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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 95.8 pts. and median of 96 pts. in 165 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by MAkita on 2/16/2024 & rated 96 points: Drunk as part of a big California wine night. This is a pretty full-throttle wine and drinking perfectly at the moment. Deep, dark, and surprisingly sweet. Lots of dark berry notes--blackberry, cassis, dark cherries, maybe a dark plum, too--and some chocolate notes as well. If I were stretching, you could say there's some slate notes there, too, but the fruit really sits on top. Overall a silky, elegant, if by no means understated wine (578 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 12/3/2023 & rated 96 points: Aromatically very similar to the last example; pencil, blackberry, fresh leather in a potent combination. This approaches the ripeness line without crossing it, though it's a little warm in the mouth (not as much as I recall from 2020, though this came after many others). I like this quite a lot; it's got personality. (1510 views) | | | Tasted by soyhead on 8/19/2023: big, massive, fruit bomb, cocoa, chocolate, enjoyable but not really for food. despite being 25 years old it was the last red of the lineup, and perfectly placed. (1257 views) | | | Tasted by sfwinelover1 on 8/19/2022 & rated 96 points: On the nose and palate, medium powerful notes of cassis, sweet blackberries, black cherries, smoke, earthy minerality, anise, leather, dark florals, lead pencil, and dark roast coffee. Deep crimson, medium+, bodied, full legs. Tannins and acidity medium and completely, no heat. Great complexity, VG+ persistence, VG intensity. We tasted this blind, and I would have *never* guessed this was a HSS, a bottling among the most frequent I’ve had of premium, at least for me, Napa cabs, although never this far from the vintage date (and I probably hadn’t had a pre-2000 HSS in 15 years or so). This wine swapped out the power and intensity of the ‘04 and ‘09 which I’ve had in the past 18 months or so, for a far more lithe savoriness and elegance. It was beautiful, but I wished it had retained just a bit more of those traits. While I’m not sure if that’s indicative of a change in philosophy at Shafer at some point around 2000 or if this wine is just fully mature (or the answer to that question is just “Yes”) and I won’t go so far as CT friend MSU on where the wine is now, I’d be inclined to drink this sooner than later. CT score bang on. 95-96 (3191 views) | | | Tasted by soyhead on 8/19/2022: lovely wine with great perfume and delectable fruit. downright elegant. the purity of fruit is something to behold. (2439 views) | | | Tasted by levinml on 10/16/2021 & rated 96 points: Shafer HS and a great steak. What a concept! Prime grade bone-in ribeye goes so well with this wine. Was a little dissapointed with the last time I drank this bottle, but the steak really brought it out. Drink anytime. (3281 views) | | | Tasted by Albert Wong on 5/8/2021 & rated 96 points: Drank this wine for Mother's Day along with:
2008 Chateau Rauzan-Segla and 2012 Chateau Batailley
Poured a quarter of a glass during the afternoon and let the wine sit in the bottle until dinner time.
NOSE
Intensity: pronounced
Red fruits, perfume, cigar, red cherries, candy, hint of menthol, Nim Jiom Pei Pa Kao (Chinese herbal throat syrup)
On the nose, very similar to the 1999 Chateau Palmer I had a few months back
PALATE
Body: full
Acidity: high
Intensity: pronounced
Dates, raisins, feels similar to an amarone, spices, red tea, tiny bit of cigar, caramel, vanilla, licorice, eucalyptus
TEXTURE
Tannins: medium+, bordering high
The tannins were chewy and comfortable, not distracting. Very round.
A bit of spiciness
BALANCE
Acidy, alcohol and tannins levels were all high. Overall, it was very well balanced and so smooth in my mouth.
With the alcohol level at 14.5%, it really didn't feel like it.
COMPLEXITY
The changes came slowly but consistently throughout the evening. Felt like if we left it a few more hours or over night, we would be tasting even more flavours.
FINISH
Length: medium+ to long
Eucalyptus, menthol and red tea aftertaste
CONCLUSION
Readiness: Can drink now. But still have many many years ahead of it.
I was expecting this to be powerful and heavy. But I didn't find it to be too filling and the overall structure of the wine was outstanding.
Everyone liked this wine as the nose and palate was by far the best of the night. (3534 views) | | | Tasted by msuwine on 12/25/2020: This Napa Cabernet tastes like it has reached its golden years, when it’s still alive but lacks the power, precision, and energy of days gone by. I'm not scoring because I can't guarantee the provenance, but I purchased this from the cellar of a three-star restaurant, so I’m as confident as one can be having not purchased it directly.
Garnet in color; medium in body; aromas of prune, blueberry compote, and menthol. Flavors of plum, pencil lead, leather, and underbrush, with a brief and grainy finish. 14.5% alcohol. This never shed its plummy and tired nature over the course of four hours. Again, it could just be the bottle, but I wouldn't recommend holding onto this for much longer. (5110 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 10/7/2020 & rated 93 points: I must say the nose is beguiling, loaded with pencilly Cabernet, potent and incisive alongside rich blackberry. But on the palate I find this a bit too hot. Not that it’s unpleasurable, but it smudges the details and this terroir doesn’t deserve to be smudged! (3843 views) | | | Tasted by RockinCabs on 10/1/2020 & rated 95 points: Nose: dense blueberry,, blackberry jam, sweet fruit, stones, thyme and leather. Palate: layered dense and youthful, but shedding its exuberant personality. Silky tannins, mineral and cedar give this great presence that show maturity and depth. Finish: lengthy and powerful cassis and blackberry notes.
Seems like there should be much more complexity at this stage, but the palate is packed and stacked with cool stags leap blue fruit. Much fresher than the Harlan served alongside. (3012 views) | | | Tasted by rm97 on 5/30/2020 & rated 96 points: Stunningly good. (2589 views) | | | Tasted by gharter on 5/10/2020 & rated 97 points: Absolutely beautiful wine. Not showing its age at all. Served on Mothers Day with grilled New York strips. No browning at the edge. Throwing a lot of sediment. Benefitted from a 90 minute decant. Black cherry, blackberry and currant, mocha, anise aromas. Black cherry, blackberry and currant, pencil lead, mocha, anise and a hint of tobacco on the palate. Long smooth finish. Showing really well now, but not going anywhere in a hurry. (2251 views) | | | Tasted by AlexHop on 9/28/2019 & rated 97 points: Beautiful, perfect age. Still big bold flavors with plenty of spice, white pepper, herbs. Long long finish. (2829 views) | | | Tasted by bookert on 6/25/2019 & rated 93 points: As expected, big and opulent with big but ripe tannins, though not overdone. A standout. (2786 views) | | | Tasted by JonnyG on 11/8/2018 & rated 93 points: A Special 40th Anniversary Celebration (Restaurant Daniel, New York City): More straightforward than complex, with signature cassis and black fruit notes, and a smooth, gentle texture. I do not see improvement ahead, and in fact suspect it is a bit past peak. (3962 views) | | | Tasted by csimm on 8/4/2018 & rated 93 points: Sine Qua Non (SQN) Magnum Extravaganza + Bevan, Mike Smith, Sparkling/Champagne, and others (Calistoga): PnP and this at-first-look beauty caressed the palate with lovely black core fruit and black/blue river rock. With every moment of air, however, this HSS started to quickly soften. In little time, the mid-palate had become fairly lithe. Flavors of faint black currant, scorched earth, worn leather, and dried cranberry held interest, but they became washed away with a watery weight that diluted the initial intensity. I much appreciated the nuances here, but the body couldn’t seem to keep up with the flavors over time. The finish was fairly flat by the end of it all.
92-93 points based solely on the initial sips. For my palate, this is on the dark side of the moon in terms of its downward aging trajectory. Drink now and enjoy, but be mindful of its exposure to air. (6108 views) | | | Tasted by rcg62 on 6/22/2018 & rated 91 points: Decanted two hours. Deep dark color. Nose not very giving, but has some soft floral notes, maybe even plum and strawberry? Much greater depth on the palate. And the fruit is darker. But just not special. (3878 views) | | | Tasted by Purple Grillz on 5/4/2018 & rated 91 points: So many notes are accurate already. Very strange wine indeed. So much stuffing, plenty of fruit, plenty of tertiary things, smooth mouth feel, not tiring at all, but there is this bitterness that lingers.. not sure if it’s tannins that will melt, haven’t tasted enough serious Napa over time to tell. All I can compare it to is 96 Forts de Latour, which is in a very similar awkward stage. After tasting some extremely alive and delicious 1975 Forts, I would normally say maybe this wine is destined for the long haul, but like many have said, this wine has poor quality corks. It might actually be worth an inquiry to see if Shafer has an interest in recorking these. (3748 views) | | | Tasted by JulianSkeels on 1/7/2018 & rated 94 points: Good, but not as good as I expected. Late night-pop and pour. It came across as a bit chunky and monolithic. Perhaps it needed more air. Judgement reserved. 94+pts? (4420 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 9/30/2017 & rated 98 points: Beautiful and intense bouquet with good chocolate and sweet vanilla. Same on the palate. Ripe blackberries and blueberries. Mature and luxurious wine. Great! (4218 views) | | | Tasted by Lord Rayas on 6/26/2017 flawed bottle: Peter's MNSC (Petrus): corked. (5380 views) | | | Tasted by mattiasjansson on 5/26/2017 & rated 97 points: Shafer Hillside Select in Boston (Boston): Has held up better than many '97s (3219 views) | | | Tasted by Ibetian on 5/14/2017 & rated 94 points: Opened with Durand, since cork crumbled in the first two bottles of this. Opened easily. Decanted just before dinner. Clearly a very fine wine, with wonderful complexity, silky smooth, full bodied, very nice, lingering finish. Yet...I'm not excited about this. It seemed too sweet. My tastes have become much more old world. A glass of 2009 Lanessan drunk just before this seemed almost as satisfying at a tiny fraction of the price/value. (4540 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 4/8/2017 & rated 92 points: Much, much smoother than I had expected. Smoky nose with a hint of vanilla, but overall much leaner than I would have guessed. (947 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 2/9/2017 & rated 98 points: This has really settled down and morphed into a dynamic, complex and complete tasting experience. The wine is intense and concentrated, balanced and rich, with nuances on the palate that hold through from start to finish. At 20 years of age, this is probably fully mature, but should provide great drinking for at least another decade or longer. (6072 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Vintage Retrospective: The 1997 Napa Valley Cabernets (Sep 2017) (9/1/2017)
(Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Vertical Tasting of Shafer’s Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select (Jul 2016) (7/1/2016)
(Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/2/2003)
(Shafer, Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/12/2002)
(Shafer, Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2000, IWC Issue #90
(Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Stags Leap District) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 1999, IWC Issue #84
(Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Stags Leap District) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 1998, IWC Issue #78
(Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Stags Leap District) Subscribe to see review text. | By William Kelley
Decanter, 1997 Napa Cabernets
(Shafer, Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District, California, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (9/17/2011)
(Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select) Opaque red violet color; lovely, blackberry, ripe cassis, black fruit nose; tasty, rich, blackberry, black currant, black fruit palate; still needs 3-plus years; long finish 94 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (6/5/2004)
(Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select) Big, ripe red currant, licorice, blackberry and vanilla nose; big cassis, blackberry, vanilla oak palate, with firm tannins; long finish 94 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and JancisRobinson.com and Decanter and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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.Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican 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)Stags Leap District Stags Leap District |
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