Pinot Noir is the most temperamental of wine grape varieties and remains the ultimate challenge for many makers. Shaw + Smith have accepted the challenge, albeit in a highly exacting, small batch way. Site selection, the right clonal mix, miniscule yields and fastidious vineyard management are essential to success. A single vineyard wine from vines planted at a density of 2780 per hectare, to a select mixture of Burgundy's highly regarded 777 clone, as well as MV6, the backbone to many of Australia's finest editions of Pinot Noir.

Shaw and Smith are an alliance between cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith, heirs to one of Australia's great winemaking legacies. The estate vineyard is located on the Shaw + Smith property at Balhannah, the soil structure being brown loam over red clay and schist. Hand pruned, with vertical shoot positioned canopies, the yields are miniscule, just 1½ tonnes per hectare. The hand harvested grapes are de-stemmed and lightly crushed into open, two tonnes fermenters. A cold maceration of four to five days precedes vinification and hand plunging six to eight times per day. A course of malolactic and term of maturation ensues in a combination of new and older French oak barriques.