OzWine Review - Top 20 best Shiraz of November 2020
This new Shaw & Smith Shiraz 2018 is spice-driven, and firmly Hills-ian highlight too. Has understated purple fruit, sage and then a quietly bitter and substantial palate. There’s a fight here between the riper boysenberry, cranberry and fig fruit and the brooding whole bunch spicier dark and bitterness, but it makes for such an
interesting package. Very good drinking. Best drinking: now to fifteen years. 94 points.
Huon Hooke - Gourmet Traveller Wine - Top New Release Australian Reds - October 2020
Delicious. A full-bodied, powerful wine loaded with pepper and spice notes, and some gentle vegetal overtones, possibly from whole-bunch inclusion. Dark berries, licorice and graphite galore. There are liberal tannins that impart the right touch of firmness. 95 Points.
Lester Jesberg - Winewise
The dark cherry, plum and spice aromas are attentiongrabbers. There’s enough flavour intensity, backed by savoury tannins.
Bob Campbell - The Real Review- September 2020
Bright, high-energy shiraz with violet, Black Doris plum, violet, floral and spicy oak flavours. An appealing wine that's made with a light touch. Impressive length. A good food wine.
David Sly - Decanter -August 2020
Elegant Shiraz is often code for a modest, subdued wine, but in this instance it’s about capturing harmony and balance. Bright flavour is smartly contained within a seamless body, carefully made to measure. A clean acid line down the spine ensures that no jagged edges poke out. Dark plum and cherry notes flit amongst the blackberry and rhubarb. It’s a smooth, confident customer. 94 points.
Campbell Mattinson – The Winefront – August 2020
Fantastic release. Stunning length, a wide array of flavours, top tier tannin and the (velvety) texture to match. Cloves, nuts, cherry-plum, graphite, woodsmoke. Cool climate profile with a warmth in its heart. I drank a couple of glasses but I was convinced from the first sip. My only real question was whether it was 95 or 96. 95 points.
Huon Hooke - The Real Review - August 2020
Deep red colour with a purple tint, excellent colour. The bouquet is spicy, gently vegetal - probably from whole-bunch fermentation - and touches of licorice and dark berry. It's full-bodied and the tannins are ample with a nicely-judged touch of firmness. Peppery throughout. Good length. The texture not as refined as the best of this region perhaps, but very good. Graphite to finish. Excellent shiraz. 95 points.
Angus Hughson - Winepilot - August 2020
If one company has really put Adelaide Hills Shiraz on the fine wine horizon – it would have to be Shaw and Smith. They have understood the potential of the Adelaide Hills to make cooler climate Shiraz and run with it to create increasingly spicy and nuanced wines. They are always elegant but also well-structured wines that can stand the test of time.
The warm 2018 vintage has created a more generous Adelaide Hills expression but with plenty of depth that takes a little time to emerge in the glass. There is the classic blackberry and blueberry shiraz fruit lifted by spice, olive tapenade and even tarry complexity. It is dry, mid-weight and quite tannic in a muscular style but has plenty of fleshy fruit to back it up. The wine is delicious now but could do with a couple of years to show its best.
OzWine Review - Top 20 best Shiraz of November 2020
This new Shaw & Smith Shiraz 2018 is spice-driven, and firmly Hills-ian highlight too. Has understated purple fruit, sage and then a quietly bitter and substantial palate. There’s a fight here between the riper boysenberry, cranberry and fig fruit and the brooding whole bunch spicier dark and bitterness, but it makes for such an
interesting package. Very good drinking. Best drinking: now to fifteen years. 94 points.
Huon Hooke - Gourmet Traveller Wine - Top New Release Australian Reds - October 2020
Delicious. A full-bodied, powerful wine loaded with pepper and spice notes, and some gentle vegetal overtones, possibly from whole-bunch inclusion. Dark berries, licorice and graphite galore. There are liberal tannins that impart the right touch of firmness. 95 Points.
Lester Jesberg - Winewise
The dark cherry, plum and spice aromas are attentiongrabbers. There’s enough flavour intensity, backed by savoury tannins.
Bob Campbell - The Real Review- September 2020
Bright, high-energy shiraz with violet, Black Doris plum, violet, floral and spicy oak flavours. An appealing wine that's made with a light touch. Impressive length. A good food wine.
David Sly - Decanter -August 2020
Elegant Shiraz is often code for a modest, subdued wine, but in this instance it’s about capturing harmony and balance. Bright flavour is smartly contained within a seamless body, carefully made to measure. A clean acid line down the spine ensures that no jagged edges poke out. Dark plum and cherry notes flit amongst the blackberry and rhubarb. It’s a smooth, confident customer. 94 points.
Campbell Mattinson – The Winefront – August 2020
Fantastic release. Stunning length, a wide array of flavours, top tier tannin and the (velvety) texture to match. Cloves, nuts, cherry-plum, graphite, woodsmoke. Cool climate profile with a warmth in its heart. I drank a couple of glasses but I was convinced from the first sip. My only real question was whether it was 95 or 96. 95 points.
Huon Hooke - The Real Review - August 2020
Deep red colour with a purple tint, excellent colour. The bouquet is spicy, gently vegetal - probably from whole-bunch fermentation - and touches of licorice and dark berry. It's full-bodied and the tannins are ample with a nicely-judged touch of firmness. Peppery throughout. Good length. The texture not as refined as the best of this region perhaps, but very good. Graphite to finish. Excellent shiraz. 95 points.
Angus Hughson - Winepilot - August 2020
If one company has really put Adelaide Hills Shiraz on the fine wine horizon – it would have to be Shaw and Smith. They have understood the potential of the Adelaide Hills to make cooler climate Shiraz and run with it to create increasingly spicy and nuanced wines. They are always elegant but also well-structured wines that can stand the test of time.
The warm 2018 vintage has created a more generous Adelaide Hills expression but with plenty of depth that takes a little time to emerge in the glass. There is the classic blackberry and blueberry shiraz fruit lifted by spice, olive tapenade and even tarry complexity. It is dry, mid-weight and quite tannic in a muscular style but has plenty of fleshy fruit to back it up. The wine is delicious now but could do with a couple of years to show its best.
