I miss eating at restaurants.
Ever since our small child came along the ritual of going ‘out’ to dinner and lingering over a bottle or two (after a warmup beer or two) hasn’t been happening.
Obviously it’s just timing – when our precocious 9 month old gets a little bigger we’ll rope in a babysitter more often. But that ritual sharing of a great bottle (while someone else cooks) is missed by Jacqui and I.
I say this because wines like the Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay 2018 would be a natural choice to make the leap from sample pile to BYO drink go-to. Something that goes beyond technical appreciation and jumps straight into the drinking pleasure dome.
What I like about the M3 – and all the Shaw + Smith wines – is the sense of precision. A wine of cool professionalism, without sacrificing approachability. A welcome tip- toe balance between ripe-enough white peach fruit, sculpted by oak and subtle winemaking touches, and the support brace of acidity to bring everything together with sparkling freshness.
What’s equally remarkable is that S + S achieved all this in a vintage that you’d not call easy. I’m even putting it out there that this ’18 vintage tops the (superb) ’17, in contrast to the prevailing vintage norms. The only quibble, hard to find, is whether it is too delicate, too lean.
Still, masterfully crafted, precise modern Chardonnay with flavour AND acidity? I’m in. We’re in.
So who wants to babysit?
Best drinking: now to eight years. 18.7/20, 95/100. 13%, $49. Would I buy it? Yes.
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