2008 Shaw + Smith Shiraz Reviews

Canberra Times  13th November 2010

Fergus McGhie

There are few better shiraz to have recently graced the wine shelves and lists of this country than the Shaw Smith Adelaide Hills shiraz.  Of course cool-climate shiraz is pretty fashionable these days but it was always going to have its time in the sun and the time is now.

Dedicated growers in the cooler regions have been toiling for some time to show shiraz’s cooler side and it seems we are now beginning to see what the fuss is all about.  It’s all about the spice, cloves, pepper, cinnamon – all show themselves to varying degrees in cooler-climate shiraz.  The spice is accompanied by vibrant red and dary berry fruits, cherries, blueberries and the like.  This is why the Shaw Smith team headed for the hills in its search for these flavours and a more elegant style of shiraz.  The team has found it and along with the bright berry flavours and more complex savoury spice characters, there’s plenty of cellaring potential too.  I had my bottle open for a week and it held up brilliantly, a good indication that in a well-controlled cellar this wine could easily mature well for a decade.  This is a simply stunning wine with pedigree and style.

Good Living, Sydney Morning Herald  Tuesday 30th November 2010

Huon Hooke

94 Points

These guys haven’t put a foot wrong with shiraz: this is yet another brilliant wine.  Spicy, earthy, dark-fruit aromas that translate to a deep, fleshy, long and elegant palate, which concludes with ample fine-grained tannins that caress rather than grip the tongue.  Very stylish shiraz.

The Wine Advocate # 192, December 2010

Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2008 Shiraz casts a very deep garnet-purple color, giving really intense black cherry and warm plum aromas with some earth, chocolate, a little soy and marmite.  Medium to full-bodied with racy acid and a medium level of grainy tannins, flavors of baking spices really come through on the palate, finishing long.  Drink it now to 2015

Daily Telegraph  22nd January 2011

Jeff Collerson

Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith have pulled off a near miracle, making a classic Adelaide Hills red despite a hot vintage.  Has the finesse and elegance one expects from the label, albeit marginally richer and fuller.  Drink with osso bucco.

Sunday Canberra Times  5th September 2010

Chris Shanahan

Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith's red sets the pace for Adelaide Hills shiraz - the altitude, and therefore cooler climate, setting its style apart even from those of the neighbouring Eden Valley, to the north. 

It's typically fine boned and elegant and based on lively, ripe-berry flavours - more akin to what we make in Canberra than the burly styles made just down the hill from it.  But in the hot 2008 vintage its style lurches towards the bigger end of the spectrum. 

The bright berry flavours are still there, but it's fuller bodied with more assertive tannins.

Wine 100

Tyson Stelzer
93 points

A warmer vintage with a heat spike has not deterred the drive and direction. Benefits from a vigorous decant, then reveals Satsuma plum skins, pepper, liquorice and violets. Beautifully textural, peppery tannins linger long on the finish. A wine of great poise and style.

Parramatta Advertiser  8th September 2010

Rick Allen

Such has been the success of Shaw and Smith's sauvignon blanc - an Australian benchmark - that you can sometimes overlook just how good their shiraz is. 

This was a cracking vintage until a 15-day heatwave struck shortly before harvest which caused more than a glimmer of concern.  No problem though as this is a delight; dark berry flavours, delicious spice and terrific length. 

Outstanding.

Launceston Examiner  15th September 2010

Mike Burnett