2018 Shaw + Smith Chardonnay M3 Adelaide Hills Australia 750 ml

The 2018 Shaw + Smith M3 is a 98-point Chardonnay and an incredible value for world-class Chardonnay. Listen closely and you’ll hear the sound of thousands of members furiously clicking their way to the checkout, because this is a staggering points-to-price ratio that we almost never see.

Only two 2018 Chardonnays received a higher score than Smith + Shaw’s M3 from James Halliday’s Wine Companion (and by just one point): Penfolds Yattarna Bin 144 ($134), and Giaconda Estate Vineyard ($126), which makes our price one of the best values you’ll find for a world-class Chardonnay. 

Our love for the 2018 M3 goes far beyond the numbers, though, as impressive as they are. This wine enraptured us before we saw the scores, the price, or even the label. Sleek and clean, its lemon zest, nectarine, and white flower aromas flow into an impressively focused palate, full of striking lemon chiffon and polished flint. It’s an unforgettable wine, and for days, it found its way into our passing conversations about the weather, the news, and just about everything else. 

It stuck in the critics’ minds too, who simply can’t help but rave about its vibrant elegance. In his effusive 98-point review—which matches the estate’s highest score ever—James Halliday called it “a beautifully poised wine,” while James Suckling piled on the praise, promising that the M3 “will impress the most discerning Chardonnay palates.” 

Adelaide Hills is a hotspot for amazing Chardonnay, delivering bottles that Decanter has called “as good as Chardonnay gets in Australia.” The region is an idyllic sea of rolling green adjacent to the St. Vincent Gulf. Located south of Barossa Valley and north of McLaren Vale, it’s in a high-elevation, cool-climate sweet spot, ideal for bright, clean Chardonnay. The hilly landscape, rich with slopes and valleys, is full of microclimates that produce complexity and nuance. 

Winemakers Martin Shaw and Adam Wadewitz craft top-scoring Chardonnays with alarming consistency. Wine Companion has honored every single iteration of the M3 with a 94+ score (although none have reached the heights of this 2018). That perennial excellence draws  complexity from the subregion of Piccadilly—where fog blankets some of the region’s oldest vines—and nearby Lobethal, as well as the estate’s Lenswood Vineyard. These high-elevation sites (1492 to 1640 feet) conjure the vibrant acidity and citrus character that have made the M3 one of Australia’s best Chardonnays year-in and year-out. 

Fermentation and aging on the lees in French oak barriques develop the M3's depth and beautiful focus. We certainly won’t blame you for opening a bottle or two as soon as you get them, but it will continue to improve for another decade, yielding new, insightful depths.