Description
MMAD Vineyard represents a union of expertise and passion in the wine industry. This partnership, rooted in the success of Shaw + Smith winery in the Adelaide Hills, expands to include other projects like Tolpuddle Vineyard in Tasmania.
Located in Blewitt Springs, the vineyard boasts fine Maslin sands and elevated terrain, granting its wines a distinctive aromatic character. Beneath the sand lies a layer of precious ironstone, contributing structure and complexity to the wines. The vineyard's old Grenache, Shiraz, and Chenin Blanc vines, some dating back to 1939, are a testament to its rich viticultural history.
Here is a tasting pack of the latest quartet from this exciting vineyard. Massive reviews across the board - this is a taste of MMAD.
- 2022 MMAD Grenache
- 2022 MMAD Shiraz
- 2023 MMAD Chenin Blanc
- 2024 MMAD Rose
2022 MMAD Grenache
The MMAD Grenache is the crown jewel in the MMAD wine stable.
Gaining access to a vineyard planted in 1939 is no easy feat, but thankfully the foursome behind this project are driven to create a wine that truly expresses the nuances possible from such old vines.
It's an ethereal and truly epic depiction of Grenache from Blewitt Springs, realised with crystal clarity. The acidity and minerality are zippy and the palate is smooth and silky.
A Triumph for winemaker Adam Wadewitz and his team and a wine that has very quickly entered the pantheon of the greatest Grenache wines in the country.
97 points
"A seriously compelling wine, and further proof of how thrilling McLaren Vale grenache is right now, for both its quality and the unparalleled diversity in top-flight expressions."
– Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)
97 points
"This is ballistically good. I doubt that I’ll taste anything much better from these shores over the next 12 months... The complete and utter command of the final flourish of flavour and tannin here feels, as you swallow, like a high water mark. I’m sold, totally sold, on this wine."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)
2022 MMAD Shiraz
The MMAD Shiraz is vibrant and lush, a dense package of fruit, spice and tannin that is already drinking marvellously and will just continue to improve.
Sourced from a vineyard in Blewitt Springs planted in 1941, careful and considered winemaking, with just a small amount of whole bunches, culminated in a wine with intense fruit and some savouriness to balance everything out beautifully.
While the packaging might be minimal, the flavour isn't. Dark and red fruits (blackberry, mulberry, plum), violets and spice shine over a foundation of firm tannins and energetic acid. This is a wine you want to sip just so you can make the flavours last forever.
97 points
"This is a seriously impressive release... Rather, it is poised throughout, with fruit intensity seamlessly meshed into a silky, supple but aptly assertive structure, a ferrous nori/kelp mineral note underpinning. For a site purchased prizing grenache, this is a revelation."
- Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)
97 points
"An outstanding shiraz. The tannins are formidable and sneaky—they will ensure a long aging career. A stonking McLaren Vale regional shiraz."
- Huon Hooke (The Real Review)
97 points
"If there was such a thing for single vineyard, vintage, Aussie shiraz, this wine would be classified as first growth."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)
2023 MMAD Chenin Blanc
The 2023 MMAD Chenin Blanc showcases the potential of Blewitt Springs' old vines, the “babies” of the vineyard, planted back in 1964. Crafted by Adam Wadewitz, this is an impressively powerful and textural expression of Chenin Blanc.
Thanks to a cool, late growing season and smaller bunches, the wine is vibrant and aromatic with a refined yet intense profile. The fruit was meticulously handled—a blend of whole bunches pressed to French oak puncheons and crushed fruit fermented in concrete with skin contact. The result is a complex palate, with richness and density from mid-palate through to the finish.
It bursts with notes of pear, apple, and mace, laced with a mineral, saline edge that adds freshness. Chalky, smoky undertones carry through to the long, pithy finish, leaving a lingering savoury quality. A Chenin Blanc with concentration and structure, it's set to develop gracefully over the next 15 years.
97 points
"Following the heights of the 2022 vintage the 2023 is leading the charge once again for a modern linear style of Chenin Blanc. This 2023 throwing out lifted perfume of Calla lily, fresh linen and yellow grapefruit pith. There is hulled almonds and raw cashew cream, kefir acidity and a coconut water freshness. Wet stone, crystal melon and white rind cheese. It has an exfoliating, almost gritty sensation that adds further dimension and texture. A long extended flavour palate hits the nail on the head for the moreish, drinkable quality its gaining a reputation for. Drink now with steamed clams and ginger sauce."
- Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)
2024 MMAD Rose
The second release of MMAD's Rosé is a sophisticated field blend of Grenache, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chenin Blanc - all grown from this impressive Blewitt Springs vineyard.
Aromas of jasmine, blood orange, and Campari spice lead the way, followed by bright red fruits that leap out of the glass. The palate is dry, with layers of fruit balanced by vibrant acidity and a fine pithy grip on the finish.
With a refined texture and excellent balance, this is a seriously conceived and seriously good modern rosé. Another feather in the cap for this ascendant McLaren Vale label.
95 points
"lifted herbal notes of cabernet again lead the aromatics, but the colour has been dialled down to a classic coral pink. Grenache lends red-fruited detail and floral lilt. There’s spice, too. And flavour and texture aplenty. That’s also like the 2023, but here the balance, detail and vibrancy are much more finely tuned. Excellent."
- Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)
94 points
"That extra linger of flavour, that extra smidgen of texture. This is a lovely rosé. Orange oil, cranberry, strawberry and seaspray characters edge into nashi pear, pepper and woodsmoke. It feels effortless as it presents a full flan of flavours. Love. This."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)
MMAD
Martin Shaw, Michael Hill Smith MW, Adam Wadewitz and David LeMire MW MMAD
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