Country: Australia
Region: Adelaide Hills
Vintage: 2024
Variety: Pinot Noir
Alcohol volume: 13.5%
Closure: Screwcap

Aroma
Complex savoury spice is balanced with plush red fruits on the nose.

Palate
Fine tannins add structure and length to the velvety mid-palate, abundant with brambly fruit concentration and a hint of fennel herb. A Pinot Noir with serious length and fruit purity.

Region notes
It's high, it's cool, it's wet, and in the higher reaches of the Adelaide Hills, Pinot Noir performs exceptionally well. The majority of fruit for this wine was sourced from our Lenswood and Piccadilly vineyards, grown on loams over clay and quartz, and complemented with fruit from a handful of trusted growers.

Vinification
After hand-picking, we sort the bunches, discarding anything that is below par, then destem about 80% of the grapes. Fermentation is done slowly and gently, keeping the delicacy and elegance of the fruit, but taking the time to extract all the flavour and tannin that we can. Then the wine goes into French oak puncheons where it rests for about 8 months.

Vintage notes
Cool and wet conditions during flowering interrupted berry set, resulting in smaller, lighter bunches. The remainder of the season was mostly mild and dry, with a few well-timed rain events supporting vine growth and health. The result was low yields, high acidity and great flavour, with fruit hand-picked between 27 February and 17 March.

Mike Bennie
93 Points
Shaw + Smith reliably makes supple, fruit-forward Adelaide Hills pinot noir, and that statement rings true here. It's a fresh and fruity expression, quite straightforward and ripe but with dark cherry, raspberry and cranberry fruit on the go. It feels attractive in its primary, pretty representation of the variety. Tannin is soft, the finish a little gummy, but overall it's a charming red that delivers good pinosity and a little pizzazz.

Shanteh Wale
93 Points
The cool and generous rainfall in the growing season led to drier than average conditions in the lead up to vintage, showing the artful work of harmonising a core of black fruit, circled by some tart red berries and enhanced by the spice of whole bunch and savoury oak. This is dialled up from the strawberries and cream of past vintages, leaning into a briar of blackberries, Bing cherries and some pulpy pomegranate seeds. There is a dried kombu like umami with dots of poppy seed and chewy molasses like bitterness that I quite enjoy on the finish. Its grippy tannic angles will play nicely with some time in the cellar, say another 4-6 years under the stairs or further in good cellaring conditions. This has plenty of character and the kind of charm that wears you down and has you texting back at some godforsaken hour. For me this is the kind of wine I want to drink with milky young lamb, warrigal greens and crispy capers, to be exact!