Shaw & Smith M3 Chardonnay 2015

Precise Chardonnay this. From nose to tail, there is a sense of masterful winemaking here, the fruit just ripe enough to give apple and white peach flavour, the oak adding gentle spice vanilla, the acid noticeable (malolactic fermentation carefully controlled obvs.) but not hard, the wine a flow of taut-yet-not-skinny Chardonnay goodness.

It’s lazy to always benchmark with Burgundy, but I’m doing it here anyway. This is effectively 1er Cru Burgundy quality (though it clearly tastes different), just for much less dollars. Superb Australian Chardonnay (and the best M3 in ages) that will only look even better with an extra year in bottle. Best drinking: 2017-2023. 18.5/20, 94/100+. 13%, $47. Would I buy it? Absolutely.