The 2025 Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay is a benchmark cool-climate Australian Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills, combining purity, texture, and mineral precision. Crafted by Shaw + Smith, M3 has long been regarded as one of Australia’s defining modern Chardonnay styles, consistently delivering finesse, balance, and ageing potential.
Fruit for the 2025 release was sourced predominantly from high-elevation vineyards in Lenswood, Piccadilly, and Lobethal, where cool nights and extended ripening conditions preserved vibrant acidity and aromatic clarity. The season delivered smaller bunches and concentrated fruit, resulting in a wine of intensity and precision.
Hand-picked fruit was whole-bunch pressed before fermentation in French oak barrels, where the wine matured for nine months undergoing both primary and malolactic fermentation. This careful élevage builds texture and complexity while preserving the wine’s hallmark freshness and mineral drive.
The wine opens with lifted aromas of lemon peel, grapefruit, white nectarine, citrus blossom, and subtle flint, layered with almond meal, cedar, and gentle spice. The palate is finely structured and citrus-driven, balancing stone fruit richness with crystalline acidity and a long, flinty finish. Textural layers of nougat, almond cream, and mineral tension add depth and sophistication.
Approachable in its youth with aeration, the 2025 M3 Chardonnay will continue to evolve gracefully over the next 8–15+ years, developing additional savoury complexity and tertiary nuance.
A benchmark Adelaide Hills Chardonnay that captures the elegance, restraint, and precision of Australia’s finest cool-climate sites.
