Shaw and Smith have been on the forefront of the ongoing refinement and evolution of Australian Chardonnay; their M3 Chardonnay is considered among Australia's greatest examples. Made with the aim of elegance, restraint and the capacity to age, this offers a complexity and intensity rarely found.
The 2022 Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay is another top-line Adelaide Hills Chardonnay that will be welcomed by the many fans of this wine. As always, this is likely to sell out quickly.
"95 Points. Pale colour. Lovely white peach, nectarine, grapefruit tonic water aromas with grilled nut, hint marzipan notes. Delicious drinking wine with plentiful peach, nectarine, apricot flavours, fine chalky textures, classical creamy notes and underlying marzipan, hint vanilla notes. This is a text book modern Adelaide Hills Chardonnay; not a long term keeper but it's brilliantly balanced and ready to enjoy. Like Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, M3 has become a classic wine of first resort with buyers wanting consistency and reliability. Drink now - or keep for a while."- Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal, April 2023.
"95 Points. It’s always great to see the incarnation of M3. I tend to think of this wine in a similar vein to how Champagne houses exemplify their non vintage champagne. An apex wine of the brand but like with all great Maisons this wine continues to evolve and transcend with each vintage. The 2022 vintage encompasses an intensity to the fruit with slick and schmick oak in support. Wild jasmine, honeysuckle, lemonade fruit and yellow nectarines. Baked peach cobbler and candied ginger lolly. This is the self confident salesman in the room and I’m buying every word he says. Impossible not to find this absolutely delicious, no matter how hard you try. So stop trying. Give in, roll over and submit. They have done it again! Utterly bedazzling and with elegance and watertight foundations. Drink now or put some away for a rainy day. Drink with a whole lobster served in its shell and be cavalier about it. Drink: 2024 - 2030. $55."- Shanteh Wale, winepilot.com.
"A sleek, mid-weighted & highly contemporary chardonnay, embellishing a pungent mineral chassis with roasted cashew, nougat and curdy creaminess. Vanilla-cedar oak, an integrated framework. Apricot pith, white peach and nectarine, too. The acidity, palpably natural of feel and really juicy, towing impressive length. Among the better recent iterations of this rightly popular cuvée. 93 Points. 13% alc. $55. Drink by: 2031. Screwcap"- Ned Goodwin, winecompanion.com.au.