We tasted some fantastic wines in the shop last week – with Dan from Shaw & Smith who was visiting the UK – and on the back of ‘Australia Day’, we thought we would highlight these amazing wines from the Adelaide Hills.

Amongst the highlights are their Sauvignon Blanc 2017, the much lauded M3 Chardonnay 2015. There is also their seriously cool Pinot Noir 2015 that has come of age along with the excellent Shiraz 2014. This shows the variety in regional styles that Australia can produce compared to the warmer regions of Barossa & McClaren vale.

All are currently on limited offer here at Vin Neuf. Please do link to all of these wine offers here – whilst stocks last!

Here are some accolades and relevant Shaw + Smith reviews:

Sauvignon Blanc 2017 – “This is a dignified sauvignon blanc that continuously reveals itself as you move from the bouquet through to the aftertaste. Initially it has classic restraint, but by the time you pick up the sweet fruit (not sugar) you realise it’s the product of a vintage designed for sauvignon blanc.” 96 points, James Halliday, The Weekend Australian

Also… 16.5pts from Julia Harding on JancisRobinson.com – “Lightly grassy and green-fruited on the nose but definitely not pungent. More grapefruit than passionfruit and without the sweaty note of excessive thiols that you get on some NZ SB’s. Bone dry, fresh and with a fine grip that balances the green-fruited freshness and shows how well the lees effect supports the fruit.”

M3 Chardonnay 2015 – Gold Medals at Melbourne Wine Show, Adelaide Hills Wine Show and James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge. Trophy for Best Chardonnay at Adelaide Hills Wine Show 2016.

Pinot Noir 2015 – see Nick Stock review seen herewith, published on JamesSuckling.com

Shiraz 2015 – “Tomato, beetroot, herbal notes, tremendous stemmy character. Dry, fine tannin with a bit of spice and pepper. Great complexity and breadth.” 17.5pts, Richard Hemming MW on JancisRobinson.com

Or 97pts in the James Halliday Wine Companion “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.”

Shaw + Smith also provide us with their The Other Wine Co. delights. Amongst others this features:

The Other Wine Co. Pinot Gris 2016 – “…a mouthwatering style, best consumed in the company of food.” Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

The Other Wine Co. Grenache 2015 – WINNER, The Adelaide Review Hot 100 (an unusual wine competition to find South Australia’s ‘most drinkable’ wine, out of 1200+ entries)

As their own Shaw + Smith press release states:

‘Shaw + Smith began over a long lunch in 1989 when cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith decided to realise a long held dream to make wine together. Their vision remains to make exciting, refined wines exclusively from the Adelaide Hills that rank among Australia’s best.’

We couldn’t agree more!