Shaw & Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2022

The Shaw & Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz is a beautifully refined medium bodied cool-climate Shiraz from the very talented duo of Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith. Complex, mid-weighted, elegant and Rhône Valley-esque, fruit is sourced from some of the finest Shiraz growing vineyards in the Adelaide Hills.

"A power of fruit and a power of spices. This is an excellent release. Sweet plums, smoked meats, black peppers and an array of cedar, bunchy herbs, stalk and toast characters. Tannin curls impressively through the back half of the wine; it feels both plush and fresh throughout; and while it’s definitely peppery (and floral), it’s the plummy, boysenberried fruit flavours that drive it. This is bang on excellent."  Campbell Mattinson

"A medium bodied cool-climate Shiraz, in which balance is more important than power. A wine with freshness and lift, and some luscious fruit as well. There’s a combination of red and blue fruits, a touch of white pepper, and good grippy tannins framing the midweight palate. From a cool La Niña season, this Shiraz delivers brightness and vibrancy with ripe fruit and structure that makes it a very complete and delicious cool climate Shiraz. Aged for 10 months in 500 to 600 litre French oak barrels, 20% new, followed by a further 16 months in bottle. Cellar for up to 15 years."  Shaw & Smith

Expert reviews

"Deep, dark red-purple with black tints, the bouquet quite whole-bunchy with humus, spice and root vegetable aromas, the palate intense and concentrated with sustained flavour and finely balanced powdery tannins that run long to an extended finish. A powerful yet elegant shiraz drinking well now but with a long life in front of it. Drink: 2024-2039."  Huon Hooke, The Real Review – 95 points

"A power of fruit and a power of spices. This is an excellent release. Sweet plums, smoked meats, black peppers and an array of cedar, bunchy herbs, stalk and toast characters. Tannin curls impressively through the back half of the wine; it feels both plush and fresh throughout; and while it’s definitely peppery (and floral), it’s the plummy, boysenberried fruit flavours that drive it. This is bang on excellent. Drink: 2025-2036+."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 95 points

"Dark fruited and spicy, with undertones of cured meat, black olives and herbs on the nose. The palate is well balanced, with firmly framed tannins and focused acidity that leads to a densely packed yet refined and pure fruit-driven finish with some lovely spicy, cool-climate shiraz flavors. A well-balanced wine that will age nicely. Drink or hold."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 95 points

"This is delightful. It opens with an expectation: game meat, white pepper, raspberry, tart cherry, some dried herbs and a whiff of truffle. Savouriness and pretty fruit hand in hand. It delivers on the palate, satiny tannins wrap up more of those fruit and savoury elements, game meat and pepper a strong card but beautifully woven through red fruits and sweeter spices. Ribbons of those tannins trail long through the palate; a light dusting of spice lingers. It's spot-on medium weight, too. So much charm. Drink by 2033."  Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion - 94 points

"Shaw & Smith Shiraz has such a rich legacy now that I’d probably be more intrigued if it wasn’t great. This 2022 iteration is different, though. It’s an Adelaide Hills Shiraz that speaks in a different, spicier accent – you could call it Syrah, and no one would be upset. Masterful winemaking, too – a shitload of flavour for a 13.5% red. It’s purple-coloured and smells of purple things – violets, blueberry, and peppery blackberry jam. There’s a bit of Syrah pan juices and pepper steak, but again, there is loads of purple fruit on the medium-weight, gently grippy, perfectly ripe palate. Classy, medium weight but not shy, it’s maybe a bit dark and spicy rather than glossy this year, but that just makes it a great wine. I like. Would I buy it? Oh yes. Best drinking: now to ten years easy."  Andrew Graham, Australian Wine Review – 94 points

About the winery

 Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith 

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. Today they own three vineyards in the Adelaide Hills; at Balhannah, Lenswood and Piccadilly, totalling 59 hectares. The vineyards are planted to varieties that perform particularly well in the region, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz.

Shaw & Smiths' first vintage was in 1990 and in 1999 they purchased a property at Balhannah, where they planted vines and built a winery and tasting room in time for the 2000 vintage. The 35 hectare Balhannah vineyard is planted predominantly to Sauvignon Blanc and close-planted Shiraz on property surrounding the winery at 340 - 380m elevation. The soil is free draining sandy loam over red clay with underlying quartzite and shale, with varying amounts of ironstone pebbles.

In 2012, the pair purchased an existing vineyard in the cooler zone of Lenswood, about 10km north west of the winery. The 20 hectare vineyard is at an elevation of 455 – 500m and was planted in 1999. Undulating with east and west facing aspects, the vineyard is planted mainly to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The soils are brown loams over clay with broken shale on the ridges.

In 2019 Shaw & Smith celebrated its 30th anniversary with the purchase of a cool-climate vineyard site in Piccadilly Valley just below the Mt Lofty summit. The land is in the highest, coldest and wettest part of the Adelaide Hills at an altitude of 550 metres. The 4 hectare site has been planted to chardonnay and pinot noir, with vines closely spaced at 11,000 vines per hectare, a density that’s considered the maximum in places like Burgundy and Champagne.

Site selection is particularly important in the Adelaide Hills, with its diversity of altitude, aspect, microclimate, and soil. They also use a number of different clones of each grape variety, which contribute different qualities to the final product.