2020 Shaw + Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz

Highly Rated
Premium single-vineyard Shiraz from a cool site in the Adelaide Hills. An elegant, spicy expression of Shiraz.

Price:
Sale price$95.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship, only 1 unit left

Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

Planted in 2005, the Shaw + Smith Balhannah Vineyard is their prized piece of Shiraz turf.

This low-yielding site delivers their most elegant cool-climate expression of Shiraz. Winemaker Adam Wadewitz uses whole bunches to excellent effect, cranking up the herbal aromatics to 11 and finding excellent balance between tannin structure and sumptuous fruit throughout the winemaking process.

This is a beautiful wine, reminiscent of something out of the northern Rhone Valley. It will continue to evolve in the cellar for the next decade or more.

A complex, finely-textured Shiraz expressing the conditions of
each vintage and the character of a unique vineyard site.
Aged for 14 months in 500 to 600 litre puncheon, 20% new, followed by a further 14 months in bottle.

Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
Blend: Shiraz (100%)
ABV: 14.00%
Closure: 750ml
Bottle Size:
Production:

96 Points - "Medium-deep colour with a tint of purple and a sousbois, forest-floor bouquet, possibly whole-bunch influenced, with assorted spices including black pepper, and the palate is full bodied and rich, generous, ample and ripe with generosity and texture that appeals. Long finish and a resonant, fleshy mouth-feel. A compelling mix of cool grown spices and superripe abundance of flavour and body." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

96 Points - "Stunning shiraz. Rich in fruit, texture and savoury detail. Dark chocolate and black cherry, plum and sweet spice, smoky oak and graphite. Twiggy spice and associated herb characters are here but they keep their head down for the most part. Is there some reduction here? Probably a little, thankfully. The length here is seriously good, as is the package as a whole." - Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

95 Points - "From a close planted site within a stone’s throw from the winery. The Balhannah is always a distinctive wine. Old world in its bouquet garni of herbs and earthy tones but with lift and poise of fine modern Australian Shiraz. The 2020 is no different. Sicilian olives, blackcurrant, pomegranate molasses and fennel fronds. Sugar plum, stringybark, thyme and powdered cumin. It’s quite the journey to watch the wine unfurl its many layers. Those that adore Hermitage and its ability to transform over time, this is right up your alley. Tannins are densely packed like biting through a baklava’s filo pastry sheets and acidity really carries the flavours on and on this vintage. I’m truly impressed with the balance for a vintage that for watchful winemakers was anything but effortless. They make it look easy. Drink with a tomato based pasta loaded with anchovies, black olives and pancetta cubes." - Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)

Shaw + Smith

Shaw + Smith is one of the flagbearers of the Adelaide Hills wine region.

Founded by cousins Michael Hill Smith MW and Martin Shaw, together over 30+ years they have built a brilliant brand based around refined but energetic cool climate expressions of Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The wines all now comfortably rank amongst the best examples of their respective varieties in the country. The constant pursuit of excellence has seen Shaw + Smith stand out from the pack.

With the formidable talents of winemaker Adam Wadewitz at the helm, this iconic producer has never been in better form.

Michael Hill Smith MW and Martin Shaw - Adelaide Hills, SA Shaw + Smith

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Shipping

Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you. 

Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.

Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.

Ordering

We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.

Some things to keep in mind: 

  • Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
  • The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
  • We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
  • We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
  • It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.  
  • It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.

We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.

At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Call Us

Send a message