Verkostungsnotiz James Suckling vom 02. Juli 2020:
Very attractive blueberries and dark plums here with earthy and spicy aromas, as well as black pepper. The palate is filled with fleshy fruit and has dark-cherry, cherry-liqueur and dark-chocolate flavors in abundance. Long flavors, plush smooth tannins and certainly a richer iteration of this wine. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
Style: Shaw + Smith Shiraz is a medium bodied cool-climate Shiraz, in which balance is more important than power.
The 2018 vintage is defined by balance and effortless flow. It was a great season for Shiraz with generosity, but structure to match.
Season: Outstanding quality from a growing season that threatened, at times, to be tricky. After some heat in January, the moderate, dry and sunny months of February and March delivered beautifully balanced fruit. Crop levels were slightly below average, enhancing flavour and intensity.
Source: From low yielding vines predominantly at Balhannah in the central Adelaide Hills, and from Echunga and Macclesfield to the south.
Vinification: Hand picked and fermented as a combination of whole berries and whole bunches in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal working. Aged in French oak for fourteen months, of which one third was new.