Shaw & Smith 2023 Chardonnay M3 750ml

The 2023 M3 Chardonnay leads with pressed flowers, curry leaf and iodine/oyster shell characters through the finish. The acidity is piercing—fearsome even—while the sulfides through the finish are angular and hard. This is traditionally a creamy, nutty, svelte wine, and I assume it will head in this direction given a year or so in bottle. Winemaker Adam Wadewitz is a proven wiz with Chardonnay—think of the Single Vineyard Shaw + Smith or the Tolpuddle wine—and so I have full confidence in this wine to pull together. For now, it is all about pineapple husk, tatami mat, apricot kernel and new paper notebook. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Score: 90+ points -- Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate, 2024