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At latitude 45 degrees south, Central Otago is the southernmost wine region in the world. Snow topped mountains, rocky ranges and dry tussock hills, a place of climatic extremes, bitterly cold winters, parched soils and discouragingly poor fertility. Designed by the angels in heaven for sublime and stupendous vintages of Pinot Noir. At the very epicentre of the most desirable confluence in Central Otago microclimes is Nanny Goat Vineyard. Conspicuous for her serious weight of fruit, splendid structure and chewy, textural palate, Nanny Goat make a magnificently endowed style, offering the understated power and presence to accompany gourmet game sausages, meaty Mediterranean braises or char grilled rib... That's perfect for porterhouse»
One of the Australian west's most enduring marques, the illustrious vineyards of Howard Park are now in their fourth and fifth decade. Langton's Listed and recipient of the most prestigious accolades, Grande Medialle d'Or Concours Mondial and London International Wine & Spirits Competition. Howard Park were established from the ground up with a strict adherence to sustainable, holistic viticulture. Planted to sheep studs along Margaret River's Wilyabrup Creek, drawing fruit from the oldest Cabernet vines on Mount Barker, renowned for opulence and structure, they continue to deliver a range of superlative single vineyard bottlings with each vintage... The virtuous vines of howard park»

Shaw Smith Pinot Noir CONFIRM VINTAGE

Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills South Australia
Pinot Noir is the most temperamental of wine grape varieties and remains the ultimate challenge for many makers. Shaw + Smith have accepted the challenge, albeit in a highly exacting, small batch way. Site selection, the right clonal mix, miniscule yields and fastidious vineyard management are essential to success. A single vineyard wine from vines planted at a density of 2780 per hectare, to a select mixture of Burgundy's highly regarded 777 clone, as well as MV6, the backbone to many of Australia's finest editions of Pinot Noir.
Available by the dozen
Case of 12
$575.00
Shaw and Smith are an alliance between cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith, heirs to one of Australia's great winemaking legacies. The estate vineyard is located on the Shaw + Smith property at Balhannah, the soil structure being brown loam over red clay and schist. Hand pruned, with vertical shoot positioned canopies, the yields are miniscule, just 1½ tonnes per hectare. The hand harvested grapes are de-stemmed and lightly crushed into open, two tonnes fermenters. A cold maceration of four to five days precedes vinification and hand plunging six to eight times per day. A course of malolactic and term of maturation ensues in a combination of new and older French oak barriques.
Bright, deep scarlet in colour. A modern Pinot with characteristic red fruit aromas in the strawberry/ raspberry/ cherry spectrum. Palate is mid weight, yet suprisingly supple and rich. Fruit focused at this stage and will continue to develop additional layers of expression.
Shaw Smith
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Shaw Smith
Shaw + Smith began over a long lunch in 1989 when cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith decided to realise a long held dream to make wine together

Shaw + Smith's aim is to make contemporary, high quality wines that stand amongst the best of their type, both nationally and internationally. For a wine to be released under the Shaw + Smith label it must be an oustanding example of it's type, from grapes grown in the Adelaide Hills. For the first ten years Shaw + Smith focussed on Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and now also make small quantities of Riesling, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. White varieties are well suited to the cooler climate of the Adelaide Hills, while Pinot Noir and Shiraz perform well in carefully chosen sites.

Shaw Smith

Martin Shaw is a winemaker with considerable international experience. He graduated from the Roseworthy College in 1981 and worked with Brian Croser at Petaluma for eight years prior to setting up the 'Flying Winemakers' network in France, Spain, Chile, Australia and New Zealand. In addition to Shaw + Smith, Martin still consults at number of companies within Australia and overseas. Aside from being a wine producer, Michael Hill Smith is a wine judge and consultant and contributes to various wine and food publications. In 1988, Hill Smith became the first Australian to pass the rigorous Master of Wine examination in London.

The Adelaide Hills is one of the most exciting wine regions. Although grapes were planted as early as 1839, it was not until the early 1980's that modern viticulture emerged. Today there are 54 Adelaide Hills wine labels with over 3000 ha of vineyard planted and more planned for the future. The region is strikingly beautiful with its patchwork of forests, farms, orchards and vineyards.

Because of it's distinctive cool climate, the grapes grown in the Hills have wonderful fruit composition, particularly in depth and spectrum of flavour, natural acid balance and overall finesse. Grape varieties best suited to the Adelaide Hills are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot and Pinot Noir. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are more marginal, but perform well on certain sites with some experimentation with Viognier, Nebbiolo and Tempranillo.

Shaw Smith

In 1994 Shaw + Smith planted 28-ha of vines at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills. This vineyard is the home of Shaw and Smith's single vineyard M3 Chardonnay and consistently produces outstanding chardonnay fruit. The balance of the vineyard is planted to sauvignon blanc and is a vital component of the estate Sauvignon Blanc blend each year. The M3 Vineyard is close planted and uses vertical shoot positioning, the canopy configuration that has been so successful in the region. The soil is sandy loam over red-yellow clay with some shale.

In September 1999 Shaw + Smith purchased 46 ha on Jones Road between Balhannah and Hahndorf. The property is blessed with wonderful views of Mt Lofty, is ideally suited to viticulture and was planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Average altitude 420 metres and all grapes are hand picked. The soil is free draining sandy loam over red clay with underlying quartzite and shale. As well as being home for the winery, the Balhannah property is the site of the single vineyard Riesling and Pinot Noir wines and contributes to the fruit sourced for the Sauvignon Blanc. Just behind the winery, on a prized northerly aspect, a parcel has recently been planted to Shiraz. The soil is sandy loam over red clay with underlying quartzite and shale.

A new winery was built for vintage 2000, which houses Shaw + Smith's production, marketing and administration. A new bottling line was installed in 2002, ensuring full control of every aspect of production, from grape berry to bottle. The winery design was a collaboration between Asbroek Engineering, JBG Architects and Christopher Connell Design. The winery has a wonderful contemporary feel throughout with tasting room and facilities.

Shaw Smith