Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2024 375ml

Perhaps one of Australia's most famed sauvignon blancs with a seemingly unnerving level of quality for the pricepoint. No slouch here, a zesty, fresh, bright and crisp rendering of the variety. Resplendent with passionfruit, just-ripe pineapple, lime and cut-grass characters between the bouquet and palate, very even, flows well, finishes with decent length and a light chalky pucker. Just so, done well, easy drinking and moderately complex to boot.

I love this wine. It tastes the same every year, which is impressive considering the relative size of it. So, this 2024 Sauvignon Blanc leads with juniper and cassis, green apples, white-topped strawberries, nashi pear and snow peas. In the mouth, it is tightly coiled, fresh and zippy, with a distinct salsa verde (green chili, coriander) character to close. This is very good.

This Shaw & Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2024 is very fresh, which is unsurprising given it was grapes just a few months ago, but not angular. It’s more grassy than tropical, with a bit of black texta and pyrazine early picked/unripe fruit character, but also plenty of passionfruit and cut melon. You have to dig beyond the just-bottled banana esters to get a complete view, but importantly, the acidity isn’t unripe; it’s just fresh. The intensity is next level, though, cutting a swathe through everything like the freshmaker 12% alcohol wine it is meant to be, and you come away feeling enlivened rather than attacked (which some young Sauv Blanc can be). A really good release (and maybe even better than last year), from what will ultimately be a greenish vintage.

There’s a good swing of flavour to this release. It’s quite estery and quite tropical, with citrus in support and modest but noticeable lemongrass characters. It’s clearly identifiable as SB, but it’s not in your face about it. It’s fresh, it has flavour, it’s pretty and it’s well balanced.