It is never a thing of pure coincidence when wines feel as put-together and well-rounded as those from MMAD - the loving project of the four whose initials make up its title, blessed to call McLaren Vale's elevated Blewitt Springs subregion their home. There's Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith MW (the renowned founders of Shaw + Smith and Tolpuddle), Adam Wadewitz (the accomplished chief winemaker behind both those names, as well as his own label Elderslie), and yet another Master of Wine in David Lemire, decades of wine retail, marketing and distribution experience behind him. Together, they make up a fiercely gifted band of viticultural brothers, linked by passion and absolute belief in what their special place in the world has the potential to produce. No coincidence indeed.
This Saturday (29th August), we pay tribute to that continually impressive standard by pouring all four of their latest acclaimed releases! The fragrant and forward aromatics of the 2026 Rosé (a blend of the reds and white that make up the rest of the MMAD catalogue, with a helping splash of some Cabernet) is delicious to behold, before moving on to their outstanding Chenin Blanc (forever competing and quite regularly winning comparisons to many of Loire's finest), this year's surprise package in the Shiraz (the best it's ever been - layered, smoky and seductive) and the heavenly Grenache - perhaps a perfect showcase of the pristine beauty McLaren Vale brings to the grape. Join us between 12 and 2pm for the tasting, with each option down on special for the next week.
To fill out the lineup nicely, we'll also have Shaw + Smith's popular options in the M3 Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir on the table too! These will provide tremendous enjoyment now that the weather is showing hints of warming...
MMAD Rosé 2026
$35 on special this week ($40 RRP)
"Fragrant and inviting, with rose petal, blood orange and a dash of sea spray. The palate is expressive and opulent, with a hint of mace bringing subtle warmth without compromising freshness. Finishes long and dry with lingering oyster shell and a Campari edge." - Winemaker Notes
MMAD Chenin Blanc 2025
$46 on special this week ($52 RRP)
"The evolution of this wine never ceases to interest and amaze me, there is incremental texture and chiselled edges to the wine wrapped in this slinky, saline and mineral driven package. Pomelo, buddhas hand, citrus and yellow plum. Pumice stone and white pepper. Some fennel seeds too. There is a coating to this wine, not quite oily but slick in nature, it sticks to the sides of your palate before rumbling down like a steam train of power with innate acidity and drive. Another exceptional release and a benchmark of what Chenin Banc can do in this country. This is a wine that accompanies so many morsels, from fish with fins to straticella or fried Balmain bug tails." - 97 Points, Shanteh Wale, Wine Pilot
"The MMAD Chenin Blanc has had a sensational start to its career. The 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 releases all scored 94/100 points or higher on The Wine Front, and this 2025 release is a continuation of this standard. There’s a gravitas to this release. It remains frisky and juicy and fruity, but it has a genuine flare to the finish, it’s bolstered by perfectly integrated woodsmoke and cedarwood characters, it has a saline edge, and the texture sits at a perfect just-satiny point. There’s a juiciness to this wine, as mentioned, but it feels dry through the back half, almost pebbly, with an itch of grip there too. It’s nuanced now but time will bring exaggeration in the most entertaining of ways." - 95 Points, Campbell Mattinson
MMAD Shiraz 2024
$67 on special this week ($75 RRP)
"This has been the surprise packet of the MMAD wines, with it duelling for position with the grenache and chenin blanc. Some whole bunch, concrete and oak vat for ferment, then raised in older, larger oak, as usual. Saint-Joseph resonances. Evocatively aromatic and spicily so. Smoky, darkly mineral. Blackberry pastille, tapenade, lavender, grilled game meat, crème de violette, iodine and nori, star anise, ground clove, allspice, green and black peppercorns, malted barley, freshly ground coffee, powdery rust. Like the grenache, the nose holds such intrigue, demands attention. That’s matched by the silky flow of the old-vine fruit on the palate and the superfine natural tannin. This is blisteringly good, again." - 97+ Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
"This is a sublime shiraz in anyone’s language. It’s a wine of power, it’s a wine of finesse, it’s a wine of perfume and it’s a wine of beauty. It flows with black cherry, plum, black pepper, boysenberry, smoked meats and aromatic herbs, a general nuttiness infused deliciously throughout. As important as anything is the fact that this wine is medium in weight or more and yet it feels fresh, even mouthwatering. The grapes have been picked at exactly the right moment. So many wines, even when they’re good, have a deadness in their eyes; this is a wine with a sparkle or a smile in its eyes. It’s the perfect McLaren Vale shiraz." - 96 Points, Campbell Mattinson
MMAD Grenache 2024 -
$67 on special this week ($75 RRP)
"Holy heavenly aromas batman, this is seduction in a glass. Tea rose, sweet pea and framboise rise from the glass, followed by an evocative turn into a Chinese tea shop: oolong, burdock root and fine spice. There’s an otherworldly finesse on the palate, where silty, time-worn tannins settle into place with quiet authority. Acidity pulls back like a gathering tide before surging forward with freshness and energy, giving the wine both tension and lift. The fruit and shape reminds you of its Grenache but not like anything you have had before. This is truly special in every way. What to drink with this, well stewed game meats would work nicely but I would be inclined to go for Chinese pork floss milk buns whilst you fall into a soft couch in total happiness. Remarkable wine." - 98 Points, Shanteh Wale, Wine Pilot
"This is in excellent form – duskily floral, mineral, with old-vine depth and balance, silky, plush in the right way through the midpalate, bunch notes adding ultra-subtle spice and chewy tannin to the sandy, silty skin tannin. There’s something about the fruit, off those ’39 vines on sandy soils, that is so distinctive, with deep blue and purple florals, sultry and spicy, dark red fruits, ripe but weightless. There are also blue fruit tones and a maritime, iodine quality, an iron oxide note present but not dominant. The aroma is showstopping but not showy. In fact, it took me some time to taste the wine, such is the allure; but the palate confirms that this is likely the best release yet." - 97+ Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
"Glory be. This is a shockingly beautiful red wine, fragrant and expressive, fruity and savoury, smoky, perfumed, juicy and electrically well sustained. You don’t roll out the red carpet for this wine; it is the red carpet. It shows red and blue berry flavours, floral notes, positive reduction, black olives and whispers of anise. The finesse and stretch of the tannin here, bearing fruit-laden goods as it flares through the finish, is almost worth the price of admission alone. Blewitt Springs you beauty. Hell yes." - 96 Points, Campbell Mattinson
Also pouring + on special -
Shaw + Smith Riesling 2025 -
$35 on special this week ($40 RRP)
"Pale colour with dissolved gas evident; the bouquet is very flowery, rose-petal/pot-pourri, red apple and passionfruit, the palate rich and broad, full and almost opulent, with a tickle of sweetness augmenting the generous fruit on palate which nevertheless finishes dry. This is different: there is richness aplenty, a rounded middle palate shape with plenty of fruit, if not yet complexity." - 95 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay 2025 -
$55 on special this week ($62 RRP)
"The 2025 M3 Chardonnay is lean and citrus-driven initially, before moving into a creamy, textural middle palate. This is routinely the game plan for this wine, and the consistency and quality of it is reassuring. It's worked (presumably extended time on the lees and malolactic fermentation, etc.), and this brings with it the creaminess we see on the palate, while the bright fruit is typical of the Adelaide Hills region—almost always on the white/yellow end of the spectrum. This is an elegant, lovely wine." - 94 Points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Shaw + Smith Pinot Noir 2025 -
$55 on special this week ($62 RRP)
"The 2025 vintage was one of the earliest on record in the Adelaide Hills thanks to a warm, dry growing season. How that translates into the glass is interesting due to the fullness of Pinot Noir expression and the utterly delightful spiciness on display. Black cherries, plums and woody spices light up the aroma with wild herbs, fennel seeds and hints of sage. Has an almost Syrah-like quality, warm and textural with an intriguing celebration of cherry – red and black cherry fruit and cherry pip – surrounded by herbs, spices, whisper of Asian notes and lined in an edgy tannin grip. Long on the finish." - 95 Points, Jeni Port, Wine Pilot
If you wish to purchase any of these wines, please use the links above
Otherwise, if you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Special prices valid until Thursday the 3rd of September