2018 Shaw + Smith Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay Magnum

Bob Campbell, The Real Review - October 2020 

Intense, tangy chardonnay that delivers power with consummate subtlety. Strong citrus, lemon, oyster-shell, mineral and root ginger yeast lees characters. Impressive as it is now, the wine positively begs for a few more years in bottle. 96 Points. 

Huon Hooke, The Real Review - October 2020

Light to mid-yellow colour, with a toasty, smoky oak barrel influence, the palate opening with elevated acidity and subtle but intense flavour. Acid drives the wine and it’s very reserved, begging for more time. A difficult wine to evaluate at this time. There is excellent intensity and focus, tension and length. It’s almost certain to turn out superbly, but right now, it’s a little in its shell. 95 Points.

Angus Hughson, Winepilot.com - September 2020

Lenswood is one of the coolest parts of the Adelaide Hills, which no doubt went a long way to saving this wine in baking 2018 vintage. It has also made it a more generous and rich style than usual from the get-go, to provide plenty of drinking pleasure from Day 1, while still keeping its slimine shape. 

The wine is bright pale yellow and instantly appeals with its floral, nectarine and citrus fruit lines into which nougat barrel ferment and spicy oak are well integrated. The palate is then powerful but balanced – hearty fruit is driven and savoury winemaking complexity, including touches of smoky gun flint, on what is a slightly creamy palate. The finish is then long and bright. Ready to drink now but will also ages well. 96 Points.

Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - September 2020 

Plenty of dazzle dazzle to this. Nectarine, nougat, crushed apple and cream notes pour confidently through the palate and then on to a beautifully sustained finish. Cashew-cream texture, pure elegant fruit, and excellent length. The word sizzle crossed my mind, it just has that energy. 95 Points. 

David Sly, Decanter - August 2020

Long, lithe and stretching seductively across the palate, the fruit from this Adelaide Hills site still produces a more fleshy model than many cool-climate Chardonnays. Its extended flavour trail carries threads of lemon pith, nectarine, ginger and grapefruit, bound by gentle acidity that leaves a soft, talc-like finish. Sublime! 95 points.  

Leanne Altmann, The Saturday Paper - August 2020

The palates at Shaw + Smith know their way around chardonnay, producing some of Australia’s finest, particularly from this site. December’s bushfires licked close to the boundary of the elevated Lenswood Vineyard, but the vines were spared the damage experienced by much of the region. This is top-quality chardonnay with poise and precision. It features notes of lemongrass and tiny white flowers, a gentle flintiness and deftly handled oak, balance and persistence. Impeccable.

Jamessuckling.com - July 2020

This single-vineyard bottling, from a super cool site, has a very tight-wound feel. The nose is really wound into reductive territory with flinty grapefruit and nectarine aromas, layered with almonds and oak spice. The palate has a very sleek, elegant feel and runs so, so long with such fresh white peaches and pithy lemons. Spiced-almond finish. Superb chardonnay here. Drink or hold. 97 points. 

Lester Jesberg, Winewise - June 2020

The rich white peach characteristics are perfectly supported by oak and lees complexity. There’s also a hint of funkiness to add further complexity. The palate is creamy and long. A stunner.