2022 Shaw + Smith - Shiraz Adelaide Hills (750ml)

Shaw + Smith was founded in 1989 by cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith, the latter notable as the first Australian to pass the rigorous Master of Wine exam. The pair made their first vintage in 1990 using borrowed facilities at Wirra Wirra and Petaluma before building their own winery at Balhannah in 2000. Today the estate owns four vineyards across the Adelaide Hills, totaling seventy hectares at varying elevations, and has become a benchmark producer for cool-climate Australian wine, prized for its focus on site selection and minimal-intervention winemaking.

The Adelaide Hills was long considered too cool to properly ripen Shiraz, but by the early 2000s growers had identified sites capable of producing something distinctive, leading Shaw + Smith to release its first vintage of the variety in 2002. The grapes are hand-picked and fermented as a combination of whole berries and whole bunches in open fermenters, with gentle plunging to encourage careful extraction without heaviness. The wine then ages in French oak for fourteen months, roughly a third of it new, before bottling under screwcap.

The result is a medium-bodied cool-climate Shiraz where balance takes priority over sheer power. Expect crunchy red fruit intertwined with spice and a savory, dried-meat undertone, framed by fine tannins and a fresh, vivid finish. It's an ideal partner for slow-cooked lamb shoulder, grilled quail, or a peppery charcuterie board.