Shaw + Smith, `Balhannah` Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2015
PL Award 1: GOLD - IWC 2016
Country: Australia Region: South Australia Vintage: 2020
Varietal: Shiraz Category: Red Wine Color: Red
Producer: Shaw + 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. Their vision remains to make exciting, refined wines exclusively from the Adelaide Hills that rank among Australia's best. The wines are made from a number of sites throughout the
Adelaide Hills. They specialise in grape varieties suited to the cooler climate, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz.
The Sauvignon Blanc is sourced predominantly from their own vineyards at Woodside and Balhannah, where the soils are shallow, red/brown loam over schist and clay. The
original M3 vineyard was sold, and subsquently the grapes for this wine is now a selection of the estate's best fruit, a great deal of which now comes from Lenswood, a high altitude vineyard they purchased in 2012. This is one of the reasons why M3 has taken such a leap forward in quality in recent years. For the Shiraz, the warmer sub-area of Macclesfield gives structure and richness, while the cooler Balhannah vineyard contributes spiciness and perfume.
The single vineyard 'Balhannah' Shiraz is from a close planted north-facing block behind the winery. They included plenty of whole bunches in the ferment and aged it in 500 litre French oak puncheons. The result is a fragrant, intense and lively cool climate Shiraz. This is now joined by a single vineyard Chardonnay from their Lenswood vineyard. Planted in 1999, this 20 hectare vineyard is situated at about 500 metres above sea level. The cooler nights at such an altitude (this is the highest of all Shaw + Smith's vineyards) gives the wines from this site a characteristic steeliness. The age and steeliness combine in this stunning single vineyard wine.
The Lenswood vineyard has also provided a boost to the Pinot Noir. The more perfumed fruit, blended with grapes from the winery block, give a wine from 2013 that is a huge step up on anything they have produced before. No wonder it won a Gold medal at the 2015 International Wine Challenge.
The winemaking dream-team consists of Martin Shaw and senior winemaker Adam Wadewitz, one of Australia's brightest winemaking talents. They work closely with viticulturalist Murray Leake, who succeeded Ray Guerin when he retired in 2015. Ray continues to consult. Their wines show wonderful varietal definition, particularly in the depth and spectrum of flavour, natural acid balance and overall finesse. There is an excitement about each of the Shaw + Smith wines that has made them one of the most successful producers in our portfolio."
Product Features: Vegetarian
Product Allergens: Sulphites Label
Winemaker: Martin Shaw & Adam Wadewitz
Vineyards:
This is the first release of this wine. Fruit was sourced from close-planted low yielding vines at Shaw + Smith's Balhannah Vineyard in the central Adelaide Hills, planted in 2005. The distinctive site has always shown potential for a single site wine, and in this particular year the fruit was outstanding. It has a north-facing aspect and the soils are loam over clay, ironstone, quartzite and shale. Low yields are achieved by aggressive pruning and pre-harvest bunch thinning.
Vinification:
The Shiraz was hand picked and fermented as predominantly whole bunches (70%) and the remainder whole berries, in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal intervention. No berries were harmed during the making of this wine! It was aged in 500 litre French oak puncheons for fourteen months, followed by a further fourteen months in bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Crimson in colour with purple at the rim. The nose is very perfumed - rose petals, dried herbs, and red berries. Initially it's generous on the palate, with boysenberry, mulberry, and blueberry notes. Then more layers of flavour and texture reveal themselves. Some cinnamon, some fennel seed, some rhubarb; fine but firm tannins that extend the palate, accompanied throughout by fresh acidity and intense perfume.
Food Suggestion: Roast suckling pig.
Closure: Stelvin ABV:14% Acidity [g/l]: 6
