2010 Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc Reviews
The Wine Advocate October 2010
Lisa Perotti-Brown MW
90 Points
The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc gives intense grapefruit peel, lemon juice, orange blossom and lime leaf aromas. Bone dry (less than 2 g/l residual sugar), crisp and medium bodied, this wine lends a bit of viscous/creamy texture to generous flavor concentration, continuing through the long finish. Drink it now to 2013. A perennial good buy, Shaw & Smith's unblended Sauvignon Blanc is up there with Australia's best example of this style.
Weekend Australian 13th November 2010
95 Points
Practice makes perfect, as does attention to the most minute detail. Pale straw-green, it has a complex bouquet with notes of herb and lychee followed by an intense, tightly focused palate with a touch of kiwifruit hiding behind the minerally acidity that binds the wine into a coherent whole.
The Advertiser Top 100 Wines November 2010
93 Points
One of the pioneers of the variety in Australia and considered a benchmark regionally, this vintage delivers a delicately styled wine compared to much of the popular tsunami of the variety. Here florals and citrus skins lead the way, followed by yellow grapefruits, with tangy and spicy fruit part of the profile. Fresh, even and clear-headed.
The Wine Front
Campbell Mattinson
92 Points
I rarely reach for sauvignon blanc but I always pop this when I see it; its lineage deserves it. Intense fruit flavour, flinty finish, good acid thrust and a finely orchestrated finish. This is a pretty impressive wine. It carries various flavours – lemons, grass, grapefruit, gunsmoke and maybe even Turkish delight – though everything narrows down to a crayon sharp conclusion. Fans of this label will be happy: it’s got impact, but it also shows its class.
Travel & Living Summer 2011
Winsor Dobbin
This benchmark Adelaide Hills wine is always among Australia’s top half-dozen sauvignon blancs; a testament to the consistent winemaking skills of cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith. The 2010 is as good as ever with zingy grapefruit aromatics. Freshness and intensity of fruit on the palate and zesty acidity on the finish. Zippy and racy this is a classic drink-young wine with lashings of pure fruit appeal.
The Age & Sydney Morning Herald Good Wine Guide 2011
Nick Stock
Straight into the zone here - passionfruit, grassy edges, betel leaf, hints of citrus, ripe yellow peach, nectarine and more. The palate has plenty of front-foot appeal, bright acid, passionfruit and nectarine flavours, and decent length.
Canberra Times 25th September 2010
Fergus McGhie
…..I cant believe the 2010 Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc is already on my doorstep, ready for spring drinking. And with 20-odd vintages under its belt, you know there’s been plenty of learning going on at Shaw and Smith. Is it the best yet? Well, I’m not sure, but it’s full of delicious guava and passionfruit flavours balanced by precise, but not searing, acidity. This is a wine of elegance, restraint and irresistible drinkability and the kind of wine that can very quickly disappear before you can say “balmy summer evening”.
Sunday Examiner 14th November 2010
Winsor Dobbin
Year in, year out, this benchmark Adelaide Hills wine is always among Australia's top half dozen sauvignon blancs; a testament to the consistent winemaking skills of cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith. The 2010 is as good as ever with zingy grapefruit aromatics, freshness and intensity of fruit on the palate and zesty acidity on the finish. Zippy and racy, this is a classic drink-young wine with lashings of pure fruit appeal. Pair it with freshly shucked oysters.
Australian Education Union – Victorian Branch Newsletter Vol 16, Issue 7 November 2010
Paddy Kendler
This Adelaide Hills purler remains Australia’s best sauvignon blanc. Knockout!
GCM Drink January/February 2011
Wayne Steel
The Shaw & Smith Sauvignon Blanc has been considered the benchmark for Australian sauvies for around 20 years, and the 2010 vintage maintains that perception. Pale with a hint of green colour, it offers subtle fruit aromas, mostly passionfruit to the nose. Fresh passionfruit and grapefruit flavours are married perfectly to a lime-like acidity that cleanses the palate. There is a creamy mouthfeel to it despite the total absence of oak or malo and it finishes with admirable length. Balanced and beautiful, it fits the bill as our best Sauvignon Blanc and hails from the region, the Adelaide Hills, recognized for producing our best. Buy some now before it all goes.
Brisbane News January 19-25 2011
Tony Harper
“…The Adelaide Hills is Australia’s mecca for the variety, and if pressed to come up with a leader, I’d nominate Shaw + Smith every time. The guys there have been specializing in sauvignon blanc for 20 years and have made their brand something of an icon, not through clever marketing but by taking care with a variety that can produce a decent drink from a half-hearted effort. It is a different wine to a mainstream Marlborough sauvignon blanc, with slightly riper, less overt fruit characters and palate that is less bombastic, but gives a little more in terms of weight and texture….”
South East Advertiser 10th November 2010
John Lehmann
The benchmark Aussie savvy for a decade. The 2010 is crisp, light, fanciful and mineral on the palate. A loving, long finish.
Better Homes & Gardens November 2010
Ian MacTavish
Forget cheap sauvignon blancs, and taste just how good this grape can be. It deserves to be paired with lobster but any seafood will do.
Mt Barker Courier 22nd September 2010
Ross Noble
The Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2010 has ripe gooseberry aromas and flavors with a trace of citrus and a luscious intensity on the palate that is indicative of a restrained yield and excellent vintage conditions.