Shaw & Smith Pinot Noir Magnum 1500ml 2023

94 POINTS

James Suckling

Lifted and perfumed aromas of raspberries, wild strawberries, cassia bark and potpourri. The palate is medium-bodied with finely integrated tannins and bright acidity, showing notes of blueberry bush, rhubarb and spices. A lovely balance of bright and lifted fruit with a savory undertone. Delicious. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

93 POINTS

Shanteh Wale - winepilot.com

In case you were not aware you are drinking some of the first grapes picked from the S+S high density planting of the Piccadilly vineyard. Satsuma plum, pomegranate, lapsang souchong tea and blackberry. Black cardamom, allspice and long pepper. Grated nutmeg, white pepper and tobacco leaf. A hint of terra cotta and sandy middle palate tannins. Acidity is kept at bay without being sluggish. A wine that goes with the flow and showcases the exotic perfume the Hills can achieve . Drink now and serve with Argentinian beef empanadas.

91 POINTS

Jeremy Oliver

It's taking some time to flesh out, but this charming and gentle pinot from the cool 2023 season is building colour and depth. A heady perfume of musk, sous bois and dark florals reveals sweet cherry and berry aromas with gentle cedary oak in support. Long, elegant and supple, it's intensely flavoured and charmingly restrained, with a pleasing core of fruit underpinned by fine, dusty tannins. It should build further.

91 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

There’s plenty of brood here and plenty of varietal character too. The alcohol feels a bit warm as well though it’s only marked at 13.5%. This wine has a leafy, spicy, autumnal side, aided by undergrowth and earth notes, which means that savouriness gets plenty of play. But then there are leather and stewed cherry flavours, and reductive woodsmoke notes, all of which add weight and substance, but not necessarily not charm. If you drink this soon-ish you get a pinot noir that pulls you this way and that in a generally attractive way. Tannin here is gruff, meaty and floral, at once, in a good way, which helps keep matters on the positive side.

90 POINTS

Mike Bennie - Halliday's Wine Companion

It's got bold perfume, hallmark cherry and cranberry fruit characters, a sketch of dried herbs, black pepper, charry spices and some new leather characters. While pinot descriptors roll off the tongue, per se, there's also a darker, more brooding note in the wine, a teetering into dry red territory over more pure and flowing pinosity – a niggle for some seeking gloss and silkiness over a more guttural, firm experience. And in that, a stake in the ground has to be made.

90 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Wine Advocate

The 2023 Pinot Noir is fresh, bright and relatively uncomplicated, with a splay of cherries and strawberries, red apples and even redcurrants. The palate is fine and a little chalky. Nicely done. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.