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 Vintage2010 Label 13 of 69 
(NOTE: Label borrowed from 2011 vintage.)
TypeRed
ProducerShafer (web)
VarietyMerlot
Designationn/a
Vineyardn/a
CountryUSA
RegionCalifornia
SubRegionNapa Valley
AppellationNapa Valley
UPC Code(s)013528200029, 3210000173476, 767191500077

Drinking Windows and Values
Drinking window: Drink between 2014 and 2020 (based on 21 user opinions)
Wine Market Journal quarterly auction price: See Shafer Merlot Napa Valley on the Wine Market Journal.

Community Tasting History

Community Tasting Notes (average 91.2 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 125 notes) - hiding notes with no text

 Tasted by jshufelt on 12/27/2023 & rated 91 points: Consistent with previous tasting notes. (251 views)
 Tasted by cheetadad on 1/3/2023 & rated 92 points: As atypical of a Merlot as one can taste. Heavy and superbly tannic. Brick color with a lighter garnet rim. Once the oak is overcome on gets the brightness of red berries. There’s life in this yet. Drink over 2 days and the 2nd day it had mellowed. I guess it could do with a decant initially. (592 views)
 Tasted by DrZett on 1/16/2022 & rated 91 points: Deep ruby colored. Intense nose with dark fruits and some espresso. On the palate Dark cherries, ripe plum, chocolate and blackberries. Full bodied with a medium acidity. Velvety tannins, nicely integrated. Alcohol is a little too hot. Not super complex but a nice overall structure and a good balance. Nice medium long and savory finish.
In a good spot right now. Drink up within the next few years. (IG) (1216 views)
 Tasted by Joealex on 4/5/2021 & rated 93 points: After One Point Five 2009 and Relentless 2009, now time for my lone bottle of Merlot 2010. Nose of chocolade, cherries and blackberries.
On palate this is clearly superior to One Point Five Cabernet 2009 and Relentless 2009 with better balance, better freshness, better hidden alcohol. Super concentrated with plush tannins and overall soft personality. Easy drinking wine of excellent quality but frankly not in the same league as Newtons Unfiltered Merlots from 1991 & 1997 which combine opulent richness with refined and effortless personality. (1737 views)
 Tasted by jmottern on 3/24/2021 & rated 94 points: Dark red medium body wine (15.3%). Sophisticated dark berry fruits with a hint of caramel. Excellent finish. (1661 views)
 Tasted by jshufelt on 7/23/2020 & rated 91 points: Consistent with previous tasting notes. (1962 views)
 Tasted by rhanke on 11/22/2019 & rated 93 points: Showing very nice. Agree with the past few posts. (2086 views)
 Tasted by joshabramson on 3/15/2019 & rated 94 points: Been a year since I last opened a bottle. Seems to have improved a bit since then. Drinking very well right now. Great stuff. (2296 views)
 Tasted by flussier on 2/16/2019 & rated 92 points: Robe rubis avec un début d’évolution. Nez raffiné sur le fruit confit, chocolat, café, beurre, grillé, boisé et petit fruit. Vin assez rond avec une bonne longueur. Bel équilibre. Décanté 1h. (1755 views)
 Tasted by WinthropT96 on 12/25/2018 & rated 93 points: Last had this Xmas 2015. Very similar showing - not showing age yet. Medium bodied; stronger mocha on the finish; supple tannins. (1797 views)
 Tasted by Empirate on 12/8/2018: Nice ripeness. Plush but with structure and balance. Holding nicely in late adolescence. Wish I had more, should continue to drink well for years, hints that it may make tertiary transition in a good way. (1619 views)
 Tasted by jshufelt on 9/19/2018 & rated 93 points: Pop and pour. A couple of hours in the decanter would have been beneficial, but it is approachable now. My tasting note from Dec 2015 is applicable, and I think this is starting to turn the corner, so if you have more than one bottle, sacrificing one for "data collection" might not be a bad idea. In any case, between the fruit and herbal notes, this one is shaping up nicely. (1555 views)
 Tasted by joshabramson on 1/9/2018 & rated 93 points: Quite delicious. Lots of fruit very well balanced with a strong backbone and not at all over ripe. Firm but nicely integrated tannins. I'm really enjoying this one. (2014 views)
 Tasted by Andrewbdc on 4/30/2017 & rated 87 points: Deep garnet. Nose of Merlot. Prunes, plums, vanilla. smoke, spice Developing. Dry, med acidity, full body, med soft ripe tannins, high alcohol, med (+) flavours similar to nose. Medium finish, alcohol burn dominates. Good wine. The alcohol dominates and is not well integrated (15.3%). Spoils what would otherwise be a very good wine. (2760 views)
 Tasted by EMTAME on 4/3/2017 & rated 91 points: Very good but not likely to get better. No reason not to enjoy these now. (2840 views)
 Tasted by swade on 3/19/2017 & rated 92 points: Garnet dust color. Earth and spice aromas. Quite expressive aromas. Plum skin, blackberry and tomato leaf flavors. This still has some grip on the finish. A slight burn. This is a Cabernet lovers merlot, but it has the plushness I'm seeking. This upholds the name. This is a good address for outstanding merlot. 92 (2718 views)
 Tasted by cdp1276 on 12/25/2016 & rated 92 points: Decanted out of wine fridge at 61° the complexity after an hour to two of drinking has mellowed. Great velvety smooth texture that just hangs on your tongue. (2857 views)
 Tasted by EMTAME on 11/30/2016 & rated 92 points: In a really great place, especially with food. Lots of dark fruit with a savory undertone. The tannins have smoothed out a bit, but there's still plenty of structure to see it through several more years of fine drinking. (2442 views)
 Tasted by jmottern on 10/19/2016 & rated 93 points: Another home run! Dark red full body wine with excellent nose. Blackberry and cherry fruit filled your mouth. Nice finish. This wine will only get better over the next few years. (1684 views)
 Tasted by GoBlue2002 on 3/30/2016 & rated 92 points: PnP, sampled, decanted for 2 hours prior to drinking. Definitely improved with decant!
Somewhat different from the 2009. This had more structure & malbec character. I preferred the 2009.
Very aromatic -- draws you in (although the taste is a step down from this lure!)
Luscious, full bodied merlot, juicy!, dried fruit, spice, tar, earth, bramble, with robust mouthfeel. Firm yet somewhat silky tannins.

Drank for wife's birthday.
Me - 91, Wife - 92/93 (2428 views)
 Tasted by Mtnmd1 on 2/18/2016 & rated 92 points: Started to open up more an hour after opening. Better than last bottle (2316 views)
 Tasted by camben on 1/22/2016: Excellent, giving without sweetness (2223 views)
 Tasted by WinthropT96 on 12/24/2015 & rated 93 points: Decanted 2+ hours and served with beef stew & polenta main dish. Drinking very well now. On the nose, powerful fruit (more dark than red, currants) with an earthy undertone. Similar on the palate, with a wow factor, with its structure and medium-full body. Good value for a higher-end merlot and even relative to what else $60 could get you in Ohio. (2147 views)
 Tasted by jshufelt on 12/24/2015 & rated 91 points: Decanted for three hours before service. In the glass, inky indigo. On the nose, forest, plums, and currants. On the palate, blue fruits, plums, and earthy notes in the background, with an assertive tannic finish. This clearly needs more time in the cellar, perhaps 3-5 years to begin to wake up. (2028 views)
 Tasted by njgolfer on 10/23/2015 & rated 90 points: Decanted 1.5 hours.
Nose of strawberry and blackberry compote. Spices

Medium, chewy tannins on the mid palate.

Tastes of pine needles, red and black cherries. Bittersweet baking chocolate.

Has quite a long life ahead of it. (1777 views)
 Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine...

Professional 'Channels'
By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: An Epic Vintage (Dec 2012)
(Shafer Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text.
By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, New Releases from Napa Valley (Dec 2011)
(Shafer Vineyards Merlot Napa) Subscribe to see review text.
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels)

CellarTracker Wiki Articles (login to edit | view all articles)

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.

Merlot

Merlot 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.

USA

American 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.

California

2021 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 Valley

St. Helena

 
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