Shaw and Smith Balhannah Shiraz 2017

Drink it now or cellar for up to 15 years. It is recommended to decant it for half an hour.

Located in the Adelaide Hills wine region of southern Australia, Shaw and Smith produces excellent quality wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, which excel in this cooler climate region. The company, managed at a family level with the collaboration of a dedicated team, was founded in 1989.

Shiraz grapes are selected and hand-harvested from vines located in Balhannah in the central Adelaide Hills and from Echunga and Macclesfield further south. After fermentation, the finished wine ages for 14 months in oak barriques, a third of which are new. Although Adelaide Hills is less famous than other areas of Australia for Shiraz, this wine demonstrates how the choice of suitable sites, low yields in the vineyard, and the regulated use of oak can produce wines of excellent value.

Balhannah Shiraz is an intensely fruity wine with aromas of currant and raspberry and some hints of sweet spices. On the palate, it is full and concentrated with fine, well-integrated tannins and a well-balanced acidity. It is an elegant wine ready to be enjoyed now with a nice roast shoulder of lamb, or it can be left in the cellar for a few years to evolve.