External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2021
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 108 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by djchango77 on 6/14/2020 & rated 92 points: What a treat. Rhubarb treacle, blackberry pie, black tea, fine tannin, moderate to moderate plus acidity. Goddamn. Delicious. A little hot, but so very sexy. Opulent and generous. Tasted after a 4 hour decant. Will revisit tomorrow. (994 views) | | | Tasted by thecarolinaway on 5/29/2020 & rated 93 points: Perfect Merlot. 16 years old and not a thing missing. Great balance of oak, earth, and berries. Wonderful color. Not much nose however....2 hours later, even better. Nice bouquet now. Wow. (915 views) | | | Tasted by JCGuthrie on 3/21/2020 & rated 91 points: No detailed notes. Wanted to like this more than I did. Fruit was there, but a touch on the astringent side. Still, a nice wine, which definitely showed better with food. (1014 views) | | | Tasted by JCGuthrie on 12/8/2019: Had the misfortune to be consumed alongside a magnum of '05 Pahlmeyer merlot, which to me was the better wine. The Shafer was a little more one-dimensional and earthy. But still, a very nice wine and I'm happy to have one more bottle. (1097 views) | | | Tasted by Twino2 on 11/5/2019 & rated 83 points: Loved it (1138 views) | | | Tasted by WineConfiguration on 4/23/2019 & rated 94 points: Well well, its been almost 10 years since I last visited these lovely ladies. Here goes..
Nose: There is a lovely aroma of coffee beans and tobacco and im not saying it as a typical swirl your nose on the glass scene, literally the scents flows in the air after I opened the wine and decanted it by the decanter
Color: A dark maroon-clay brick swirl
Taste: I was really happy on its first sip from the top neck of the bottle, you have tons of aged plums and dark dried fruits soaked in coffee finishings. Quite a bit of sharp tannins and some small notes of alcohol notes holding.
Decanted 1.5 hrs later, the Shafer opened up nicely, the tannins and alcohol notes have lightened and it loosen up the acidity, the berries and fruit notes favor surface even more on the glass and you could taste the aged grapes on each sip with small hint of sugary finishings. There is so much toffee and caramel notes flowing in as it swirls.
Remarkably this merlot is another great example and demonstration on how past napa wine makers without mega purple could out perform in creation to a stunning bottle of Merlot that could easily paired against with a super 2nd or 3rd label of a saint emilion.
I have 6 more bottles, would be gone in no time. However judging from the notation on its tannins, if ypu are able to find some in mint conditions, this Shafer can easily hold off for another 10 years before climbing its peak. The bottles I have were all in perfect cellar conditions. Lovely wine and Shafer did an amazing job even for something thats not a “1.5” or “relentless” level.
Cheers
The Winenald Ronald
Of Boston, Manhattan, Hong Kong and Shanghai (671 views) | | | Tasted by JCaress on 1/5/2019 & rated 95 points: Fantastic. Surprisingly good. Smooth berry, chocolate and sweet cherry. Best merlot I have had in some time. (980 views) | | | Tasted by JonnyG on 3/8/2018 & rated 93 points: Sauv. Blanc and Merlot Night (Bear and Star, Los Olivos, CA): Really impressive, silky, pure, balanced rich and structured, showing ripe currant notes, though it closed down a bit over time. (1820 views) | | | Tasted by maitredgreg2 on 8/6/2016 & rated 93 points: For a merlot, this was absolutely silky and delicious. (3263 views) | | | Tasted by rwstorer on 2/2/2016 & rated 92 points: Similar note to previous. Drinking beautifully. (3537 views) | | | Tasted by tomoem on 12/1/2015 & rated 85 points: Deep garnet color, aromatic at first and then seemed to fizzle. The palette was quite light almost watery in texture. Some cherry flavor but muted. No lingering flavors at all (3493 views) | | | Tasted by iamandyc on 10/22/2015 flawed bottle: Flawed (3295 views) | | | Tasted by rwstorer on 5/18/2015 & rated 92 points: - Crimsom color and aromas of cherry, chocolate, cloves and vanilla. It's balanced and has flavours of cherry - Drinking nicely (3310 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 3/15/2015 & rated 92 points: This wine comes out great, but one or two swirls in the glass really opens up. Nice bouquet, deep dark, and a smooth as can be. Enjoy. (2101 views) | | | Tasted by grapist on 6/8/2014: This bottle not up to previous. Maybe time to drink up. (2560 views) | | | Tasted by MOWE_NV on 10/20/2013 & rated 90 points: Cherry, cedarbox, Tabacco leaf, very nice! Good freshness - quite youthful & should still be good for few years (3254 views) | | | Tasted by grapist on 8/30/2013 & rated 91 points: Dark and lush. Blueberry,coffee, chocolate, and even a trace of pepper and vanilla. Still drinking young as it continued to open until finished. (3366 views) | | | Tasted by grapist on 2/21/2013 & rated 90 points: Still some unresolved tannins. Rich full-bodied. Needs an hour decanter time. (3571 views) | | | Tasted by jmottern on 6/17/2012 & rated 94 points: Super merlot. Full, complex and smooth fruit. (4260 views) | | | Tasted by jmottern on 5/25/2012 & rated 94 points: Smooth fruit with excelent finish. This wine is at its prime. (3400 views) | | | Tasted by iamandyc on 3/24/2012 & rated 92 points: Nose has elements of cherry, bell pepper, white pepper and a little cedar. Very smooth (glycerin) entry and slides through your mouth. Cherry, raspberry fruit with a touch of creme brulee. Medium finish were the acid lingers with the fruit. A touch primary still but very nice. One of my best merlot experiences in the past 18 months. (3127 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 2/4/2012 & rated 90 points: Easy drinking. Some of the fruit is gone. (3095 views) | | | Tasted by grapist on 1/22/2012 & rated 92 points: Tasty juice. Lots of fruit, well integrated tannins. (2757 views) | | | Tasted by michigan dogs on 8/10/2011 & rated 91 points: drinking great now, with air, smooth (3269 views) | | | Tasted by WI WineLover on 7/5/2011 & rated 88 points: Surprisingly disappointing. Expected a lot from this one....perhaps breathing more may have helped (3277 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Shafer Producer website
John Shafer and his family founded Shafer Vineyards, located in the Stags Leap District of the Napa Valley, in 1979. From the Shafers' first wine, a 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon,
their wines have won much acclaim. Today, the Shafers farm 200 acres of vineyard in the Stags Leap District, Carneros and Oak Knoll regions. Their flagship wine, Hillside Select,
is produced from selected blocks of the family's hillside vineyards and is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. They also produce Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, Merlot, One Point Five
(Cabernet Sauvignon) and Relentless (a Syrah/Petite Sirah blend), which was named #1 wine of the year by Wine Spectator's "Top 100" of 2012.MerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
|
