JM 1ST APPROACH

Clonale has hit the big time! Auditioned next to Pierro Chardonnay 09 for inclusion this week and Clonale got the gig – it’s a better wine! Ooh, aah! Ricocheting with grapefruit, fig and persimmon exoticity, nuanced with smoked ham, pulling into a clean-crafted finish. Rating: 94 points Tyson Tselzer

Vibrant pale straw colour with a tinge of green. Subtle aromas of grapefruit, white peach, and orange blossom. Grapefruit mingling with lemon barley, brioche, and honeydew melon flavours. The palate mixes a thickness of texture with crisp acidity. Lemon zest, nectarine and a distinctly savory, almost salty cracker, type of flavour. There's plenty of things to like here, it's not too austere, oak is subtle and toned down, it's mid-weight yet of full flavour and there's a long tight flinty finish. Wheaty complexity too. . This is a lovely drinking wine. Rated : 93 Points Winefront.com.au

There’s concentration plus on the finish but it all feels quite restrained making for one of Australia’s best Chardonnay experiences. It’s an absolute belter." 95+ points Patrick Haddock, Wining Pom,
Wine Will Eat Itself 94+ points - "The 2012 is a winner. It’s precise and incisive. Purity of fruit, adroit use of oak, a wonderfully mineral backbone and real persistence.
... Shaw and Smith M3 chardonnay has come a long way over the past ten years and is now a far finer example of the variety... Grapefruit and peach essence, flint and funk. Toasty oak. Pear and milk through the finish. Quality is very high here. Had me salivating. Rated : 95+ Points Winefront

Smoky char characters, riper tropical/melon fruits, biscuity tones. Lift of citrus in bouquet too – it doubles back in palate with tangy, steely, linear acid which courses from front to back palate with fine length. Some mellow texture, deep flavour, youthful and mostly unadorned and feels very natural in fruit flavour. Soft, lacy acidity key here. 93 points Winefront.com.au