PAIRED: MICHAEL HILL SMITH AM MW
A Monthly Wine Supper Celebrating Iconic Australian Producers.
This month, we welcome one of the most influential figures in modern Australian wine for the latest edition of Paired: Michael Hill Smith AM MW.
Hill Smith made history as the first Australian to pass the notoriously rigorous Master of Wine examination, placing him among the world’s most respected wine authorities. Over the past four decades he has played a defining role in shaping the international reputation of Australian fine wine, combining intellectual rigour with an instinct for vineyards capable of producing wines of elegance, longevity and sense of place.
For us, however, Michael’s wines are not just celebrated labels, they are part of our story.
From the very beginning, Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc has been poured across our restaurants. It has been on the menu since our earliest days and has become something of a house signature. It is the wine we reach for to mark ever special moment: new openings, weddings, gallery launches, charity galas and countless celebrations in between.
This special Paired dinner brings together three of Michael’s most significant projects, Shaw + Smith in the Adelaide Hills, Tolpuddle Vineyard in Tasmania, and MMAD in McLaren Vale, offering a rare opportunity to explore the evolution of a winemaker whose influence spans the modern history of Australian wine.
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APRIL PAIRED: SHAW + SMITH Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Founded in 1989 by cousins Michael Hill Smith MW and Martin Shaw, Shaw + Smith helped define the modern identity of the Adelaide Hills as one of Australia’s great cool-climate regions.
From the outset, the philosophy was clear: produce refined wines from varieties that thrive in cooler conditions, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. Sustainable vineyard management, low yields and hand harvesting remain central to the estate’s approach, ensuring that each wine reflects the character of its site.
The winery at Balhannah, established in 1999, sits among the vineyards where all fruit is fermented, aged and bottled on site. Over time, the estate has grown to include the highly regarded Lenswood vineyard, further strengthening Shaw + Smith’s reputation for precision and site-driven wines.
Their influence remains profound. In late 2025, leading wine authority Matthew Jukes named Shaw + Smith his Winery of the Year, with both the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2023 Lenswood Vineyard Pinot Noir appearing in his Top 100 Australian Wines.
For Daisy Green, Shaw + Smith represents the benchmark for modern Australian wine, vibrant, balanced and unmistakably tied to place.
Tolpuddle Vineyard Coal River Valley, Tasmania
In 2011, Michael Hill Smith and Martin Shaw travelled to Tasmania with no intention of buying a vineyard. They simply wanted lunch.
But after tasting a number of wines during the trip, one site stood out: Tolpuddle Vineyard, established in 1988 near Richmond in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley. The moment they drove through the gates, they knew they had found something extraordinary.
Today Tolpuddle is widely regarded as one of the most important vineyards in Tasmania, producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that have become benchmarks for the region. The wines are defined by purity, precision and the long, cool growing season that Tasmania provides.
Critical acclaim has followed quickly. Tolpuddle Chardonnay has been named Australian Wine of the Year by James Suckling, Champion White Wine at the International Wine Challenge, and White Wine of the Year by Decanter. The vineyard itself has been described by Decanter as “arguably Tasmania’s most valued and important site”.
With each vintage, Tolpuddle continues to reinforce Tasmania’s place among the world’s great cool-climate wine regions.
MMAD Vineyard Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale
The newest chapter in Michael Hill Smith’s story looks firmly to the future while drawing on the deep heritage of Australian vineyards.
Located in Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale, MMAD Vineyard takes its name from its four partners: Martin Shaw, Michael Hill Smith, Adam Wadewitz and David LeMire. The vineyard itself is extraordinary, bush vine Grenache planted in 1939, alongside Shiraz and Chenin Blanc dating back to 1941 and 1964.
As with Tolpuddle, the ambition is to unlock the full potential of a remarkable site through meticulous viticulture and sensitive winemaking.
The wines are already showing immense promise. The Chenin Blanc is textural and vibrant with bright natural acidity; the Shiraz delivers layered concentration with notes of mulberry, blackberry and dark spice; and the Grenache is strikingly refined, combining intensity of fruit with remarkable finesse.
APRIL PAIRED PICKS:
Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Bright, energetic and unmistakably expressive, this is one of Australia’s most celebrated Sauvignon Blancs. Like a summers day on Bondi, pink grapefruit, citrus and a subtle textural richness define the wine, reflecting carefully selected sites and hand-harvested fruit picked within a narrow window of perfect ripeness. This wine is woven into our story. It has appeared on our wine list since the early days and remains a bottle we return to again and again.
Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
A hallmark of elegance and restraint, M3 Chardonnay combines vibrant acidity with generous layers of citrus, nectarine and white blossom. Crafted with longevity in mind, it is a wine that balances purity with quiet complexity.
Tolpuddle Vineyard Chardonnay, Coal River Valley, Tasmania
Intensely aromatic, with notes of lemon peel, white blossom and wet stone, Tolpuddle Chardonnay is both powerful and precise. A thread of natural acidity carries flavours of citrus, grapefruit and subtle biscuit richness through to a long, textured finish.