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Shaw & Smith/Tolpuddle tasting
Prince Sydney, 40 Hansard Street
Tasted May 15, 2017 by chatters with 269 views
Introduction
Shaw and Smith plus Tolpuddle new releases
Flight 1 - Bracket 1 - on entry (1 note)
White
2016 Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc
Fresh cut grass, muted passion fruit, floral top notes and a tiny touch of honey. Zesty acidity, touches of apple and passion front, bit of front of mouth grip. Medium plus length. Hmm touch of spice/alcohol warmth on the back of the palate
Flight 2 - Bracket 2 - Chardonnay (3 notes)
White
2015 Shaw and Smith Chardonnay Lenswood Vineyard
Medium minus intensity aromas of toast, slight butter, over citrus; lemon in fact, muted sweet spice. Citrus dominated acidity; fresh and juicy with lemon joined by touches of mandarin. Medium plus length. With time this begins to mesh together…very pleasant.
White
2015 Shaw and Smith Chardonnay M3 Vineyard
Rich with medium plus intensity aromas of toast, butter, sweet spice. Peach fruit is lost beneath this to a certain extent. 'Big' Chardonnay nose. Juicy acidity, spice, peach and also some citrus notes as well, slight front of mouth grip, touch of butter. Nice but a bit young - needs time to settle down if you will.
White
2015 Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay
Medium minus intensity aromas of stone fruit perhaps touches of apricot, sweet spice, butter and toast which are more muted initially here but gain weight with time. Slight cream. On the palate it's juicy an spicy with slight front of mouth grip, butter and oaky notes, its well made but the fruit is little muted for me.
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Flight 3 - Bracket 3 - Pinot Noir (3 notes)
Red
2015 Shaw and Smith Pinot Noir
cherry fruit, slight stalks, herbaceous rather than ashy elements, cinnamon spice, cream and slight oak. In the mouth it's juicy to the point of tartness;, the stalky elements are more to the fore on the palate. Tight front of mouth tannic grip, slightly drying as well. Cherry fruit here as well. Not for me.
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Comments (2)
Red
2015 Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir
stalks over muted raspberry and strawberry pretty much dominate the nose in the same way that they are dominating the fruit. Touches of clove here as well. More of the same on the palate though the stalkiness is less prevalent though does lend breadth. Medium plus length. there is a touch of sweetness here that isn't quite right. Also it lacks a bit of freshness for me on this outing.
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Red
2012 Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir
Medium minus intensity aromas. It's slightly reductive, earth and cherry, cream, oak and stalks. Juicy with polished oak, cherry and slight stalks. It's a bit of short and finishes a little too warm for my liking.
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Flight 4 - Bracket 4 - Shiraz/Syrah (3 notes)
Red
2015 Shaw and Smith Shiraz
Muted black cherry and berry, oak, black pepper as well but only slight, and quite muted. Juicy, peppery black cherry, broad mid-palate, oak, fine textured tannins. Young, yes, but still rather nice.
Red
2014 Shaw and Smith Shiraz Balhannah
Baked fruit compote that's been left a little too long on the stove. Blackberry over dusty baked earthy and spice. Also some stalky hints here as well. More of that fruit concentrate on the palate, the fruit is almost savoury with big tannic grip that shuts things down a bit. Tight. Nah.
Red
2014 Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie Reserve
Polished oak, slightly meaty with black berry fruit, slight baked earth underpinned by pepperiness. Juicy and tangy with blackberry fruit more to the fore here. Not so much pepperiness on the palate. Quite a polished wine. Tannins are present but silky textured. medium plus length. Well balanced. good.
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Closing
That Ogier was pretty clever in the last bracket. The Chardonnay's are good and the S&S Shiraz isn't bad but everything else doesn't really work for me.