
Shaw and Smith do some experimenting under the 'The Other Wine Co.' label. You have to in the Adelaide Hills, don't you? I tasted the 2017 Grenache. It shows typical raspberry flavours. It is meant as a fresh wine, but I found it too fruity (88 points).
Shaw and Smith shows it is a top quality producer. Some wines are better than others, but the quality bar sits high here.
First up is the 2015 Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay. Citrus dominates the palate. This is a very fresh wine with good acidity, but certainly not the best year for this wine (92 points). The 2015 Tolpuddle Chardonnay is a revelation. I felt that in the past, Pinot Noir from this vineyard was more impressive, but this wine turned out to be the wine of the tasting. Again, citrus dominates on the palate. What impresses, is the drive on the palate. This wine is tightly wound with beautiful fruit and acidity integration (95 points).
The 2016 Tolpuddle Pinot Noir is more similar to the 2014 than the outstanding 2015. The fruit is strawberry and red cherry, beautiful fruit in a wider, somewhat looser expression on the palate. For that, it is not quite big enough in its mouthfeel. The finish is long (93 points). The 2016 Shaw and Smith Pinot Noir is the more traditional wine, in the cherry spectrum, with savoury mushroom characters adding to its complexity (93 points).
Shaw and Smith do some experimenting under the 'The Other Wine Co.' label. You have to in the Adelaide Hills, don't you? I tasted the 2017 Grenache. It shows typical raspberry flavours. It is meant as a fresh wine, but I found it too fruity (88 points).
Shaw and Smith shows it is a top quality producer. Some wines are better than others, but the quality bar sits high here.
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