Shaw + Smith Chardonnay M3 2025

The Wine Front

Winepilot

An iconic Adelaide Hills offering in good form here. Fine cedar and nougat leap from the glass alongside white nectarine, peach, pear, cinnamon apple and almond meal. A substratum of flint lingers beneath, present but well integrated, while Meyer lemon and subtle stone fruit blossom emerge with air. The sum is a perfume of both complexity and freshness — traits that carry faithfully to the palate. Good pillowy texture wraps around a core of cedar, nutty tones, river stone minerality, cinnamon, peach, almond cream and nectarine before tightening through a fine vein of phenolics and a wash of bright acidity. Excellent length, with freshness a defining feature. The 2025 has a slender feel — not a fault, but a style. A very successful one.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2025 M3 Chardonnay is lean and citrus-driven initially, before moving into a creamy, textural middle palate. This is routinely the game plan for this wine, and the consistency and quality of it is reassuring. It's worked (presumably extended time on the lees and malolactic fermentation, etc.), and this brings with it the creaminess we see on the palate, while the bright fruit is typical of the Adelaide Hills region—almost always on the white/yellow end of the spectrum. This is an elegant, lovely wine. It is consistently lovely. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.