Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay 2023

James Suckling
95/100 punten
Wonderfully constructed, showing polished aromas of lime curd, lemon balm, orange blossoms and gun smoke on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with precise acidity and a generous mouthfeel, giving notes of fresh pineapple, white peaches, lime curd and shortbread. Drink or hold.

Wine Pilot
95/100 punten
In case you were not aware you are drinking some of the first grapes picked from the S+S high density planting of the Piccadilly vineyard. Lemon verbena, grapefruit and wet concrete. Celery stem, fresh ginger and printer paper. Peach cheeks and almond nougat. A wash of electrifying acidity, coconut jelly creaminess and finishing with a sake like leesy quality. This is intense in flavour as we have come to expect from the M3 perhaps with more savoury shapes than previous years. It’s compact and muscular but with nice elongated lines of acidity and freshness of citrus fruit. For a chilly vintage this is showing very well now and will cellar up to 5 years. Serve with baked buttery bbq pork char siu bao buns.

Huon Hooke
95/100 punten
Light, bright yellow hue with a gentle trace of smoky reduction on the lemony bouquet, the palate delicate and refined with lemon and grapefruit, malt biscuit, a kiss of fresh oak, and an extended aftertaste of lovely balance.

James Halliday
94/100 punten
Energetic and intense. A mellow and understated chardonnay but with plenty of detail in spice, gentle savouriness and winemaking seasoning, cool acidity, a tightly wound fruit profile, general minerality and high drinkability. Overall, elegant and refined, sleek across the palate and quite compact with a light juiciness in tow. Nougat, lime curd, green apple and ginger in the bouquet, a similar set of descriptors to taste, with a lively trail of spice following on. High in the pleasure stakes, this continues to be an impressive Hills chardonnay.

Jancis Robinson MW
16.5/20 punten
From grower vineyards in Piccadilly and Lobethal and Shaw + Smith’s Lenswood vineyard, at 455–500 m of elevation. Undulating with east- and west-facing aspects, the soils are brown loams over clay with broken shale on the ridges, the Lenswood vineyard was planted in 1999. Hand-picked grapes are whole-bunch pressed to French oak barrels for fermentation – one-third new. 9 months undergoing fermentation and malolactic conversion. Batches are then blended in stainless-steel vats before bottling. TA 5.6 g/l, pH 3.35. Stony, herbal citrus and fresh pear. Subtle yet inviting, with a very slight floral note. Almost peppery. Tight, mouth-watering and creamy in texture. Refined, taut but not lean. Clean-cut and precise.