Wonderful bottle of wine and I certainly wish I had more (should have waited on my first of two bottles, as this is drinking great now, but was by no means showing any signs of decline). That said, I would not pay $400+ for this (or many other bottles).
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Dinner with Wayne at Kevin's. Local Twin Cities beloved Chef Don Saunders killed it for our crew at Kevin's place. 11 of us were treated to a night with Kevin's spry 91yr old dad who delighted everyone! Wayne Loves Cabernet & BDX so we had some potentially monumental reds to compliment a great night while 30 below MN temps whipped at the door. Thanks Kevin! WB,KB,VB,CV,DD,JV,BB,ML,LI,CS & SS. Lonny's wine tonight and the beast amongst the other more subtle & further aged Ca Cab's & BDXs. I last had this almost 10yrs ago. Looking back at my notes I don't think this has changed a great deal and I wonder about its ability to take on the glories of tertiary old school CA Cabs like the 91 Mondavi Reserve and the BDXs from the 80s we also had? Still, always an intriguing & flavorful iconic Ca Cab to taste. Very kind of Lonny to open this! For many palates this is closer to a 100pt wine and deservedly so.
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Dinner with Dad: Aged Napa, Bordeaux & Don Saunders (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Saturated dark red/purple color. Slow -O for 90 minutes or so. Drank a glass over 90 minutes. Drank this "with" the flight of '91 Mondavi and Montelena. This is a very different animal from the '91's (and obviously 10 years younger), but an outstanding wine by most any standards. Personally, I feel while this is a bigger style of wine, it does not give up the balance, complexity and essence that I think of as old school Napa. This is actually the wine that I thought my dad would really trip for, and I was right. He was thrilled by it, and it was his WOTN. Black currant, deep berry fruit of the forest pie, eucalyptus, subtle violet. The palate has a beautiful velvet texture, tart black and purple berry fruits, savory, plum, pencil, oak spices, medium slightly grainy tannins. Ripe fruit, but very well counterbalanced and undeniably delicious. 95 to 96pts.
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Pretty epic, purchased on release and stored properly since. Very dark and not showing signs of it's 21 years. Drinking well, can't imagine it getting any better.
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From magnum. Really an incredible wine. Intoxicating nose and so many layers of flavor that just go on and on. This reminds me of the reason to buy and cellar wine for special moments like this.
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This bottle is passed it’s peak. There’s fruit but no structure or backbone. On our last move we had several bottles (stored in OWC) that received direct sunlight while waiting for the refrigerated trucker to pick them up from a friendly wine store,And sadly this was among them.
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My first HSS so wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. This does seem a little old school Californian but it’s rather good. Really big, dense, silken power. Plenty of fruit and blackcurrant with good structure. Plenty of time ahead of it but also very good right now. 14.9%
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Trouble with cork, but the wine was fine. Excellent combination of power and complexity. Wonderful nose of chocolate covered cherries and leapt from bottle and glass. Silky smooth. Drinking beautifully now, no need to hold longer.
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Can't really improve on Jeff Leve's "elegant sledgehammer" – well said. Intensely concentrated blue & black fruit, glossy and polished, yet as so often with Shafer's Hillside, while this is a big wine, it isn't disjoint. Soft and supple texture with firm, ripe tannins. At peak now but should hold for a decade. Drink through 2030.
[Magnum] Youthful, opulent, high toned, high alcohol. Four hour decent and actually moderately approachable thereafter. Absolutely not my thing but not awful.
decanted 90 min, consumed over 3 hours; often a difficult decant as these remain deeply colored forever & the bottle is opaque, but more worthwhile as a good Tbs of sludge decanted off. Blech.
consistently deeply-colored, an unlikely dark garnet red for 19 yrs.; sometimes words fail to convey the exotic expansive nature of the nose on this as it's hyper-specific, opulent, exotically perfumed w/serious oak, more complex after 2 hrs.; full-bodied & throaty, silky glycerin mouthfeel; stands out against a fatty flavorful meal, the ripeness is in check, length is fine, in plateau for a decade, based on this one.
might enjoy 6 Napa cabs / year these days, but when they are well-made & righteous, like this one, a genuine pleasure.
prime ribeye, roquefort butter; garlicky escarole; confit fat-roasted gold bintje potatoes w/maldon salt & thyme
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The Last Dance Magnum Dinner (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Magnum. Very ripe, dense and powerful with so much black fruit, yet enough structure nicely in proportion. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and people who like this opulent style enjoyed it even more.
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Virtual Tasting: Open Something You've Been Saving (Home): Very dark red/purple color. PNP at 4pm and poured into jars for transport. Poured into glass at 7:30 pm. and drank a glass plus over 3 hours. I thought this was drinking great, very complex, and expressive. Perfumed, cassis, plum, pencil, earth, orange peel, spice. The palate shows scorched earth, blackberry, cassis, tart, mountain fruit, soft plush tannins, full bodied yet featherweight, graphite, minerals, astringent, a little meaty; concentrated but not heavy. Outstanding. This peaked around 90 minutes in and tailed off a bit after that. Originally my #2, but changed to #3 ultimately. At peak, 95pts.
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This is the occasion to open up that red or white you were waiting for an occasion to open (Zoom): 8 years ago I had this with a 5 hour decant, and I felt it was too oaky. Here we are today, the wine is not oaky anymore, but it sure is big, dark and brooding. Savory and meaty, dark, dense, concentrated (extracted?), very heavy with red and blue fruit. This was the 4th wine in the lineup, I'd already finished my steak, and I think this wine would have drank a lot better with some beef. The other 4 tasters enjoyed this more than me.
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The following wines were featured in this showdown, and all performed admirably:
2008 La Grand Dame (Starter) 2016 SQN Deux Grenouilles (Starter) 1991 Spottswood Cabernet 2000 Pichon Lalande 1995 Ch. Margaux 2001 Shafer Hillside 2009 Smith Madrone Cook Flats Res.
Wine Prep: Margaux decanted at 3 pm, Smith Madrone opened and splashed at 3 pm. All other wines PnP at 4:pm into jars for transport, and transferred to wine glasses for consumption beginning at 6:30 pm.
Voting: 2000 Pichon Lalande was unanimous WOTN, 1995 Margaux was #2, and 2001 Shafer was #3. My voting was in line with the group.
2001 Shafer Hillside: This wine was firing on all cylinders tonight (at least for me). Some thought it may still get better (those who prefer more tertiary flavors), but for my palate (good balance between fruit and tertiary), I am pretty sure it was peaking. While definitely not a 100 point wine, it sure deserves a high score. This wine has everything going, a great cab nose, full of earthiness, mushroom, spice and dark fruit, and a palate that keeps up with the nose. tannins well integrated and enough acidity to allow the fruit to show well. Definitely one of the best cabernets I have had. My score is likely conservative because my palate was leaning toward the Bordeaux wines tonight. Easy 95 for me.
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Pop and pour; these notes are after 75 minutes of air, but not decanted.
Cork was pristine; while moist, no evidence of seepage. Heady nose of dark fruit, saddle leather and cigar, with crushed stone in the background. Structure is fading, leading to a shorter than optimal finish, but this is still a solid wine. Will pop my remainingBottle within 18 months.
Sadly, this bottle was corked but as my friend sirpat007 wrote, we nevertheless finished the bottle. There is so much substance, so much stuffing, so much intensity, that the clear cork taint on the nose was hardly noticeable on the palate. My rating reflects everything that is there and ignores the TCA on the nose (and yet with a great bouquet it could have been even higher). This wine shines with its intensity, complexity (although the fruit is still too dominating) and precision. While it’s good to drink today, with the first tertiary aromas peeking through, this wine will not reach its peak for another 20+ years.
TN: Totally corked nose, getting more intense with time in the glass. Underneath on the nose and then very intensely on the palate there is a pitch black fruit core, so much blackberries, cassis, violets, the typical mintiness, wet forst floor, herbs. Super intense and very precise. Not yet the perfect balance as the fruit is still so dominant pushing all the aromas a bit to the background. Superbly fresh with a wall of very round tannins.
Decanting: Decanted for 6+ hours which is more than needed. Right after opening it was too young and wild. Much better in the evening with dinner.
Tasted blind. 6-7h decant. Slight cork stain unfortunatley that got worse over time. Trying to glimpse through this, I found dark, brambleberry and cassis jam fruit and menthol was clearly discernible. Otherwise an incredible beast on the palate and would have guessed >10yrs younger. Lots of muscular structure, but with well integrated tannin, perfect acidity and a well defined fruit. You can easily store this away for another 10-15 years. The palate was so, for lack of a better word, palatable that our group of 4 actually finished the entire bottle despite being very clearly corked!
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At Pergola in Rome from the list at 450 euro - wow what a wine, amazing deep black fruit nose, could smell this forewer. Very long, as extremely long aftertaste - in a good place in regards to maturity, but could gain a bit more complexity in the mouth. Reason for not giving 100p. Reminded me a bit of a Harlan 1994 I had 7 years ago. Served with the most savory beef carved out at the table. Magic.
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One of Shafer's best. Long lasting finish, smooth tannins. Packed with berries, saddle leather. Very earthy wine. Needs a solid decent to open up but shows up with panache
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Decanted four hours in advance, then drank alongside ‘93 Dunn and a ‘14 Futo with cowboy rib eye, carrots and zaatar w labneh and tahini garlic sauce, asparagus and goose fat roast potatoes. The pairing was amazing, the other wines were also excellent, but to me this wine, still only entering adolescence, shone brightest. One of the deepest purple wines I’ve seen, with a nose of cedar and cassis, the wines mouthfeel is rich and creamy and the sweet tannins give the fruit forward juice a backbone that will make it lAst through another three decades. I’d open another one tonight if i could but it would be a mistake.. give it some time and it will be a perfect wine. It’s almost there now, leaving nothing to be desired but maybe a secondary note and a little less heat on the finish.
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Poured 1/3 of this bottle 6 months ago with the Coravin. Pulled the cork tonight and the wine was as tho it had never been opened. Give this air! Poured 3 hours prior to tasting and it still needed more time. Powerful wine that should not be touched again for a good 5 years, but it's all there and should merit a higher score with time.
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Drank with Ava on the boat. Brings everything that you love from this label plus extra structure and body that is not as typical for the hillside select.
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Beautiful bouquet with red and dark berries. On the palate chocolate, dark and red berries, good acidity and a great length. Really beautiful and complex wine.
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A longtime favorite, this wine may have closed down a bit and was slightly disappointing. Still massive in structure, it lacked the complexity and depth of fruit I expected, and surprisingly was less impressive than the same-vintage Chateau Montelena we drank alongside. This is a long ager for sure, and deserves more time to reveal its full depth and pedigree. Will open another one in 2020.
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Perhaps the most elegant, sledge hammer I have ever encountered. There is all the power, purity, tannin and length you could ask for. The layers of black, blue and red fruits just kept on coming, again and again. Seamless, and without any hard edges, the tannins were soft and polished. This is a mouth-coating wine indeed. In magnum, this tasted like it was at least 10 years younger. This is no shy, wallflower of a wine. There is an intensity of flavor that just does not want to quit. Could this be a 50 year wine in the making?
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Salon, Hillside Select Vertical, ZH, Bernabeleva (Our home): A Wow wine. This ended up being the groups WOTN. Pop and pour, this took a bit of time to open. Once it did, it kept getting better all night. Still not fully mature. Who knows how long it has left but decades for sure. Purple in color with a bit of clear/ruby at the rim. The nose has cassis and cedar. With air a slight coffee note comes out. Great texture. Not quite lush but in that vein with great depth and complexity. Nice acidity. Lots of fruit tightly layered with char and slight earth. The finish was initially hot but that went away with air. Delicious wine. Nothing to even nit pick about here after about 20 minutes of air.
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Exhilarating juice. Drank with a wine-lover friend after a 1 hour decant. Complex layered nose of dark fruit, creme de cassis berries and spice Fully mature dark purple with zero sediment, we agreed while it's at an apogee currently there's at least 10+ years of brilliant drinking left. If a date, this was a 35 year old PhD assistant professor of medieval philosophy who keeps you titillated all evening with her combination of beauty, maturity and intellectual intrigue. AAA+
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Drank along side a 97 Ausone and 2009 Ponet-Canet. All very different but the Shafer was the hands down winner. The aroma jumps out of the bottle at you and captivates. Soft tannins, very complex....an absolute joy to drink now.
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Tuesday Night Double Blind $40+ (Alpharetta, GA): Black core with reddish violet rim; new oak, sweet fruit, the creamiest thus far this evening, chocolate, tobacco, vanilla; grainy tannin, dark fruit, leather, smoke, black currant, plum; tough showing in the context of this evening.
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Cliff’s “Parker 96+” tasting. Not much different from the last one. Over the top. Overripe dark red fruit and alcohol on the nose; thinned out a little since the last one which made the alcohol more pronounced. I dislike this style of wine so to be fair I will not rate it.
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Consistent with prior notes:"Great dark fruits, black currants, blueberry, holiday spice, chocolate. Long 30+ second finish. Mouthfeel is smooth and viscous, not too dense, Tannins resolved and sweet.."
This bottle seemed less impressive (by memory) but still nice. Group was mixed on it. I think we did not allow it time to open or the bottle was off..no rating this one, stuffing still there we didnt allow it time.
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Acker Holiday Auction (A Voce Madison): I think this is a wine that needs a lot of age (think >20 years) for me. It's tasty in that crazy Cali cab way where the fruit is more extracted and deep and intense. Lots of blackberry. I enjoy it, but would love to see what happens when that mutes down a bit.
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A remaining 1/3 of a bottle, previously Coravin'd. Drunk alongside an '02 HSS.
Cork has been moistened 30+% up, but is still fine. Though it poured a bit lighter in color than the '02, this was stellar right out the of the bottle, with opulent rich, dark fruit flavors, black cherry highlights. After 2 hours there was considerable spice box and vanilla; fruits show a greater degree of maturity and less intensity than in the '02. Hints of Old World finesse while showing its New World pedigree. 97
'02 HSS: 1/3 of bottle previously coravin'd, 2/3 remaining. Uncorked and allowed to breathe for 90 mins. Wine color has barely penetrated the cork.
Purple/black coloring is darker than I'd expect for a 14 YO wine. Pencil lead, leather, char on the nose. Wine holds a firm grip on the side of the stems but glides over the palate without leaving much of a coating, though there are ample dark fruit flavors that - again- I'd expect to find in a younger wine. In a solid place today, capable of cellaring for many years to come. Tossing off a bit of fine sediment before the wine level dropped to the punt. Clearly New World and proud of it. 96
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Cork came out and was very soft and broke. After opening there was a real funk to the wine and in the end we decided it was indeed corked. First time ever for a Shafer corked wine. Yes it was stored properly in my cellar. 36 more bottles hope the rest are ok as Shafer is one of my favorites.
Super concentrated but not super extracted. Very long finish and excellent balance and a bit of alcoholic warmth. Tannins are medium plus. This has entered its drinking window for fans of big reds.
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Inky purple, significant sediment. Sexy nose of cool blue fruit, cedar, and licorice. Boysenberry and spice on the palate, soft tannins, very nice acidity. The cool, blue mountain fruit is appealing but I had hoped for more secondary and tertiary complexity. This bottle may not be the wine's best showing. Still, the 2001 Hillside Select is a gorgeous wine and among the top of Stags Leap. Drink through 2025+.
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Brilliant full throttle Napa Cab. Fully mature dark inky purple in the glass with zero sediment and a gorgeous nose of black cherry, raspberry and creme de cassis. Palate coating like a fine silk sweater and finish which sails on and on. If a date, this was a well traveled intellectual stunner who dazzles you with conversation over dinner before bring you home and dazzling you in other ways. A pinnacle of Napa juice.
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Last time I had this was in 2010 and it's quite improved from then. Tannins have mellowed out (some) and the fruit, while big and blue is more reined in, now matching nicely with the large structure and concentration. Very nice drinking now and will continue to improve.
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Popped and poured, BYO at steakhouse. Rich, ripe, powerful CAcab. Great with steaks. Not a style I buy or drink much of these days, but a real pleasure. No urgency to drink, but I would not expect this to get much better.
Terrific wine in a big, bold, CA style.
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California Cult Cabernet dinner (Oak Mill Cafe - Chicago IL): Plum, blackberry, huge spice. Lots of dark chocolate. Started as rather backward despite a couple of hours in a decanter, but still mostly balanced. Still has upside from here. Much better than the last time I tried this in 2013.
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Dark, inky, full and concentrated. Balanced and drinking well. Tasted along a 2002 HSS which seemed to need a few more years in the cellar to catch up.
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From a previously CV'd bottle. Shows its age but in a near-perfect place for the vintage. Fruit still has a place but is sitting in the middle rows of the Orchestra section, rather than in the AA / BB rows.
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Fabulous expression of ripe, very ripe and extremely ripe fruits. Concentrated, intense, lush and rich, yet everything is in balance. Still young, much of its early jammy qualities and over oak influence has faded away, leaving with you loads of sweet, plush fruits. This is no shy sister, the wine is big, powerful and intense, yet refined in its own way.
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This wine was opened and poured with minimal decanting. Tonight, this bottle was amazing. Clear and still a very youthful deep purple in colour with a nose of dark cherries and some caramel. Those same notes were in the glass as well and the acidity and tannins have settled down into what is now a subperbly balanced wine that seems to be in a wonderful drinking window right now.
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I will be upfront and say that I am a Shafer HSS homer and I am biased. It is my deserted island wine ahead of SQN, Krug and any Burg or Bordeaux. When I name a WOTY it's really WOTYNNHSS as in wine-of-the-year-not-named-hillside-select, otherwise it will be boring and the same every year. But, that being said, I try to taste wine without prejudice, and in an attempt to find faults with this HSS, I came up empty. It is not as upfront luxurious as the '02, but it was more 4-dimensional. Not only was every sip layered in flavors, but when popped an poured, each sip was different from the last. One sip was focused on black and blue fruits, the next was all about graphite and scorched earth and leather, followed by a meatiness I love, and later there was dark chocolate, cherry compote and roasted espresso bean. Everything wrapped with subtle oak that was present but not distracting. It's like great sex where the sex is different each time. It's that good. Drank this to celebrate the birthdays of two great friends and that's how it should be.
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drank in a vertical tasting, 99-03. 2003 did not match up. 99 was a surprise hit. 2001 and 2002 were the clear winners with the 01 being slightly better
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96 points at least, but maybe higher since it was difficult to focus. Drank for Johnny's 50th birthday at 801 Chophouse. Great steaks all around and lots of festivities, so tough to really pay close attention to the wine. Know it was great, poured from magnum during cocktails into decanter. It was a wow on first taste and just got better. Classic Shafer HS round, full-bodied, great flavors. Glad I have more. No rush on drinking this, still young in profile.
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Part of 1994/2001 California tasting. Decanter for 2 hours. This one is way over the top. Overripe dark red fruit and alcohol on the nose; very port like. Mouth coating very fine tannins and long finish, unfortunately too alcoholic. I dislike this style of wine so to be fair I will not rate it.
Drank with Danny H. and Shanna at the home. Special bottle when knowledgeable relatives come over and they appreciated it properly. What I expect when I break out a bottle of Shafer HS. Big, round deep flavors, but enough structure to support and make it a long mouthful. Great now, and likely to gain complexity over another 5 years or so, at least
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Chicago: wine, food, friends...cigars!; 9/17/2014-9/20/2014 (Blackbird, Les Nomades, Naha, with lunch at Shaw's Crab House): {magnum} A divisive wine by its very nature, I suppose; perhaps more so at this stage and in this format. No need to run through the descriptors at this point, as it's pretty well documented. Would like to see this in 10 year (750ml) and/or 20 years (1.5L) as I prefer nuanced tertiary to modern/sappy secondary. Let these rest unless you're just ready to get your hedonism on.
Aerated to decanter 90 minutes, this was still unfolding some three hours in; served non-blind.
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At Tom and Susan's farewell dinner...very generous of them to open their cellar as they did on this evening. Drank this along with a 00 Bond Vecina, 01 Hundred Acre and an 01 Colgin Cariad...
Shafer Hillside, for me, has always been a great experieince. This wine was no different and probably in a good zone right now. I think this was open for about 90 minutes when we started, it definitely improved in the glass over the next hour+. Great dark fruits, black currants, blueberry, holiday spice, chocolate. Long 30+ second finish. Mouthfeel is smooth and viscous, not too dense
Tannins resolved and sweet, in a really good spot now. Has a long life, but unsure if it will improve much...
The crew on this night felt it was consistent and good, WOTN was either Hundred Acre or Colgin
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Maybe a bit boring, but still a perfect wine. Or maybe, the perfection makes this wine slightly dull. There is not a hard edge to the nose. It is totally seamless and if silk had a scent this would be it. The fruit is deep, perfectly mature without being over the top. There are clean red berries with an almost voluptuous expression, but since balance is the keyword here, ballpoint pen, lovely earthiness and perfect oak speak up with an elegant voice. There is no chance the taster will find a flaw here. I somewhat hope the palate will disappoint me and compensate for the dullness. But it does not. It is clean, balanced and so integrated I get a tear of frustration in my right eye. It is incredibly good! Tannins, acidity, oak and fruit in one balanced harmony. A totally adorable wine. Sorry to find this perfection a bit frustrating.
(Tasted in a flight with 2001 Shafer Hillside Select, 2001 Napa Valley Reserve, 2002 Quilceda Creek and 2007 Hundred Acre Precious.)
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powerful, blackcurrant, spicy, cinnamon, sweet Tannins, longlife ahead, at least 10 years,second best cab after harlan 1997 for me, great filet and grilled carrots
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Rich and opulent; after an hour it was still young. Dense currant and berry, not overly ripe but it had the classic sweetness and viscosity of a good California cabernet
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3 hrs decant. Super dark, very heavy little alcohol a lot of raspberry nose. Very good 30 second finish almost chewy. Juicy raspberry finish. Just a weird combination weight, alcohol, christmas flavors coming through has that powder jelly donut common with Hillside select. Just feels a little tired and to have lost its pop a bit. Actually has a type of milk chocolate, Cadbury eggs flavor. Nice wine, but just felt a bit tired. Kind of a bummer.
Excellent napa cabernet that is showing its stuff. Rich flavors of cassis, milk chocolate liqueur, mocha, blackberry jam, cadbury cream egg. Thick and mouth staining. There is an undeniable deliciousness to this wine and it is so well made. The finish is so rich and powerful. Only set back was that a lot of heat and alcohol was getting in the way and held back some of the different fruit components. Perhaps after some time to integrate more, it will be easy see why this wine has received so much praise.
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HEAVY glass bottle. Very dark in color. Port-like in sweetness. Similar to a jelly doughnut with a short, jammy finish. Difficult to detect exactly which fruit flavors, but something is present. Also some chocolate present. Tired flavors (?). A bit too alcoholic for my palate. Good, but lacks balance. Probably won't buy again at this price.
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As this wine evolves, it just introduces another side of itself in a great way; decanted for 30 minutes; youthful but now offering some spice notes; great balance; beautiful nose; tannins are silky now. Still plenty of fruit but in harmony with the wine.
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Birthday Celebration (Del Frisco - Chicago IL): Brief note. Controversial wine tonight, coming across as over ripe and hot tonight, not nearly as well balanced as I recall from last time tried, perhaps a year ago.
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Decanted for about 2 hours prior. Improved since my January 2010 btl with more focus and better integration of the oak. Overall though, this is a huge brawny beast and really not my favorite style. The concentration is fantastic and its showing some intense palate staining cedarey, chocolate dark fruit flavors but I think this will always lack the finesse I'm looking for in my favorite wines. A recent 96 Montrose, for example, would blow this away side by side. At $195 on release some years ago I don't see this as worth it, for my palate going forward. Very well made and a great CA Cab but, I'd rather buy the occasional btl of Pride Mt's standard Cab for around $60 anyday. My score is reflective more of how I feel this would appeal to others who love this style of wine and, that it is undeniably, well made. This is very youthful yet and should improve so perhaps in 5yrs I'd feel differently about this wine but I doubt it.
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Still a deep red color with purple in the middle. The nose shows an explosion of flavors, chocolate, tar, licorice, currant and cooked cherries. There is an enormous length to this wine and it is smooth as silk. It is wonderful now but I am quite sure there is much more to come in around 5-10 years. Amazing stuff. Unless you have a good stock of this wine I would hold off from opening the next bottle until 2018.
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Dream tasting (@ Merlet): Had this wine several times (Not all notes in CT yet) and it is always a FEAST! Not so many notes this time. Enormously seductive bouquet with beautiful dark forest fruits and beautiful, well integrated oak. On the palate like velvet. Great dark forest fruits and refined oak as well as about the perfect balance between a bit of pleasant sweetness and beautiful fresh acidity. Perfectly round and soft tannin. Ready now and for many years until well into the 2020’s. 98 for now to keep some room for a bit more, but maybe the wine deserves that already.
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Dreamtasting #5 (Restaurant Merlet, Schoorl): (*) Very primary in its aromatic play, yet the structure is starting to soften. Very mellow, velvety, no hard edges... this is how alcohol and oak should be integrated into the wine! Mindboggling complexity opening up after extensive aeration. So rich, so comforting, it has to be tasted to believe it. Creme de cassis, fresh black cherries, cuban cigars, espresso, asian spices, it goes on and on. This is a total masterpiece and I had visions that - in 5 years' time - this wine would merit the perfect score... 19-19.5/20
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Trip’s visit to DC - Capital Grill (Capital Grill at Tysons corner, VA): Jammy blue fruits, cassis, lavender, lead pencil, a hint of ash and caramel. Excellent concentration, opulent sweet fruits and silky palate. This seems slightly less concentration and more subtle than the 02 but drinking better. Certainly very impressive.
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American Belle 1st Edition (Switzerland): Deep red almost black in the middle. Smell of Joghurt, raspberry, chocolate. Taste of dark berries (currant), coffee and chocolate. Very elegant and long. A candidate for a full house in 5 years. My WOTN. Drink 2015 - 2030.
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Opened, decanted and served right away. Aromas of black currant, cassis, plum, dark chocolate and licorice. Huge black fruit again on palate, in great balance with the tannins and new oak. Sensational textures and harmony, this comes across as more integrated and harmonious from when I last recall trying it, perhaps 5 years back. Ripe fruit and high alcohol seem well balanced, not protruding at all. This is perhaps jut entering its peak drinking window and should continue to be exciting for 15+ years.
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After an hour of decanting and mass quantities of bruising we agreed that the nose of this vintage was in the classic range. Very nice notes of dark cherry and plum with hints of anis and casis. The first sip was filled with classic expectation and began on the front palate with well balanced fruit fruit forward layers. But has the wine moved to mid and back palate we felt that there was almost a closed finish and was short to say the least. Honestly felt it was going to be a mirror of the 2002 vintage but it never came out of the locker room. It still is a very nice wine however it will likely take another 5 hours of decanting to smooth it out. But damn the nose was impressive.
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By comparison this is much better than the 1998 Pahlmeyer that came out of the same box in my cellar. Box should be titled California clunkers, or maybe monstrosities, or better yet 'Huge ass bottles of wine, with big scores, that are way over-made and cost @$175. At any rate, the drinkable, and very ripe and extracted blue and purple fruit, are surely outmatched by the freaking vanilla, vanilla coconut, vanilla oak, espresso, toasted oak, and, prunes.
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16th Anniversary at Jean Georges NYC. Decanted for 45 mins, drunk over 3.5 hours. Licorice, saddle leather and faint tobacco on the nose with a hint of toasted oak. Light mouthfeel that puts on weight with the passing of time. 25-35 second finish. For the first 60-90 mins after decanting the elegant approach masked a strong punch that kicked-in after 20+ seconds. The wine became more fruit-forward as the night wore on, and the wine became more uniform, smooth and integrated - dark cherry, rich blueberries and dark tobacco moved to the forefront. Really great wine.
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I agree more with JR than RP on this one. The wine looked inviting, pool of dark inky purple begged to be carefully considered for the depths of flavour that was to splendidly coat my palate. Indeed, after a stint of being hot, the bouquet released tantilising wafts of cassis, annis, eucalyptus, tobacco, and a light tone of green beans. Not the most complex nose but clearly interesting. Alas, the disappointment refused to be put asunder as the wine crossed my lips. Despite tastings over a 24 hour window, the wine remained hot and the tannins refused to integrate overpowering the surpringly limited fruit. Whilst the finish was longer than most, the fleshy finish was tough and unpolished. Maybe it is in its recalcitrant adolescence and a stint of age will help. (5, 12, 9, 8, 7=91)
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Deep garnet. the early sweetness in the nose has mellowed to more the dark side, such as winter spices, asian spices, licorice, and a hint of plums. Mouth with filling, rich, every corner covered with black fruit compote with winter spices. Wonderful wine, in middle age.
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Jules' Birthday (Corkbuzz, East Village, NYC): Black as night. Smells like a bottle of ink; chocolate, iron, minerals, oyster shells, soy sauce, licorice, and plums; really rather daunting to my dainty nostrils! Massive and quite overwhelming on the palate, but with a LOT of polish; pretty intense but certainly not over the top. Flavors match those of the nose. Full bodied and long. Once again, a very intense nose. A very controlled and deliberate style of wine and winemaking. Also, an important closing comment: the wine is really nicely balanced, for all its power and authority. (From Josh K.)
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Was WOTN until the mystery wine appeared, which turned out to be a 1982 Lafite. Decanted for a full day. Not much has changed from tasting three years earlier. A lush, ripe wine that I hope will develop more complexity over time. If not, probably not worth the price, despite being an excellent Cabernet.
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Epic Wine Dinner at Bourbon Steak (Washington DC): Wow -- the nose is explosive. Sweet blackberry pie and ripe, dark fruits, followed by vanilla ice cream, pencil lead, and spiced oak. The texture on this wine is unbelievable. Lovely.
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Pulled this one for my Birthday dinner after reading Jeff Leve's comments. This wine was singing right out of the bottle and continued to get better until it was gone. The only flaw I detected was the lack of a second bottle. A few more years could make it better but it is delicious right now.
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The best California Cabernet Sauvignon wines have earned a well deserved reputation for being expensive. Not that Shafer Hillside Select is inexpensive, but it sells for half the price of other Cult wines and on a quality basis, in blind tasting's, it proves time and time again, it's of equal quality with any of the far more pricey wines. Jammy blackberry, smoke, pepper, coffee, blueberry, cassis, truffle, spice and caramel create the complex aromatics. Big, rich and concentrated with waves of juicy, sweet, ripe fruit, the wine ends with a lush, mouth filling finish. The only minor fault is the slight touch of heat in the long finish. Drink now, or over the next 10-15 years.
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DE Double blind Best Bottle (DE): Tasted double blind among 8 other fine/younger reds. My blind notes: youthful dark opaque color. Aromas of dark chocolate, rich coffee, and tomato paste. Very smooth on the palate, if a bit shallow, but great dark fruit. velvety. ++ tannins, long finish. Ranked 3/9, group's 5/9
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A 5+ hour decant. The nose has sweet oak on it. Very concentrated. The sweet oak gets in the way of the blueberries, blackberries and floral flavors. Very long finish. I'd like to try this again in 10 years when maybe the oak has integrated.
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Minneapolis Wine Club Year End Event (Shari's House): While I liked this wine I am done buying Shafer Hillside Select as there are better wines for half the price that show less oak and massive fruits. Blackberries, vanilla, tons of oak, chocolate and spices. Concentrated and thick. This wine has a long massive finish and really should be cellared another decade to get the full experience.
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Mpls Wine Club: Highly Rated Rhones: Chave, Guigal, Usseglio + Poyferre & Cos (Shari's house): Very dark red-purple color. 5 hour decant, drank one glass over 1 hour. Nose starts to open after about 20 minutes in the glass showing cedar, dust, blackberry liqueur, graphite, red and black fruits, with floral elements not becoming evident until about 30 minutes or more into the glass. The palate shows immense concentration, layers of lush black and red fruits, cedar, spices. There is power but this has finesse and long layered finish. No heat and nicely integrated tannins. This certainly benefited from a long decant and showed very well. 95+pts.
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Decanted for 90 minutes. Tannins were non-intrusive. Nose and palate were deep, dark fruit. Long finish. Smooth mouthfeel. Everything a great Cali cab should be. A perfect way to end the year!
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Drank with 03 Byrant Family, 91 Dominus. Took over 2 hours to open, lots of heat at first, very young and too powerful, almost cannot taste the fruit and other subtle aromas. By hour 3 much better and started to enjoy it, but dinner was over too soon, will hold on to my other bottle for a few more years.
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Opened in cellar for 3 hours, no decant. Enjoyed with Thanksgiving dinner. What a treat. Just a delicious wine, everyone really enjoyed. Very nice vanilla & cassis nose, long finish. Still a young wine.
I did expect more from a 100point RP to be honest, but still quite good.
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Just incredible. Simply amazing fruit. Expressive nose and still some tannins. This wine goes on and on. Suspect this will be good for another 10-20 years. WOW!
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This wine is over the top for my palate, but that is what the top California cabernets have become. The colour gives no hint of ten years of age. Very ripe blackberry and cassis, licorice nose, very intense and complex, but even this intensity cannot hide the alcohol. The palate is balanced, the tannins hidden by the intense fruit extract. Long, long finish. The palate is more enjoyable than the nose, but what food do you serve this with other than grilled red meats and even that may not be enough for this wine.
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Even at 10 years its still a dark, saturated violet. Very nice but more subdued than expected nose of cedar and tobacco. Loaded palate that rapidly alternates flavors with every sip. Lots of cassis fruits, tobacco, and the oak is not shy. The finish is long, but accompanied by my only quibble, as a bit of heat rears its head...although its not outside the style of this wine. Very tasty stuff.
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circumstances prevented decanting, so i pulled the cork 2+ hours before drinking. fabulous. superbly nuanced fruit and classic napa cab complexity. beautifully balanced. highly recommended. drink or hold.
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SQN, Clerico, Hillside Select, Chave Hermitage, Rieussec: On any other evening, this may have seemed even better. We drank this one side by side with the 2002 and it just did not have the stuffing. Obviously very similar wines, but the nose was not as explosive. OTOH, the palate was more developed and unwound. Great cassis fruit. Charcoal and spice. I think this bottle was pretty much as good as it will get, but has a decade, at least, at this point. I have a bottle left in the cellar that I will hopefully drink in that time frame only on its own.
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Trip’s farewell dinner! (Cities restaurant - Washington D.C.): Excellent concentration and balance, expressive, I prefer Bordeaux over cal cab but tonight perfect showing of a monumental wine. In the context of all big scale wines this showed perfectly.
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Deep coloured purple/crimson; Intense green/leather/spice oak on nose. Fruits very much hidden. A little licorice; nice mouthfeel, dark and silky but again not expressing much fruit. Some dark chocolate notes on the finish and a slug of alcohol. No score as perhaps an unrepresentative bottle.
(NB several hours later cork taint became clearly noticeable)
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Very enjoyable bottle. Lots of dark fruit as I expected, but this one had much more complex spices than I have had in the past with Hillsides, and also had a goow and mellow bit of licorice, chocolate and vanilla that was complementary, not overwhelming. Nice.
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Great wine with great complexity, structure and flavor. Still a few years of improvement ahead of it, and at least a decade or more of good drinking. No rush to crack into one, but in a good spot right now.
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Pure, intoxicating nose of raspberries. Palate has great freshness, energy and delineation. Still somewhat monolithic. A powerful wine, but not overbearing.
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Complex and lush. Beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity. Silky soft tannin and with enough power for many more years. Great, complex, refined and harmonious wine.
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Dreamtasting #2 (Restaurant de Watermolen, Kasterlee): Significantly thicker and more modern than the other wine in this flight (Togni 1997), but equally impressive and unique. Dazzling depth and concentration, though silky smooth. Youthful impetuosity, ultraripe tannines. Impeccable balance, drink now or in 10 years. A true dream wine. 19+/20
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Absolutely textbook Napa Cab albeit in a big mold. Pure Cabernet, cassis, vanilla, licorice, and black cherry. Great fruit, great structure, plenty of oak, and plenty of stuffing to handle that for the long term. For my drinking preference this could use another 3-5 years to drink up the oak, but I do love where this is headed.
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Deep black/garnet. Nose of black fruits and anise. Taste was blackfruits galore, even a slight sweetness like a jam. There is a heat at the end, but this is alos where the taste seems to blossom. Overall I suspect a bit of a closed phase here. Revisit in a few years. (This was decanted 2 hours before drinking.)
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I'm not a big fan of California wine and I didn't remember how many times I tasted this wine. It was great 99/100 for me before I'm getting boring of drinking it. Today is more soft but still full-bodied with the big aftertaste. If you never try Hillside, it's really good. IMO, I won't pay for it anymore. If I have to, I'd like to buy the classic Opus One 1991 instead.
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This is an indisputably good wine but I can't in all conscience put it in the >95 point category. There is body to spare and plenty of fruit but also a touch of heat and a good dollop of oaky sweetness. People will enjoy this wine, but I'm not sure it will come back to haunt their thoughts in the way the very best wines can.
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(at Charleston – Baltimore) Strong blue and black fruits character. Buffered in way by earth and flavor depth that really makes this sing. Nothing superficial all. In perfect harmony – a great great example of this style. No harm at all drinking this now. (96)
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I guess I was lucky enough to save my favorite for the last. Doesn’t usually work out that way in a blind tasting, but this was my favorite. Still dark ruby, brooding in color, this wine still was showing quite tannic. The density of the blackberry and cassis on the nose was supported by the well balanced nature of the palate. Great fruit and acidity tantalized the tongue, with a layer of somewhat dry tannins still keeping it in check. I went back to this one 3 times and enjoyed it more each time.
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Opened and decanted approximately 1 hour. Re-corked and took to an offline that was served blind. Well sort of as I knew which ones were mine. First go round: dark fruit, delineated finish; tastes young. Good+ Second go round: light on the palate; light in body; light on the fruit. What really stood out was the balance: everything just seemed to work and be effortless. VG to Excellent.
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wow This was just perfect for me tonight. After an hour in the decanter dark to the rim, beautiful nose with cassis. lasts forever. I guess I am all in on the 06
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Dark and ominous, this was tight out of the gate (as expected for pop and pour). Within minutes it started shedding its amour and black fruits started emerging. Wow, this is pure and precise with tones of refined black fruits of currant, blackberry and black plum. Some real nice cola notes amidst some tar, cardamom and soy. I kept this in my glass all night. It evolved, but in the super-flight at the end of the night, my new pour seemed a bit tired and fading. Still, all in all a very great Hillside from a classic vintage will always please in my book.
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If the 2002 is a 100 I would rate this a 96-97. First that I have tasted since releaase and this one will last a long time. Still needs a bit of a decant before it shows it's stuff. Smooth chocolate, black fruit and lead pencil. Delicious.
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Bright and lively on both the nose and palate. Nose has some lavendar and graphite notes along with the dark fruit. Tannins remain prominent. The acidity provides a certain verve on the finish. Still seems young. Big wine, but not out of balance.
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double decanted and used the areator 2x. Awesome fruit but the alcohol was still very prevelant thru out the evening of steak at Ruth Chris. Extrememly enjoyable and expectataion is that the acid will go away in a couple of years. WOW.
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Dallas DAWGS April tasting (Table 3) (Urbano Cafe, Dallas): Dark garnet opaque in the glass with some translucence at the rim. Sweet oak, cedar, and black currant fruit on the nose. This just smells plush. Full bodied, rich and plush on the palate with seamless black currant fruit mingled with some toasty cedar accompaniment. Outstanding. Easy WOTN.
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Blind California Cult Cabernet Tasting (Mill Creek, WA): Tasted blind. Some light VA on the nose. The palate had some very rich cassis/blackberry flavors and a nice earthy note. Pretty well balanced too. This would have been in the outstanding range for me if it weren’t for the nose.
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Decanted for about 1hr. Massive extraction and amazingly primary. Open for business with no heat. This a 50+ year wine in the making. Blackberries, dark cherries, mocha, hints of vanilla oak. Not the most complex HSS I have ever had but certainly the most extracted. 94+
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1-13-10 A bit heavy and unfocused for my liking and lacking sublty. Smokey vanila oak yet everywhere. WAIT I guess! Don't see this ever being 100pts...for me
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I agree with the latest posters, I opened it up about 12 noon to taste it thinking it will need time and it did, very awkward at first. Decanted for 6 hours and it came around, massive extraction great complexity, just plain good.
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Decanted for 3 hours, drank over 3 hours. Cork was perfect, however, this was a wine that seriously underperformed my expectations and past experience. Zero wow factor here. Nose was not giving much other than a bit of heat and black fruit. Taste was predominantly black fruit with brown spice surrounded by mocha (but aren't all NV cabs). Could not discern any developing secondary characteristics since my last bottle 20 months ago. Finish was long but undistinguished. The wine seemed to perform better after 5 hours...Note to self, either extend the decant time or hold off for another couple of years
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The 2001 Shafer Hillside Select is a monster wine. Opened 8 hours before drinking. Purple/black color. Bouquet of bananas foster and black fruit. Flavors of blackberries, brown sugar, banana bread, vanilla, lead pencil, eucalyptus and mint. Able to balance the huge fruit and alcohol. Nice balance and beautiful mouthfeel. This wine would be a WOTN contender on any night in 4-5 years. WOTN tonight as well. I think the 2001 HSS is a better wine than the 2002 HSS and will have a longer shelf life. Great wine!
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Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Massive extremely well endowed wine. A notch below the '02 in terms of depth and mostly balance, but absolutely stunning nonetheless. Decanted 5 hours. Cloudy dark ruby in color, though not opaque. Masculine aromas of blackberries, dark cherries, mocha, leather and tobacco. Black eucalyptus flowers, lots of smokey meat as well. Enormous and massive in length. The palate is a little thick and showing so much balance for a wine with nearly 15% aocohol. 90 second finish. Many thought this was Syrah due to its meaty smokey character. Who wouldn't love this wine...even the big Old World Burgundy fans enjoyed this bottling.
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A bit tight initially, but 30 minutes in the decanter really helped to open this up. The last glass, after about 90 minutes, was stunning. Aromatic, rich nose. Not the over-oaked bomb, but rather really deep Cab fruit. On the palate, rich, full-bodied....chocolate, cassis...awesome. I have no idea how this might age, but I was surprised at how approachable it is today. This one makes me want to go back and rescore the 1997 KJ Grand Reserve I had earlier in the night, which I rated a "91". "Comparatively speaking", there is no comparison between the two.
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Blueberry chocolate and minerals on the somewhat muted nose. Full bodied and sweet in the mouth with more chocolate and a perfectly integrated and silky finish. Very good wine.
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nose is fairly tight. tons of alcohol showing here, also tons of peppermint and almost astringent issues with the oak here. excessive and not showing well right now. would pass for the time.
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Delmonico Wine Dinner (Delmonico Las Vegas): Was getting a little tired by this time. This was excellent but did not do enough to really separate itself as something exceptional. Something missing, not sure what.
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Decanted for two hours, and expected magic based on everything that I had heard about this wine. The nose was still muted, the tannins were rounded towards the end. It had great mouth feel, but the pallette was mostly smoke, which overpowered a subtle cherry and strawberry fruit characteristic. Maybe it needed a few more hours, but I will definitely wait 5-7 years before opening the other bottle.
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3. Shafer HSS 2001. 91;85. Again we preferred the 01 HSS to the 2002. This is not quite as dark as the 02 but huge flavors and structure. Thick and fat and lots of aromatics and a very long aftertaste. Still as good the next day. 98p.
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drunk at the napa valley reserve dinner, and provided from my cellar as a favor to another participant. not decanted, and it was still sensational. in a pretty competitive venue, this stood out near the top. drink or hold.
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Double decanted 6 hours prior to the dinner of ribeyes on the grill with Brett and Bridgett. Classic Napa nose with ripe blueberries and custard. Phenomenol concentration with a viscous mouthfeel. Very ripe black fruits with a super long finish. Seemed a bit lacking in acidity for my palate, although an overall very nice experience.
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Huge black fruit on the nose, reinforced by the lush cassis palate. Very well integrated for such a young, massive wine, silky tannins, lengthy finish, incredible wine...
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Very dark ruby color with dark red rim; No light shone through this wine; Strong aromas of blackberries, spice and tar(?almost a burned smell); Lots of dark fruit and a fair amount of black licorice flavors along with some minerals on the finish; Balanced even with 14.9% stated alcohol with massive structure. It seemed as if it was at the changing point from primary fruit into more secondary flavors. [Note the decant: Double decanted at 5 pm and left without the cork until it was poured at 10 pm; this wine probably needed that much just to open up] Very, very good wine.
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This wine had it all. Endless layers of sweet, ripe, black fruit and cassis fruit coat your palate. The perfume was intoxicating. The soft textures and oceans of ripe fruit made for a sublime finish.
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California tasting @ Restaurant Savelberg (Netherlands): Lots of glycerine. Extremely youthful and promising, but already insanely good. Still can feel the tannines, which were so ripe, soft and 'juicy'. They almost seemed to melt into the cheeks. Fragrant expression of floral and fruity notes, which are very tightly wound but already give a wonderful, luxurious mouthfeel. This is bordering perfection, don't have a clue what to write about it. Literally, stunning. 19.5/20
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Blind Pairs @ Howard's (Old Greenwich, CT): A bit simple at first, with mosty cherry liquor flavors. Syrah? I voted the companion wine of the flight, the 2004 River's Marie Cab the winner of the flight, but with air this picked up weight and power. This became more dense and assertive, with the fine-grained structure nicely framing the ripe fruit. In the end, I gave it the same score as the River's Marie.
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Enormously concentrated bouquet with lush, ripe black fruits. Enormous concentration in the taste as well. Complex. Oak. Very ripe and sweet black fruits. Extremely good balance between all the components, the acidity and sweetness. Refinement and full bodied. This is very close to perfection.
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Huge, massive wine. Hitting on all cylinders and pretty well-integrated. No secondary aromas yet, but beautifully complex nonetheless... cassis, blueberry jam, spices, and sandalwood. Will only get better.
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Dinner with Otto (Backstreet): Blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, charred oak and mocha. Good mid palate complexity. Full bodied with nice balance. Great finish. 14.9% alcohol.
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outstanding bottle, much better than the tannic behomoth I tasted a year ago.....decanted for 3.5 hours......nose and color were classic HS, however the nose IMHO is not up to the magnitude that the 02 is right now.....taste was smooth, tannins were non-biting, bit disappointed that this wine exhibited the classic Shafer HSS flavor profiles, but nothing more......in a relative sense I was disappointed, partially due to the love of the three bottles of the 02 that I had the pleasure of drinking this year.....I will give the other bottles another several years.....solid, but not up to my expectations.....this wine was cellared upon arrival, and showed a perfect cork upon opening......
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Drank at Tribeca Grill in NYC - Decanted for 30 minutes. Wow. Explosive nose of blueberry jam and vanilla. So concentrated. Inky on the palate. Blueberry mouth explosion. Some spicy and mocha flavours as well. Long finish. This a spectacular bottle of wine, but it’s not my style. This is just too much for me. A little artificial on the palate and overwhelming fruity. Very well made and it’s very hard to find a flaw in this bottle besides the finish: heat and tart. I think this is too young and needs more time in the bottle.
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Drank at Opus Toronto...Big and bold, deep purple with slight bricking on the edges, this was a big punch of ripe fruit and healthy drying tannins...Layers and layers of texture with a super rich and long finish...Delicious,
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Dinner w/ Roy Piper (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix, AZ): Tight and tannic - needs time. Already showing some beautiful fruit. Some heat on the finish. Will be interesting to try this again in 5-10 years - this may be a great wine in the making.
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The Wine Summit: Shafer Hillside Select - Saturday, June 2, 2007 - 10:45 A.M. (The Post Hotel in Lake Louise, AB): Full appearance – black/purple with a thin purple rim; spices on the nose – mix of fresh berries – runs up the nostrils and there is a bit of milk chocolate; Whew! A massive dose of black currant fruit spreads over the palate, literally overwhelming the other components; rich and full bodied leading to a very long finish – quite harmonious as it draws itself out – fruit though lasts and lasts. This is a terrific wine.
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Decanted for 4 1/2 hours. Served 2 hours later at a restaurant. Almost flawless wine. Not too decadent, but full of lush, dark fruit, and an incredibly long finish. A real treat.
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Shafer Hillside Select Vertical Dinner (1989-2002) (California Club, Los Angeles, CA): I thought this wine had a bit more depth than the 2002. Still very young, and quite structured, this massive wine was packed with cassis, blackberry, tobacco, and dark chocolate. A huge bruiser of a wine, but I loved it, absolutely loved it! This was for me the WOTN and the reason the Shafer HSS ranks among the best wines of the world.
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This wine is just now beginning to come into its own. Tasted during dinner at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse and paired with Creamy Escargot Bordelais with Bacon, Mushroom, and Fennel slaw and then with Filet Oscar. Pairing was beautiful. I had extensive notes filled with superlatives that I had taken on this wine, but somehow managed to lose them over the course of the evening. This is only the second wine I have ever rated 100 points, and it is, without a doubt, very deserving. I tasted this wine about 2 years ago and it has definitely evolved in that time. From memory.....Opaque beautiful ruby/maroon in color, this had amazingly pure cassis liquor, black cherry, and black raspberry, dark chocolate, and freshly chopped mint on the nose and palate......beautifully unctuous and rich.......Medium/Full body with perfect integration of acidity and sweet plump tannins. Delicate nuances of mocha espresso, dark chocolate, volcanic soil, and just tiny hints of mesquite, menthol, sage, cedar, and vanilla oak. Simply amazing. I only have two bottles in my cellar, but would love to have more, although I'd also like a few bottles of the '02 ( even though many people say that it is a completely different wine ) I'll probably pop my first bottle in another year or two and open my last bottle in 2011, although I feel that this wine will not even begin its downward stride until 2025 or so. I've had Harlan, Bryant, Screagle, Colgin, Araujo, Abreu and many others, and while Shafer is popular, I don't find that its garnered the cult status that those wines, deservedly, receive. However, in my mind, this wine is the epitome of what California Cabernet can achieve when great terroir meets passion, quality viticulture, and excellent winemaking.
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A beautiful Stags Leap cab with no rough edges. Very soft, hugely aromatic with distinct chocolate notes, packed with fruit and an immense finish. My palate would prefer a little more grip to the wine.
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Shafer Hillside Select Vertical (Zealous - Chicago, IL): Deep dark ruby to purple. Sexy and oppulent nose is insanely aromatic. Chocalate, sweet rich blackberry, brown sugar, mint and vanilla toast aromas soar from the glass. Massive, rich and syrupy fruit coat the mouth and stain the teeth. Despite the extraction and weight the palate has impeccable poise and balance. Persistent through a long, long finish. Perfect? My WOTN, group's WOTN. 5+15+20+10=100
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Huge nose. When opened, the aroma's of this wine simply filled the cellar. See Pelz and Winetex notes below. Same bottle. Wait a few years on touching this again.
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Probably a 92; No rating due to a head cold. Tasted at Steffen Pelz's 3rd Annual Year-End Wine Tasting . This bottle seemed closed and straightforward compared to the previous one but maybe it was just my cold. HSS is always a good bet.
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3rd Annual Year-End Wine Tasting (34th Street Cafe (Austin, TX)): Definitely a great wine. The nose was so open and effusive, it was almost scary. I enjoyed the pure cassis fruit in this wine and its underlying flavors of chocolate and smoked cardamom. Super long finish. Can't go wrong with this wine, but didn't reach the heights of complexity of the Solengo or VT to me.
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Intense dark core, ruby at the rim. This has the best and most intriguing nose yet: smoked fruit and smoked meat (peking duck?), licquor, coffee, caramel. Its sooo intense and delicious with a brilliant balance. Everything plays together in a symphony and the finish is very long. Rating: 98
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Decanted 5 hours, poured back into bottle, left uncorked for 3 hours before tasted. By far the darkest and densest of the wines. Nose is initially a bit green and reticent but opens up and shows very jammy, spicy, toasty and tarry notes with some toffee and mint. On palate it is massive, jammy and rich. Intense black currants, chocolate and roasted flavours. Very sweet but also very tannic. Feels less ready than any of the other wines. Long, sweet aftertaste with Coca Cola notes. 96 points.
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Again, a tie for me for WOTN. This was a really killer wine, as has been pointed out here several times recently (and I was really looking forward to trying it as a result). Opaque black/purple color. Bright big clean aroma. Really great black fruit on the palate – huge concentration and a long balanced finish. 6/06
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Dinner at David Burke's Primehouse (Chicago IL): Rather ripe fruit on the nose - plum, black cherry with nice traces of chocolate. Deep and intense fruit on the palate that closely continues the aromatic profile. Just barely on the right side of the ripe vs. over-ripe border (for me). Heat comes across rather prominently on the finish.
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wow! decanted and watch the evolution in the glass. started with a buttery feel and peakes of fruit but within 20 min this thing melded into a powerhouse. full of blueberry ,blackberry and black currant. some tabacco and vanilla. the mouth was increadable. lush and full. seemless. tons of fruit and a finish that went on for days. some silky tannins but barely noticable above the rest.
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Decanted about one hour, fabulous wine. On the nose, I got a strong note of blueberries, reminiscent of a '94 Bryant Family in its youth. That continued on to the palate, along with other dark fruits including black cherries and a great chocolate note. The wine has terrific structure, and is clearly built for the long haul. A wall of tannins finishes the wine, but they are silky and not obtrusive in any way. Although way too young, this was a terrific bottle of wine. It will be hard to keep my hands off other bottles.
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Very dark, inky ruby, black cherry and a hint of sweet olive on the nose which is very expressive. Shows gloriously ripe fruit on the palate, a rusty, iodine quality, very high tannin - but already quite integrated. With time (and from a different bottle) there was just a hint of rubber in the background, but almost hidden by the pure ripe fruit.
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Big Reds in Austin (34th Street Cafe Austin, Texas): 93+ and should improve. It's clearly too young to drink but I had to know how long we want to hold this wine. Tastings of this wine are few and far between. When first opened the entire kitchen filled with an espresso aroma. It was notable for the strength of the aroma. After a two-hour double decant the wine started to exhibit more complexity with blackberries, dark chocolate. It tasted similar to the 1999 HSS at this point in its life. It had great structure, focus and the fruit was just glorious. Tannic as to be expected. I get the hype but the question is how long to hold the wine? There is something about the wine that makes me think that holding it too long might be an issue but it does have a good track record. [$$$; Decanted back into the bottle for two hours, needed more air time; Maybe 2008 for the next bottle?]
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decanted 4 hours, but several tasters drank it down quickly after presentation, so i was not able to follow it in the glass. some commented that it was the greatest cab they have ever tasted, but that's always relative.
i was able to secure a very generous allocation (750 x 9 and 1500 x 3) of this wine at outstanding pricing; therefore, i felt i could burn one.
i wondered if 4 hours in the decanter would be enough to open this up. however, i thought the wine drank quite well. there are obvious tannins to resolve, but the underlying elegance and balance couldn't be restrained despite it's young development. rich and voluptuous fruit leads to a very long finish. the mouthfeel is just a bit drying, but not grainy or harsh. it's impossible not to like this wine if you drink california cabernet. near the top of the heep.
i did do an extensive 01 tasting with my wine group just before this was released, so it wasn't included. from memory, wines that give it a run for it's money are the foley claret, bond st eden, and colgin cariad.
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Excellent wine. A litte muted on the nose at first, but exploded into black fruits and mocha. Very fruit driven which leads me to believe that this may not last 20 years. But who cares, it's great wine!
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2001 Cults (Plus some extras) from Delyap & Tommy 'O (Vancouver): Gorgeous nose. Distinctive. Shafer HSS? Pure cool cabernet fruit. Great, rich, smooth body and tremendous palate presence. Excellent high-quality fruit. Not overdone. Great wine. The group had this ranked 4 of 13.
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Had to open far too early to appease mrs davidandrose for buying too much wine. Went over very well. No detailed notes. but no brain damage about buying the full 2002 allocation.
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This one was almost identical to the 1999, although I would say it is a better wine by just a hair. Although easy to drink now, the flavors are very primary, but it has a rich, velvety mouth feel, and a very long finish. WOTN for some.
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Best of the Best Wine Class, Fall 05 (Farmington Community & Senior Center, Unionville, CT): Way too young, and in need of some serious decanter time, but a treat nonetheless. Monochromatic, deep purple in color. While still pretty tightly wound, aromas of cassis, toasty sweet oak/vanilla, pencil lead, dark chocolate, mint, and eucalyptus eased from the glass. Amazing, brooding clarity of flavor with lush essence of black currants and a super mid-palate. Longest finish of the group, with plenty of dusty, but not overly-assertive tannins. Special stuff – flawless New World Cabernet – needs a decade of bottle age, but providing plenty of drinking enjoyment right now.
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Saturday at Chez Verhille: A lot going on here. Deep viscous wine. Full nose that expands through the night. Tannic deep fruit on the palate. Will be a wow wine.
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Honeymooners in NYC (Montrachet): i am upset - i was not in the best shape by this point and barelly had the opportunity to trully taste this. Minty, rich to the point of no return, but the backbone is there and this has all the right stuff. Fruit in buckets but this should age well and then maybe show more of the complexity thats obviously there...
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Tasted at Beltramo's with Doug Shafer in attendence. Per Beltramo's the wine was poured into the glasses about 1 hour prior to tasting. All vintages (1995-2001) appeared to me to be the same color due to the lighting which was a red purple color.
Similar nose to the 2000, dry cherry with vanilla, oak, pepper and a long finish. This and the 1998 were my favorite wines of the evening, excluding the 01 Sunspot which was gorgeous.
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Now we are talking, smooth sweet oaky nose, perfumed violets and bright 'cherry tunes', glorious. Layers of complex ripe cherry, dried red fruit and chocolate. Excellent, just how I remember the 1997 being last time. Potential 99 points.
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Shafer Hillside Select Dinner (Manresa Restaurant, Los Gatos, California USA): This bottle was brought to the dinner by Elias Fernandez. It showed a big nose of ripe cabernet fruit and chocolate... lots of chocolate. The palate was incredibly unctious and full with chewy mouth-filling texture and tastes of bittersweet chocolate, spice and ripe berries. The wine showed a big, big structure with the alcohol, tannins and acidity all in the right place. A great experience. The table picked this as the best wine to drink in the future. I picked it as one of the best wines I have ever had the privilege to put in my mouth. Elias Fernandez says there have been three perfect years for Hillside Select fruit. 1994, 2001 and 2004! I can hardly wait!
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Tasted barrel sample at the Shafer mailing list party. I've often had a really tough time tasting barrel samples, but despite more than 6 other vintages of Hillside going back into the 80s, this was the vintage I kept refilling my glass with. Big fruit, amazingling long finish, one of the most intense wines I've ever tasted (only thing that comes to mind as more intense was the 2001 Pride Petite Sirah). This is on track to be a candidate for the best Hillside ever. If I recall they were pouring the 1996 (but not the 97) and the 2001 was way better.
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8/12/2023 - Topper wrote: 95 Points
No sign of fading but ever so slightly mellower now than before. Fine winemaking and a perfect accompaniment to steak. Worth the price.
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2/15/2023 - 2loyal Likes this wine: 96 Points
Wonderful bottle of wine and I certainly wish I had more (should have waited on my first of two bottles, as this is drinking great now, but was by no means showing any signs of decline). That said, I would not pay $400+ for this (or many other bottles).
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12/22/2022 - chablis28 wrote: 93 Points
Dinner with Wayne at Kevin's. Local Twin Cities beloved Chef Don Saunders killed it for our crew at Kevin's place. 11 of us were treated to a night with Kevin's spry 91yr old dad who delighted everyone! Wayne Loves Cabernet & BDX so we had some potentially monumental reds to compliment a great night while 30 below MN temps whipped at the door. Thanks Kevin! WB,KB,VB,CV,DD,JV,BB,ML,LI,CS & SS. Lonny's wine tonight and the beast amongst the other more subtle & further aged Ca Cab's & BDXs. I last had this almost 10yrs ago. Looking back at my notes I don't think this has changed a great deal and I wonder about its ability to take on the glories of tertiary old school CA Cabs like the 91 Mondavi Reserve and the BDXs from the 80s we also had? Still, always an intriguing & flavorful iconic Ca Cab to taste. Very kind of Lonny to open this! For many palates this is closer to a 100pt wine and deservedly so.
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12/22/2022 - rocknroller wrote: 95 Points
Dinner with Dad: Aged Napa, Bordeaux & Don Saunders (Rocknroller's (Kevin & Vicki's Place)): Saturated dark red/purple color. Slow -O for 90 minutes or so. Drank a glass over 90 minutes. Drank this "with" the flight of '91 Mondavi and Montelena. This is a very different animal from the '91's (and obviously 10 years younger), but an outstanding wine by most any standards. Personally, I feel while this is a bigger style of wine, it does not give up the balance, complexity and essence that I think of as old school Napa. This is actually the wine that I thought my dad would really trip for, and I was right. He was thrilled by it, and it was his WOTN. Black currant, deep berry fruit of the forest pie, eucalyptus, subtle violet. The palate has a beautiful velvet texture, tart black and purple berry fruits, savory, plum, pencil, oak spices, medium slightly grainy tannins. Ripe fruit, but very well counterbalanced and undeniably delicious. 95 to 96pts.
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10/11/2022 - fisk15 wrote: 99 Points
Pretty epic, purchased on release and stored properly since. Very dark and not showing signs of it's 21 years. Drinking well, can't imagine it getting any better.
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6/19/2022 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 98 Points
From magnum. Really an incredible wine. Intoxicating nose and so many layers of flavor that just go on and on. This reminds me of the reason to buy and cellar wine for special moments like this.
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5/1/2022 - davidandrose wrote:
This bottle is passed it’s peak. There’s fruit but no structure or backbone. On our last move we had several bottles (stored in OWC) that received direct sunlight while waiting for the refrigerated trucker to pick them up from a friendly wine store,And sadly this was among them.
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2/26/2022 - Mbad77 wrote: 96 Points
My first HSS so wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. This does seem a little old school Californian but it’s rather good. Really big, dense, silken power. Plenty of fruit and blackcurrant with good structure.
Plenty of time ahead of it but also very good right now. 14.9%
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2/25/2022 - DAN BAILEY Likes this wine:
Just superb. So balanced and absolutely delicious. Benchmark cali cab.
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12/7/2021 - Ibetian wrote: 97 Points
Trouble with cork, but the wine was fine. Excellent combination of power and complexity. Wonderful nose of chocolate covered cherries and leapt from bottle and glass. Silky smooth. Drinking beautifully now, no need to hold longer.
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9/12/2021 - kenthecpa Likes this wine: 97 Points
Terrific wine that will continue to improve.
Anniversary dinner at the Surf club. $100 CorkageFee and well worth it!
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7/24/2021 - cubswinws wrote: 94 Points
Just so drinkable. Really soft and supple with good fruit and long finish. I don’t think this will get any better and would drink up.
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3/7/2021 - jpwines Likes this wine: 95 Points
still big and powerful
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12/24/2020 - rlove wrote: 93 Points
Can't really improve on Jeff Leve's "elegant sledgehammer" – well said. Intensely concentrated blue & black fruit, glossy and polished, yet as so often with Shafer's Hillside, while this is a big wine, it isn't disjoint. Soft and supple texture with firm, ripe tannins. At peak now but should hold for a decade. Drink through 2030.
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12/10/2020 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 90 Points
[Magnum] Youthful, opulent, high toned, high alcohol. Four hour decent and actually moderately approachable thereafter. Absolutely not my thing but not awful.
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11/26/2020 - 9400KG wrote:
Na
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11/4/2020 - pigdaddy wrote: 94 Points
decanted 90 min, consumed over 3 hours; often a difficult decant as these remain deeply colored forever & the bottle is opaque, but more worthwhile as a good Tbs of sludge decanted off. Blech.
consistently deeply-colored, an unlikely dark garnet red for 19 yrs.; sometimes words fail to convey the exotic expansive nature of the nose on this as it's hyper-specific, opulent, exotically perfumed w/serious oak, more complex after 2 hrs.; full-bodied & throaty, silky glycerin mouthfeel; stands out against a fatty flavorful meal, the ripeness is in check, length is fine, in plateau for a decade, based on this one.
might enjoy 6 Napa cabs / year these days, but when they are well-made & righteous, like this one, a genuine pleasure.
prime ribeye, roquefort butter; garlicky escarole; confit fat-roasted gold bintje potatoes w/maldon salt & thyme
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10/10/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote:
The Last Dance Magnum Dinner (The Krengels - Bannockburn IL): Magnum. Very ripe, dense and powerful with so much black fruit, yet enough structure nicely in proportion. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and people who like this opulent style enjoyed it even more.
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9/24/2020 - rocknroller wrote: 95 Points
Virtual Tasting: Open Something You've Been Saving (Home): Very dark red/purple color. PNP at 4pm and poured into jars for transport. Poured into glass at 7:30 pm. and drank a glass plus over 3 hours. I thought this was drinking great, very complex, and expressive. Perfumed, cassis, plum, pencil, earth, orange peel, spice. The palate shows scorched earth, blackberry, cassis, tart, mountain fruit, soft plush tannins, full bodied yet featherweight, graphite, minerals, astringent, a little meaty; concentrated but not heavy. Outstanding. This peaked around 90 minutes in and tailed off a bit after that. Originally my #2, but changed to #3 ultimately. At peak, 95pts.
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9/24/2020 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
This is the occasion to open up that red or white you were waiting for an occasion to open (Zoom): 8 years ago I had this with a 5 hour decant, and I felt it was too oaky. Here we are today, the wine is not oaky anymore, but it sure is big, dark and brooding. Savory and meaty, dark, dense, concentrated (extracted?), very heavy with red and blue fruit. This was the 4th wine in the lineup, I'd already finished my steak, and I think this wine would have drank a lot better with some beef. The other 4 tasters enjoyed this more than me.
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9/24/2020 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Zoom Tasting: Bring It On!: Bring It On! Zoom Tasting.
The following wines were featured in this showdown, and all performed admirably:
2008 La Grand Dame (Starter)
2016 SQN Deux Grenouilles (Starter)
1991 Spottswood Cabernet
2000 Pichon Lalande
1995 Ch. Margaux
2001 Shafer Hillside
2009 Smith Madrone Cook Flats Res.
Wine Prep: Margaux decanted at 3 pm, Smith Madrone opened and splashed at 3 pm. All other wines PnP at 4:pm into jars for transport, and transferred to wine glasses for consumption beginning at 6:30 pm.
Voting: 2000 Pichon Lalande was unanimous WOTN, 1995 Margaux was #2, and 2001 Shafer was #3. My voting was in line with the group.
2001 Shafer Hillside: This wine was firing on all cylinders tonight (at least for me). Some thought it may still get better (those who prefer more tertiary flavors), but for my palate (good balance between fruit and tertiary), I am pretty sure it was peaking. While definitely not a 100 point wine, it sure deserves a high score. This wine has everything going, a great cab nose, full of earthiness, mushroom, spice and dark fruit, and a palate that keeps up with the nose. tannins well integrated and enough acidity to allow the fruit to show well. Definitely one of the best cabernets I have had. My score is likely conservative because my palate was leaning toward the Bordeaux wines tonight. Easy 95 for me.
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9/11/2020 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pop and pour; these notes are after 75 minutes of air, but not decanted.
Cork was pristine; while moist, no evidence of seepage. Heady nose of dark fruit, saddle leather and cigar, with crushed stone in the background. Structure is fading, leading to a shorter than optimal finish, but this is still a solid wine. Will pop my remainingBottle within 18 months.
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9/11/2020 - Cailles wrote: 96 Points
Sadly, this bottle was corked but as my friend sirpat007 wrote, we nevertheless finished the bottle. There is so much substance, so much stuffing, so much intensity, that the clear cork taint on the nose was hardly noticeable on the palate. My rating reflects everything that is there and ignores the TCA on the nose (and yet with a great bouquet it could have been even higher). This wine shines with its intensity, complexity (although the fruit is still too dominating) and precision. While it’s good to drink today, with the first tertiary aromas peeking through, this wine will not reach its peak for another 20+ years.
TN: Totally corked nose, getting more intense with time in the glass. Underneath on the nose and then very intensely on the palate there is a pitch black fruit core, so much blackberries, cassis, violets, the typical mintiness, wet forst floor, herbs. Super intense and very precise. Not yet the perfect balance as the fruit is still so dominant pushing all the aromas a bit to the background. Superbly fresh with a wall of very round tannins.
Decanting: Decanted for 6+ hours which is more than needed. Right after opening it was too young and wild. Much better in the evening with dinner.
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8/16/2020 - LordOfGlencoe Likes this wine:
Nase: Kork. Nach viel Schwenken: petrolisch/minzig
Mund: rotblaue frucht, sanft, dicke tanine.
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8/16/2020 - sirpat00 wrote: flawed
Tasted blind. 6-7h decant. Slight cork stain unfortunatley that got worse over time. Trying to glimpse through this, I found dark, brambleberry and cassis jam fruit and menthol was clearly discernible. Otherwise an incredible beast on the palate and would have guessed >10yrs younger. Lots of muscular structure, but with well integrated tannin, perfect acidity and a well defined fruit. You can easily store this away for another 10-15 years. The palate was so, for lack of a better word, palatable that our group of 4 actually finished the entire bottle despite being very clearly corked!
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7/24/2020 - Asger Likes this wine: 98 Points
At Pergola in Rome from the list at 450 euro - wow what a wine, amazing deep black fruit nose, could smell this forewer. Very long, as extremely long aftertaste - in a good place in regards to maturity, but could gain a bit more complexity in the mouth. Reason for not giving 100p. Reminded me a bit of a Harlan 1994 I had 7 years ago. Served with the most savory beef carved out at the table. Magic.
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12/27/2019 - AlexHop Likes this wine: 99 Points
Amazing. Elegant supple and complex. Silky balanced goes down a treat.
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12/25/2019 - BaroloRob wrote: 94 Points
Mature. No nose. Fruit is moderate. Good finish.
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11/3/2019 - fcxj wrote: 90 Points
Fruity and pleasant. Not much nuance.
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7/7/2019 - vinodonpedro wrote: 96 Points
One of Shafer's best. Long lasting finish, smooth tannins. Packed with berries, saddle leather. Very earthy wine. Needs a solid decent to open up but shows up with panache
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5/26/2019 - cnichelson Likes this wine: 98 Points
Decanted four hours in advance, then drank alongside ‘93 Dunn and a ‘14 Futo with cowboy rib eye, carrots and zaatar w labneh and tahini garlic sauce, asparagus and goose fat roast potatoes. The pairing was amazing, the other wines were also excellent, but to me this wine, still only entering adolescence, shone brightest. One of the deepest purple wines I’ve seen, with a nose of cedar and cassis, the wines mouthfeel is rich and creamy and the sweet tannins give the fruit forward juice a backbone that will make it lAst through another three decades. I’d open another one tonight if i could but it would be a mistake.. give it some time and it will be a perfect wine. It’s almost there now, leaving nothing to be desired but maybe a secondary note and a little less heat on the finish.
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5/17/2019 - patsheridan wrote: 95 Points
Poured 1/3 of this bottle 6 months ago with the Coravin. Pulled the cork tonight and the wine was as tho it had never been opened. Give this air! Poured 3 hours prior to tasting and it still needed more time. Powerful wine that should not be touched again for a good 5 years, but it's all there and should merit a higher score with time.
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3/31/2019 - Agreenblatt wrote: 96 Points
Drank with Ava on the boat. Brings everything that you love from this label plus extra structure and body that is not as typical for the hillside select.
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3/31/2019 - jsebiri wrote:
Deep red wine, opulent, rich, probably should drink up.
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1/26/2019 - JR1575 Likes this wine: 94 Points
opened and decanted for about an hour.. close to mature and lovely..
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12/24/2018 - BaroloRob wrote: 94 Points
Reaching maturity. Fruit is moderate. Good finish.
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12/15/2018 - Zweder wrote: 95 Points
Beautiful bouquet with red and dark berries. On the palate chocolate, dark and red berries, good acidity and a great length. Really beautiful and complex wine.
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7/12/2018 - Grubert wrote: 96 Points
Good but I had expected more.
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5/26/2018 - afvf Likes this wine: 97 Points
One bottle corked the second one was very good, but it is missing the great. That is why a ‘parker’ 97 is the max I would give it.
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12/24/2017 - Winedad53 wrote: 92 Points
A longtime favorite, this wine may have closed down a bit and was slightly disappointing. Still massive in structure, it lacked the complexity and depth of fruit I expected, and surprisingly was less impressive than the same-vintage Chateau Montelena we drank alongside. This is a long ager for sure, and deserves more time to reveal its full depth and pedigree. Will open another one in 2020.
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11/6/2017 - shaferguy91 wrote: 97 Points
Absolutely awesome.
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8/3/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Perhaps the most elegant, sledge hammer I have ever encountered. There is all the power, purity, tannin and length you could ask for. The layers of black, blue and red fruits just kept on coming, again and again. Seamless, and without any hard edges, the tannins were soft and polished. This is a mouth-coating wine indeed. In magnum, this tasted like it was at least 10 years younger. This is no shy, wallflower of a wine. There is an intensity of flavor that just does not want to quit. Could this be a 50 year wine in the making?
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8/2/2017 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 100 Points
Salon, Hillside Select Vertical, ZH, Bernabeleva (Our home): A Wow wine. This ended up being the groups WOTN. Pop and pour, this took a bit of time to open. Once it did, it kept getting better all night. Still not fully mature. Who knows how long it has left but decades for sure. Purple in color with a bit of clear/ruby at the rim. The nose has cassis and cedar. With air a slight coffee note comes out. Great texture. Not quite lush but in that vein with great depth and complexity. Nice acidity. Lots of fruit tightly layered with char and slight earth. The finish was initially hot but that went away with air. Delicious wine. Nothing to even nit pick about here after about 20 minutes of air.
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6/30/2017 - dharrison93 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Exhilarating juice. Drank with a wine-lover friend after a 1 hour decant.
Complex layered nose of dark fruit, creme de cassis berries and spice
Fully mature dark purple with zero sediment, we agreed while it's at an apogee currently there's at least 10+ years of brilliant drinking left.
If a date, this was a 35 year old PhD assistant professor of medieval philosophy who keeps you titillated all evening with her combination of beauty, maturity and intellectual intrigue.
AAA+
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6/4/2017 - yukoner Likes this wine: 98 Points
Drank along side a 97 Ausone and 2009 Ponet-Canet. All very different but the Shafer was the hands down winner. The aroma jumps out of the bottle at you and captivates. Soft tannins, very complex....an absolute joy to drink now.
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3/14/2017 - Rezy13 wrote:
Tuesday Night Double Blind $40+ (Alpharetta, GA): Black core with reddish violet rim; new oak, sweet fruit, the creamiest thus far this evening, chocolate, tobacco, vanilla; grainy tannin, dark fruit, leather, smoke, black currant, plum; tough showing in the context of this evening.
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3/14/2017 - Milos Does not like this wine:
Cliff’s “Parker 96+” tasting. Not much different from the last one. Over the top. Overripe dark red fruit and alcohol on the nose; thinned out a little since the last one which made the alcohol more pronounced. I dislike this style of wine so to be fair I will not rate it.
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2/21/2017 - walkerjfw wrote:
Epic PNV Kickoff Lunch #2 with Juan/Jamie/Tom/Jay/Mitch/Steve (Solage - Calistoga, CA): This one brought by Tom, PnP, drank over an hour.
Consistent with prior notes:"Great dark fruits, black currants, blueberry, holiday spice, chocolate. Long 30+ second finish. Mouthfeel is smooth and viscous, not too dense, Tannins resolved and sweet.."
This bottle seemed less impressive (by memory) but still nice. Group was mixed on it. I think we did not allow it time to open or the bottle was off..no rating this one, stuffing still there we didnt allow it time.
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12/14/2016 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Acker Holiday Auction (A Voce Madison): I think this is a wine that needs a lot of age (think >20 years) for me. It's tasty in that crazy Cali cab way where the fruit is more extracted and deep and intense. Lots of blackberry. I enjoy it, but would love to see what happens when that mutes down a bit.
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9/11/2016 - davidandrose Likes this wine: 97 Points
A remaining 1/3 of a bottle, previously Coravin'd. Drunk alongside an '02 HSS.
Cork has been moistened 30+% up, but is still fine. Though it poured a bit lighter in color than the '02, this was stellar right out the of the bottle, with opulent rich, dark fruit flavors, black cherry highlights. After 2 hours there was considerable spice box and vanilla; fruits show a greater degree of maturity and less intensity than in the '02. Hints of Old World finesse while showing its New World pedigree. 97
'02 HSS: 1/3 of bottle previously coravin'd, 2/3 remaining. Uncorked and allowed to breathe for 90 mins. Wine color has barely penetrated the cork.
Purple/black coloring is darker than I'd expect for a 14 YO wine. Pencil lead, leather, char on the nose. Wine holds a firm grip on the side of the stems but glides over the palate without leaving much of a coating, though there are ample dark fruit flavors that - again- I'd expect to find in a younger wine. In a solid place today, capable of cellaring for many years to come. Tossing off a bit of fine sediment before the wine level dropped to the punt. Clearly New World and proud of it. 96
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8/17/2016 - fish1 wrote: flawed
Cork came out and was very soft and broke.
After opening there was a real funk to the wine and in the end we decided it was indeed corked.
First time ever for a Shafer corked wine.
Yes it was stored properly in my cellar.
36 more bottles hope the rest are ok as Shafer is one of my favorites.
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8/10/2016 - ephorn Likes this wine: 97 Points
Super concentrated but not super extracted. Very long finish and excellent balance and a bit of alcoholic warmth. Tannins are medium plus. This has entered its drinking window for fans of big reds.
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7/2/2016 - rlove wrote: 92 Points
Inky purple, significant sediment. Sexy nose of cool blue fruit, cedar, and licorice. Boysenberry and spice on the palate, soft tannins, very nice acidity. The cool, blue mountain fruit is appealing but I had hoped for more secondary and tertiary complexity. This bottle may not be the wine's best showing. Still, the 2001 Hillside Select is a gorgeous wine and among the top of Stags Leap. Drink through 2025+.
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5/17/2016 - dharrison93 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Brilliant full throttle Napa Cab. Fully mature dark inky purple in the glass with zero sediment and a gorgeous nose of black cherry, raspberry and creme de cassis. Palate coating like a fine silk sweater and finish which sails on and on.
If a date, this was a well traveled intellectual stunner who dazzles you with conversation over dinner before bring you home and dazzling you in other ways. A pinnacle of Napa juice.
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5/3/2016 - Topper wrote: 95 Points
Last time I had this was in 2010 and it's quite improved from then. Tannins have mellowed out (some) and the fruit, while big and blue is more reined in, now matching nicely with the large structure and concentration. Very nice drinking now and will continue to improve.
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4/30/2016 - budman Likes this wine: 95 Points
Smooth as silk. No signs of heading downhill any time soon. My last bottle can wait a couple more years.
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4/8/2016 - soyhead wrote:
nose - dark berry, mulberry, syrupy blueberry
mouth - boysenberry, dark berry, coffee, truffle, cocoa. rich
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2/13/2016 - fisk15 wrote: 93 Points
Enjoyed with Thanksgiving '15 with the fam
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1/1/2016 - Ibetian wrote: 95 Points
Popped and poured, BYO at steakhouse. Rich, ripe, powerful CAcab. Great with steaks. Not a style I buy or drink much of these days, but a real pleasure. No urgency to drink, but I would not expect this to get much better.
Terrific wine in a big, bold, CA style.
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11/19/2015 - Burgundy Al wrote: 94 Points
California Cult Cabernet dinner (Oak Mill Cafe - Chicago IL): Plum, blackberry, huge spice. Lots of dark chocolate. Started as rather backward despite a couple of hours in a decanter, but still mostly balanced. Still has upside from here. Much better than the last time I tried this in 2013.
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11/2/2015 - PopularCar Likes this wine: 98 Points
Dark, inky, full and concentrated. Balanced and drinking well.
Tasted along a 2002 HSS which seemed to need a few more years in the cellar to catch up.
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10/17/2015 - davidandrose wrote: 92 Points
From a previously CV'd bottle. Shows its age but in a near-perfect place for the vintage. Fruit still has a place but is sitting in the middle rows of the Orchestra section, rather than in the AA / BB rows.
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9/28/2015 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Fabulous expression of ripe, very ripe and extremely ripe fruits. Concentrated, intense, lush and rich, yet everything is in balance. Still young, much of its early jammy qualities and over oak influence has faded away, leaving with you loads of sweet, plush fruits. This is no shy sister, the wine is big, powerful and intense, yet refined in its own way.
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6/18/2015 - Rosengoo Likes this wine: 98 Points
This wine was opened and poured with minimal decanting. Tonight, this bottle was amazing. Clear and still a very youthful deep purple in colour with a nose of dark cherries and some caramel. Those same notes were in the glass as well and the acidity and tannins have settled down into what is now a subperbly balanced wine that seems to be in a wonderful drinking window right now.
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6/5/2015 - Jonathan T Likes this wine: 98 Points
I will be upfront and say that I am a Shafer HSS homer and I am biased. It is my deserted island wine ahead of SQN, Krug and any Burg or Bordeaux. When I name a WOTY it's really WOTYNNHSS as in wine-of-the-year-not-named-hillside-select, otherwise it will be boring and the same every year. But, that being said, I try to taste wine without prejudice, and in an attempt to find faults with this HSS, I came up empty. It is not as upfront luxurious as the '02, but it was more 4-dimensional. Not only was every sip layered in flavors, but when popped an poured, each sip was different from the last. One sip was focused on black and blue fruits, the next was all about graphite and scorched earth and leather, followed by a meatiness I love, and later there was dark chocolate, cherry compote and roasted espresso bean. Everything wrapped with subtle oak that was present but not distracting. It's like great sex where the sex is different each time. It's that good. Drank this to celebrate the birthdays of two great friends and that's how it should be.
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4/4/2015 - sjdoc Likes this wine: 100 Points
drank in a vertical tasting, 99-03. 2003 did not match up. 99 was a surprise hit. 2001 and 2002 were the clear winners with the 01 being slightly better
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3/8/2015 - shaferguy91 wrote: 96 Points
No decant. Terrific. Wonderful stuff. Drink or hold.
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2/27/2015 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Full beefy nose with a hint of motor oil. The palate is.magnificent. With Beef, cinnamon, herbs and Sweet berries. Nice ash to this. Awesome.
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1/17/2015 - levinml wrote: 96 Points
96 points at least, but maybe higher since it was difficult to focus. Drank for Johnny's 50th birthday at 801 Chophouse. Great steaks all around and lots of festivities, so tough to really pay close attention to the wine. Know it was great, poured from magnum during cocktails into decanter. It was a wow on first taste and just got better. Classic Shafer HS round, full-bodied, great flavors. Glad I have more. No rush on drinking this, still young in profile.
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12/25/2014 - Biroldo Likes this wine: 95 Points
Great wine. Star of the night.
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12/4/2014 - Milos Does not like this wine:
Part of 1994/2001 California tasting. Decanter for 2 hours. This one is way over the top. Overripe dark red fruit and alcohol on the nose; very port like. Mouth coating very fine tannins and long finish, unfortunately too alcoholic. I dislike this style of wine so to be fair I will not rate it.
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10/18/2014 - levinml wrote: 97 Points
Drank with Danny H. and Shanna at the home. Special bottle when knowledgeable relatives come over and they appreciated it properly. What I expect when I break out a bottle of Shafer HS. Big, round deep flavors, but enough structure to support and make it a long mouthful. Great now, and likely to gain complexity over another 5 years or so, at least
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9/21/2014 - Rktekt3 wrote: 98 Points
New benchmark.
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9/17/2014 - Tim Heaton wrote:
Chicago: wine, food, friends...cigars!; 9/17/2014-9/20/2014 (Blackbird, Les Nomades, Naha, with lunch at Shaw's Crab House): {magnum} A divisive wine by its very nature, I suppose; perhaps more so at this stage and in this format. No need to run through the descriptors at this point, as it's pretty well documented. Would like to see this in 10 year (750ml) and/or 20 years (1.5L) as I prefer nuanced tertiary to modern/sappy secondary. Let these rest unless you're just ready to get your hedonism on.
Aerated to decanter 90 minutes, this was still unfolding some three hours in; served non-blind.
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6/28/2014 - walkerjfw wrote: 95 Points
At Tom and Susan's farewell dinner...very generous of them to open their cellar as they did on this evening. Drank this along with a 00 Bond Vecina, 01 Hundred Acre and an 01 Colgin Cariad...
Shafer Hillside, for me, has always been a great experieince. This wine was no different and probably in a good zone right now. I think this was open for about 90 minutes when we started, it definitely improved in the glass over the next hour+. Great dark fruits, black currants, blueberry, holiday spice, chocolate. Long 30+ second finish. Mouthfeel is smooth and viscous, not too dense
Tannins resolved and sweet, in a really good spot now. Has a long life, but unsure if it will improve much...
The crew on this night felt it was consistent and good, WOTN was either Hundred Acre or Colgin
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6/27/2014 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Maybe a bit boring, but still a perfect wine. Or maybe, the perfection makes this wine slightly dull. There is not a hard edge to the nose. It is totally seamless and if silk had a scent this would be it. The fruit is deep, perfectly mature without being over the top. There are clean red berries with an almost voluptuous expression, but since balance is the keyword here, ballpoint pen, lovely earthiness and perfect oak speak up with an elegant voice. There is no chance the taster will find a flaw here. I somewhat hope the palate will disappoint me and compensate for the dullness. But it does not. It is clean, balanced and so integrated I get a tear of frustration in my right eye. It is incredibly good! Tannins, acidity, oak and fruit in one balanced harmony. A totally adorable wine. Sorry to find this perfection a bit frustrating.
(Tasted in a flight with 2001 Shafer Hillside Select, 2001 Napa Valley Reserve, 2002 Quilceda Creek and 2007 Hundred Acre Precious.)
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5/1/2014 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 99 Points
powerful, blackcurrant, spicy, cinnamon, sweet Tannins, longlife ahead, at least 10 years,second best cab after harlan 1997 for me, great filet and grilled carrots
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4/26/2014 - lswonger Likes this wine: 90 Points
Rich and opulent; after an hour it was still young. Dense currant and berry, not overly ripe but it had the classic sweetness and viscosity of a good California cabernet
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3/23/2014 - RickyT12 Likes this wine: 94 Points
3 hrs decant.
Super dark, very heavy little alcohol a lot of raspberry nose. Very good 30 second finish almost chewy. Juicy raspberry finish. Just a weird combination weight, alcohol, christmas flavors coming through has that powder jelly donut common with Hillside select. Just feels a little tired and to have lost its pop a bit. Actually has a type of milk chocolate, Cadbury eggs flavor. Nice wine, but just felt a bit tired. Kind of a bummer.
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3/22/2014 - SonnyChiba wrote: 95 Points
Excellent napa cabernet that is showing its stuff. Rich flavors of cassis, milk chocolate liqueur, mocha, blackberry jam, cadbury cream egg. Thick and mouth staining. There is an undeniable deliciousness to this wine and it is so well made. The finish is so rich and powerful. Only set back was that a lot of heat and alcohol was getting in the way and held back some of the different fruit components. Perhaps after some time to integrate more, it will be easy see why this wine has received so much praise.
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3/21/2014 - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Likes this wine: 93 Points
HEAVY glass bottle. Very dark in color. Port-like in sweetness. Similar to a jelly doughnut with a short, jammy finish. Difficult to detect exactly which fruit flavors, but something is present. Also some chocolate present. Tired flavors (?). A bit too alcoholic for my palate. Good, but lacks balance. Probably won't buy again at this price.
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12/25/2013 - mactheknife Likes this wine: 97 Points
As this wine evolves, it just introduces another side of itself in a great way; decanted for 30 minutes; youthful but now offering some spice notes; great balance; beautiful nose; tannins are silky now. Still plenty of fruit but in harmony with the wine.
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8/26/2013 - Burgundy Al wrote:
Birthday Celebration (Del Frisco - Chicago IL): Brief note. Controversial wine tonight, coming across as over ripe and hot tonight, not nearly as well balanced as I recall from last time tried, perhaps a year ago.
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8/16/2013 - chablis28 wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for about 2 hours prior. Improved since my January 2010 btl with more focus and better integration of the oak. Overall though, this is a huge brawny beast and really not my favorite style. The concentration is fantastic and its showing some intense palate staining cedarey, chocolate dark fruit flavors but I think this will always lack the finesse I'm looking for in my favorite wines. A recent 96 Montrose, for example, would blow this away side by side. At $195 on release some years ago I don't see this as worth it, for my palate going forward. Very well made and a great CA Cab but, I'd rather buy the occasional btl of Pride Mt's standard Cab for around $60 anyday. My score is reflective more of how I feel this would appeal to others who love this style of wine and, that it is undeniably, well made. This is very youthful yet and should improve so perhaps in 5yrs I'd feel differently about this wine but I doubt it.
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8/1/2013 - gr8r84u wrote: 96 Points
Fantastic! Sorry this is my last one.
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7/20/2013 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 96 Points
Absolutely stunning wine. Everything in beautiful balance and amazing long finish. Just lovely but no need to hurry.
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7/1/2013 - Wine_lvr Likes this wine: 96 Points
Shafer Hillside Select Vertical Tasting (Switzerland): Many consider this wine as the successor of the legendary 1978 Shafer. Even though I have never tasted the 1978, I can imagine why.
Still a deep red color with purple in the middle. The nose shows an explosion of flavors, chocolate, tar, licorice, currant and cooked cherries. There is an enormous length to this wine and it is smooth as silk. It is wonderful now but I am quite sure there is much more to come in around 5-10 years. Amazing stuff. Unless you have a good stock of this wine I would hold off from opening the next bottle until 2018.
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6/8/2013 - Zweder wrote: 98 Points
Dream tasting (@ Merlet): Had this wine several times (Not all notes in CT yet) and it is always a FEAST! Not so many notes this time. Enormously seductive bouquet with beautiful dark forest fruits and beautiful, well integrated oak. On the palate like velvet. Great dark forest fruits and refined oak as well as about the perfect balance between a bit of pleasant sweetness and beautiful fresh acidity. Perfectly round and soft tannin. Ready now and for many years until well into the 2020’s. 98 for now to keep some room for a bit more, but maybe the wine deserves that already.
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6/8/2013 - jkoenen wrote: 97 Points
Dreamtasting #5 (Restaurant Merlet, Schoorl): (*) Very primary in its aromatic play, yet the structure is starting to soften. Very mellow, velvety, no hard edges... this is how alcohol and oak should be integrated into the wine! Mindboggling complexity opening up after extensive aeration. So rich, so comforting, it has to be tasted to believe it. Creme de cassis, fresh black cherries, cuban cigars, espresso, asian spices, it goes on and on. This is a total masterpiece and I had visions that - in 5 years' time - this wine would merit the perfect score... 19-19.5/20
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5/17/2013 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Trip’s visit to DC - Capital Grill (Capital Grill at Tysons corner, VA): Jammy blue fruits, cassis, lavender, lead pencil, a hint of ash and caramel. Excellent concentration, opulent sweet fruits and silky palate. This seems slightly less concentration and more subtle than the 02 but drinking better. Certainly very impressive.
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3/23/2013 - Krhcellar wrote:
Awesome!!
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1/29/2013 - Share 67 wrote: 99 Points
One of the best wines I've ever tasted. That is until I had the 2002 vintage 30 minutes later.
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11/2/2012 - Wine_lvr wrote: 98 Points
American Belle 1st Edition (Switzerland): Deep red almost black in the middle. Smell of Joghurt, raspberry, chocolate. Taste of dark berries (currant), coffee and chocolate. Very elegant and long. A candidate for a full house in 5 years. My WOTN. Drink 2015 - 2030.
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10/10/2012 - Burgundy Al wrote: 96 Points
Opened, decanted and served right away. Aromas of black currant, cassis, plum, dark chocolate and licorice. Huge black fruit again on palate, in great balance with the tannins and new oak. Sensational textures and harmony, this comes across as more integrated and harmonious from when I last recall trying it, perhaps 5 years back. Ripe fruit and high alcohol seem well balanced, not protruding at all. This is perhaps jut entering its peak drinking window and should continue to be exciting for 15+ years.
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10/6/2012 - lpk22 wrote: 94 Points
Enjoyed at Capital Grille, big wine, nice lingering finish, drinking very nice right now, could continue to age
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9/15/2012 - Share 67 wrote: 92 Points
After an hour of decanting and mass quantities of bruising we agreed that the nose of this vintage was in the classic range. Very nice notes of dark cherry and plum with hints of anis and casis. The first sip was filled with classic expectation and began on the front palate with well balanced fruit fruit forward layers. But has the wine moved to mid and back palate we felt that there was almost a closed finish and was short to say the least. Honestly felt it was going to be a mirror of the 2002 vintage but it never came out of the locker room. It still is a very nice wine however it will likely take another 5 hours of decanting to smooth it out. But damn the nose was impressive.
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8/16/2012 - Charlie Carnes wrote: 85 Points
By comparison this is much better than the 1998 Pahlmeyer that came out of the same box in my cellar. Box should be titled California clunkers, or maybe monstrosities, or better yet 'Huge ass bottles of wine, with big scores, that are way over-made and cost @$175. At any rate, the drinkable, and very ripe and extracted blue and purple fruit, are surely outmatched by the freaking vanilla, vanilla coconut, vanilla oak, espresso, toasted oak, and, prunes.
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7/21/2012 - davidandrose wrote: 96 Points
16th Anniversary at Jean Georges NYC. Decanted for 45 mins, drunk over 3.5 hours. Licorice, saddle leather and faint tobacco on the nose with a hint of toasted oak. Light mouthfeel that puts on weight with the passing of time. 25-35 second finish. For the first 60-90 mins after decanting the elegant approach masked a strong punch that kicked-in after 20+ seconds. The wine became more fruit-forward as the night wore on, and the wine became more uniform, smooth and integrated - dark cherry, rich blueberries and dark tobacco moved to the forefront. Really great wine.
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7/15/2012 - Judgen wrote: 91 Points
I agree more with JR than RP on this one. The wine looked inviting, pool of dark inky purple begged to be carefully considered for the depths of flavour that was to splendidly coat my palate. Indeed, after a stint of being hot, the bouquet released tantilising wafts of cassis, annis, eucalyptus, tobacco, and a light tone of green beans. Not the most complex nose but clearly interesting. Alas, the disappointment refused to be put asunder as the wine crossed my lips. Despite tastings over a 24 hour window, the wine remained hot and the tannins refused to integrate overpowering the surpringly limited fruit. Whilst the finish was longer than most, the fleshy finish was tough and unpolished. Maybe it is in its recalcitrant adolescence and a stint of age will help. (5, 12, 9, 8, 7=91)
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7/4/2012 - Harry Cantrell wrote: 97 Points
Deep garnet. the early sweetness in the nose has mellowed to more the dark side, such as winter spices, asian spices, licorice, and a hint of plums. Mouth with filling, rich, every corner covered with black fruit compote with winter spices. Wonderful wine, in middle age.
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6/4/2012 - Matt Neel wrote:
Jules' Birthday (Corkbuzz, East Village, NYC): Black as night. Smells like a bottle of ink; chocolate, iron, minerals, oyster shells, soy sauce, licorice, and plums; really rather daunting to my dainty nostrils! Massive and quite overwhelming on the palate, but with a LOT of polish; pretty intense but certainly not over the top. Flavors match those of the nose. Full bodied and long. Once again, a very intense nose. A very controlled and deliberate style of wine and winemaking. Also, an important closing comment: the wine is really nicely balanced, for all its power and authority. (From Josh K.)
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5/19/2012 - JimN wrote: 94 Points
Was WOTN until the mystery wine appeared, which turned out to be a 1982 Lafite. Decanted for a full day. Not much has changed from tasting three years earlier. A lush, ripe wine that I hope will develop more complexity over time. If not, probably not worth the price, despite being an excellent Cabernet.
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4/18/2012 - davidwhitedc wrote: 95 Points
Epic Wine Dinner at Bourbon Steak (Washington DC): Wow -- the nose is explosive. Sweet blackberry pie and ripe, dark fruits, followed by vanilla ice cream, pencil lead, and spiced oak. The texture on this wine is unbelievable. Lovely.
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3/18/2012 - Pinot Evil wrote: 98 Points
A spectacular wine! Full, rich and complex cassis.
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3/15/2012 - gr8r84u wrote: 96 Points
Pulled this one for my Birthday dinner after reading Jeff Leve's comments. This wine was singing right out of the bottle and continued to get better until it was gone. The only flaw I detected was the lack of a second bottle. A few more years could make it better but it is delicious right now.
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3/8/2012 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
The best California Cabernet Sauvignon wines have earned a well deserved reputation for being expensive. Not that Shafer Hillside Select is inexpensive, but it sells for half the price of other Cult wines and on a quality basis, in blind tasting's, it proves time and time again, it's of equal quality with any of the far more pricey wines. Jammy blackberry, smoke, pepper, coffee, blueberry, cassis, truffle, spice and caramel create the complex aromatics. Big, rich and concentrated with waves of juicy, sweet, ripe fruit, the wine ends with a lush, mouth filling finish. The only minor fault is the slight touch of heat in the long finish. Drink now, or over the next 10-15 years.
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1/27/2012 - jinks wrote: 93 Points
DE Double blind Best Bottle (DE): Tasted double blind among 8 other fine/younger reds.
My blind notes:
youthful dark opaque color. Aromas of dark chocolate, rich coffee, and tomato paste.
Very smooth on the palate, if a bit shallow, but great dark fruit. velvety. ++ tannins, long finish.
Ranked 3/9, group's 5/9
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1/15/2012 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
A 5+ hour decant. The nose has sweet oak on it. Very concentrated. The sweet oak gets in the way of the blueberries, blackberries and floral flavors. Very long finish. I'd like to try this again in 10 years when maybe the oak has integrated.
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1/15/2012 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 95 Points
Minneapolis Wine Club Year End Event (Shari's House): While I liked this wine I am done buying Shafer Hillside Select as there are better wines for half the price that show less oak and massive fruits. Blackberries, vanilla, tons of oak, chocolate and spices. Concentrated and thick. This wine has a long massive finish and really should be cellared another decade to get the full experience.
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1/14/2012 - rocknroller wrote: 95 Points
Mpls Wine Club: Highly Rated Rhones: Chave, Guigal, Usseglio + Poyferre & Cos (Shari's house): Very dark red-purple color. 5 hour decant, drank one glass over 1 hour. Nose starts to open after about 20 minutes in the glass showing cedar, dust, blackberry liqueur, graphite, red and black fruits, with floral elements not becoming evident until about 30 minutes or more into the glass. The palate shows immense concentration, layers of lush black and red fruits, cedar, spices. There is power but this has finesse and long layered finish. No heat and nicely integrated tannins. This certainly benefited from a long decant and showed very well. 95+pts.
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12/31/2011 - budman wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for 90 minutes. Tannins were non-intrusive. Nose and palate were deep, dark fruit.
Long finish. Smooth mouthfeel. Everything a great Cali cab should be.
A perfect way to end the year!
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12/28/2011 - danielk168 wrote: 93 Points
Drank with 03 Byrant Family, 91 Dominus. Took over 2 hours to open, lots of heat at first, very young and too powerful, almost cannot taste the fruit and other subtle aromas. By hour 3 much better and started to enjoy it, but dinner was over too soon, will hold on to my other bottle for a few more years.
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12/16/2011 - soyhead wrote: 90 Points
3rd Annual Best of Bordeaux vs Kings of Kalifornia (PRIMA, Walnut Creek): tasted blind, (wine#10)
N - tomato, soy, per Jeff nose hairs on fire, definite heat
M - big wine. Heavily cocoa infused, huge fruit, fruit bomb, lots of heat. Young
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11/24/2011 - paffy wrote: 97 Points
Opened in cellar for 3 hours, no decant.
Enjoyed with Thanksgiving dinner. What a treat. Just a delicious wine, everyone really enjoyed. Very nice vanilla & cassis nose, long finish.
Still a young wine.
I did expect more from a 100point RP to be honest, but still quite good.
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10/16/2011 - cubswinws wrote: 99 Points
Just incredible. Simply amazing fruit. Expressive nose and still some tannins. This wine goes on and on. Suspect this will be good for another 10-20 years. WOW!
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9/20/2011 - Milos wrote: 93 Points
This wine is over the top for my palate, but that is what the top California cabernets have become. The colour gives no hint of ten years of age. Very ripe blackberry and cassis, licorice nose, very intense and complex, but even this intensity cannot hide the alcohol. The palate is balanced, the tannins hidden by the intense fruit extract. Long, long finish. The palate is more enjoyable than the nose, but what food do you serve this with other than grilled red meats and even that may not be enough for this wine.
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9/10/2011 - bullmrkt wrote: 95 Points
Even at 10 years its still a dark, saturated violet. Very nice but more subdued than expected nose of cedar and tobacco. Loaded palate that rapidly alternates flavors with every sip. Lots of cassis fruits, tobacco, and the oak is not shy. The finish is long, but accompanied by my only quibble, as a bit of heat rears its head...although its not outside the style of this wine. Very tasty stuff.
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7/31/2011 - jeff nowak wrote: 96 Points
circumstances prevented decanting, so i pulled the cork 2+ hours before drinking. fabulous. superbly nuanced fruit and classic napa cab complexity. beautifully balanced. highly recommended. drink or hold.
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7/17/2011 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 97 Points
SQN, Clerico, Hillside Select, Chave Hermitage, Rieussec: On any other evening, this may have seemed even better. We drank this one side by side with the 2002 and it just did not have the stuffing. Obviously very similar wines, but the nose was not as explosive. OTOH, the palate was more developed and unwound. Great cassis fruit. Charcoal and spice. I think this bottle was pretty much as good as it will get, but has a decade, at least, at this point. I have a bottle left in the cellar that I will hopefully drink in that time frame only on its own.
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7/13/2011 - dcwino wrote: 99 Points
Trip’s farewell dinner! (Cities restaurant - Washington D.C.): Excellent concentration and balance, expressive, I prefer Bordeaux over cal cab but tonight perfect showing of a monumental wine. In the context of all big scale wines this showed perfectly.
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7/4/2011 - vespasian wrote:
Deep coloured purple/crimson; Intense green/leather/spice oak on nose. Fruits very much hidden. A little licorice; nice mouthfeel, dark and silky but again not expressing much fruit. Some dark chocolate notes on the finish and a slug of alcohol. No score as perhaps an unrepresentative bottle.
(NB several hours later cork taint became clearly noticeable)
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6/6/2011 - puterdewd wrote: 91 Points
Complex but overrun with alcohol. So much so that I could have been a fire breathing dragon. Overall disappointing.
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6/5/2011 - cadamson wrote: 93 Points
Very enjoyable bottle. Lots of dark fruit as I expected, but this one had much more complex spices than I have had in the past with Hillsides, and also had a goow and mellow bit of licorice, chocolate and vanilla that was complementary, not overwhelming. Nice.
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6/5/2011 - wineguy21 wrote: 94 Points
Great wine with great complexity, structure and flavor. Still a few years of improvement ahead of it, and at least a decade or more of good drinking. No rush to crack into one, but in a good spot right now.
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4/18/2011 - jlgnml wrote:
Flickinger Wines Ten Years After Tasting: 2001 USA Cabernets and Blends (Their store in Wilmette, IL): Not as full of flavor, better on the palate. Ranked 7th, group 6th
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4/6/2011 - HenryW wrote: 96 Points
Pure, intoxicating nose of raspberries. Palate has great freshness, energy and delineation. Still somewhat monolithic. A powerful wine, but not overbearing.
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3/12/2011 - Zweder wrote: 97 Points
Complex and lush. Beautiful balance between sweetness and acidity. Silky soft tannin and with enough power for many more years. Great, complex, refined and harmonious wine.
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3/12/2011 - jkoenen wrote: 97 Points
Dreamtasting #2 (Restaurant de Watermolen, Kasterlee): Significantly thicker and more modern than the other wine in this flight (Togni 1997), but equally impressive and unique. Dazzling depth and concentration, though silky smooth. Youthful impetuosity, ultraripe tannines. Impeccable balance, drink now or in 10 years. A true dream wine. 19+/20
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2/20/2011 - Eric Likes this wine: 95 Points
Absolutely textbook Napa Cab albeit in a big mold. Pure Cabernet, cassis, vanilla, licorice, and black cherry. Great fruit, great structure, plenty of oak, and plenty of stuffing to handle that for the long term. For my drinking preference this could use another 3-5 years to drink up the oak, but I do love where this is headed.
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1/23/2011 - Harry Cantrell wrote: 93 Points
Deep black/garnet. Nose of black fruits and anise. Taste was blackfruits galore, even a slight sweetness like a jam. There is a heat at the end, but this is alos where the taste seems to blossom. Overall I suspect a bit of a closed phase here. Revisit in a few years. (This was decanted 2 hours before drinking.)
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12/29/2010 - noppakit s. wrote: 96 Points
I'm not a big fan of California wine and I didn't remember how many times I tasted this wine.
It was great 99/100 for me before I'm getting boring of drinking it. Today is more soft but still full-bodied with the big aftertaste. If you never try Hillside, it's really good.
IMO, I won't pay for it anymore.
If I have to, I'd like to buy the classic Opus One 1991 instead.
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12/27/2010 - Topper wrote: 93 Points
This is an indisputably good wine but I can't in all conscience put it in the >95 point category. There is body to spare and plenty of fruit but also a touch of heat and a good dollop of oaky sweetness. People will enjoy this wine, but I'm not sure it will come back to haunt their thoughts in the way the very best wines can.
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12/25/2010 - bonedoc wrote: 96 Points
This is a fabulous Cali cab, drinking very well now, but no signs of aging.
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8/30/2010 - JohnnyBark wrote: 95 Points
Good for Cali cab, but it should be for the price. Fun wine, but there's better stuff for half the money in my opinion. Glad I only bought one.
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8/12/2010 - dbkitc wrote: 96 Points
(at Charleston – Baltimore) Strong blue and black fruits character. Buffered in way by earth and flavor depth that really makes this sing. Nothing superficial all. In perfect harmony – a great great example of this style. No harm at all drinking this now. (96)
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7/11/2010 - Tom_B wrote: 95 Points
I guess I was lucky enough to save my favorite for the last. Doesn’t usually work out that way in a blind tasting, but this was my favorite.
Still dark ruby, brooding in color, this wine still was showing quite tannic. The density of the blackberry and cassis on the nose was supported by the well balanced nature of the palate. Great fruit and acidity tantalized the tongue, with a layer of somewhat dry tannins still keeping it in check. I went back to this one 3 times and enjoyed it more each time.
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7/11/2010 - tanglenet wrote:
Opened and decanted approximately 1 hour. Re-corked and took to an offline that was served blind. Well sort of as I knew which ones were mine. First go round: dark fruit, delineated finish; tastes young. Good+ Second go round: light on the palate; light in body; light on the fruit. What really stood out was the balance: everything just seemed to work and be effortless. VG to Excellent.
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7/2/2010 - Mike V wrote: 100 Points
wow This was just perfect for me tonight. After an hour in the decanter dark to the rim, beautiful nose with cassis. lasts forever. I guess I am all in on the 06
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6/17/2010 - EMichels wrote: 94 Points
Not giving anything on the nose; Brown sugar as it opens up
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6/17/2010 - King Cab wrote: 95 Points
Dark and ominous, this was tight out of the gate (as expected for pop and pour). Within minutes it started shedding its amour and black fruits started emerging. Wow, this is pure and precise with tones of refined black fruits of currant, blackberry and black plum. Some real nice cola notes amidst some tar, cardamom and soy. I kept this in my glass all night. It evolved, but in the super-flight at the end of the night, my new pour seemed a bit tired and fading. Still, all in all a very great Hillside from a classic vintage will always please in my book.
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5/23/2010 - orcharddude22 wrote: 97 Points
If the 2002 is a 100 I would rate this a 96-97. First that I have tasted since releaase and this one will last a long time. Still needs a bit of a decant before it shows it's stuff. Smooth chocolate, black fruit and lead pencil. Delicious.
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5/23/2010 - HenryW wrote: 95 Points
Bright and lively on both the nose and palate. Nose has some lavendar and graphite notes along with the dark fruit. Tannins remain prominent. The acidity provides a certain verve on the finish. Still seems young. Big wine, but not out of balance.
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5/16/2010 - jlgnml wrote: 95 Points
double decanted and used the areator 2x. Awesome fruit but the alcohol was still very prevelant thru out the evening of steak at Ruth Chris. Extrememly enjoyable and expectataion is that the acid will go away in a couple of years. WOW.
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4/19/2010 - OneLastSyrah Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dallas DAWGS April tasting (Table 3) (Urbano Cafe, Dallas): Dark garnet opaque in the glass with some translucence at the rim. Sweet oak, cedar, and black currant fruit on the nose. This just smells plush. Full bodied, rich and plush on the palate with seamless black currant fruit mingled with some toasty cedar accompaniment. Outstanding. Easy WOTN.
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4/10/2010 - last chance wrote: 94 Points
Blind California Cult Cabernet Tasting (Mill Creek, WA): Tasted blind. Some light VA on the nose. The palate had some very rich cassis/blackberry flavors and a nice earthy note. Pretty well balanced too. This would have been in the outstanding range for me if it weren’t for the nose.
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2/25/2010 - Berno wrote: 92 Points
I caught some heat on the nose, dark and ripe berry fruits. Similar palate and perfectly balanced. Needs 5-6 in my opinion. A-(+)
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1/17/2010 - bambam wrote: 94 Points
Decanted for about 1hr. Massive extraction and amazingly primary. Open for business with no heat. This a 50+ year wine in the making. Blackberries, dark cherries, mocha, hints of vanilla oak. Not the most complex HSS I have ever had but certainly the most extracted. 94+
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1/13/2010 - chablis28 wrote: 92 Points
1-13-10 A bit heavy and unfocused for my liking and lacking sublty. Smokey vanila oak yet everywhere. WAIT I guess! Don't see this ever being 100pts...for me
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12/25/2009 - pakabear wrote: 97 Points
I agree with the latest posters, I opened it up about 12 noon to taste it thinking it will need time and it did, very awkward at first. Decanted for 6 hours and it came around, massive extraction great complexity, just plain good.
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10/30/2009 - CMCLR wrote: 93 Points
Didn't decant it long enough. Good, but not as good as advertised.
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8/30/2009 - JLL wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 3 hours, drank over 3 hours. Cork was perfect, however, this was a wine that seriously underperformed my expectations and past experience. Zero wow factor here. Nose was not giving much other than a bit of heat and black fruit. Taste was predominantly black fruit with brown spice surrounded by mocha (but aren't all NV cabs). Could not discern any developing secondary characteristics since my last bottle 20 months ago. Finish was long but undistinguished. The wine seemed to perform better after 5 hours...Note to self, either extend the decant time or hold off for another couple of years
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8/7/2009 - rthun wrote: 99 Points
The 2001 Shafer Hillside Select is a monster wine. Opened 8 hours before drinking. Purple/black color. Bouquet of bananas foster and black fruit. Flavors of blackberries, brown sugar, banana bread, vanilla, lead pencil, eucalyptus and mint. Able to balance the huge fruit and alcohol. Nice balance and beautiful mouthfeel. This wine would be a WOTN contender on any night in 4-5 years. WOTN tonight as well. I think the 2001 HSS is a better wine than the 2002 HSS and will have a longer shelf life. Great wine!
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8/1/2009 - beezer6 wrote: 97 Points
Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Massive extremely well endowed wine. A notch below the '02 in terms of depth and mostly balance, but absolutely stunning nonetheless.
Decanted 5 hours. Cloudy dark ruby in color, though not opaque.
Masculine aromas of blackberries, dark cherries, mocha, leather and tobacco. Black eucalyptus flowers, lots of smokey meat as well.
Enormous and massive in length. The palate is a little thick and showing so much balance for a wine with nearly 15% aocohol.
90 second finish. Many thought this was Syrah due to its meaty smokey character.
Who wouldn't love this wine...even the big Old World Burgundy fans enjoyed this bottling.
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8/1/2009 - psmith wrote:
Seems like syrah, even after I knew what it was. Dark fruits, chocolate, vanilla oak. Very ripe, showing some heat. Plush mouthfeel. Big wine.
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5/15/2009 - vanpe003 wrote: 96 Points
A bit tight initially, but 30 minutes in the decanter really helped to open this up. The last glass, after about 90 minutes, was stunning. Aromatic, rich nose. Not the over-oaked bomb, but rather really deep Cab fruit. On the palate, rich, full-bodied....chocolate, cassis...awesome. I have no idea how this might age, but I was surprised at how approachable it is today. This one makes me want to go back and rescore the 1997 KJ Grand Reserve I had earlier in the night, which I rated a "91". "Comparatively speaking", there is no comparison between the two.
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3/9/2009 - WineForRob wrote: 95 Points
Blueberry chocolate and minerals on the somewhat muted nose. Full bodied and sweet in the mouth with more chocolate and a perfectly integrated and silky finish. Very good wine.
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2/18/2009 - mike l. wrote: 88 Points
nose is fairly tight. tons of alcohol showing here, also tons of peppermint and almost astringent issues with the oak here. excessive and not showing well right now. would pass for the time.
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2/15/2009 - Clarkmeister wrote: 92 Points
Delmonico Wine Dinner (Delmonico Las Vegas): Was getting a little tired by this time. This was excellent but did not do enough to really separate itself as something exceptional. Something missing, not sure what.
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12/31/2008 - hfindlay wrote:
A monster cabernet. Loads of licorice and blueberry flavors. Huge yet pure. Next time I will decant a lot longer than I did, which was hardly at all.
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10/23/2008 - Cheryl wrote:
Matriarch, Dunn, Insignia, Dominus, Shafer and My First WOTN! (Skinner's Loft, Jersey City, NJ): This was nice and the group's runner up wine of the night. I thought it was slightly cherry syrup-y, and that's beginning to bother me lately. Never has before. Nice, though. But for the price, I'd stick to the Matriarch.
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10/22/2008 - remeny1 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for two hours, and expected magic based on everything that I had heard about this wine. The nose was still muted, the tannins were rounded towards the end. It had great mouth feel, but the pallette was mostly smoke, which overpowered a subtle cherry and strawberry fruit characteristic. Maybe it needed a few more hours, but I will definitely wait 5-7 years before opening the other bottle.
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10/1/2008 - phenricsson wrote: 98 Points
3. Shafer HSS 2001. 91;85. Again we preferred the 01 HSS to the 2002. This is not quite as dark as the 02 but huge flavors and structure. Thick and fat and lots of aromatics and a very long aftertaste. Still as good the next day. 98p.
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8/29/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 95 Points
drunk at the napa valley reserve dinner, and provided from my cellar as a favor to another participant. not decanted, and it was still sensational. in a pretty competitive venue, this stood out near the top. drink or hold.
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8/17/2008 - PontetCanet wrote: 94 Points
Double decanted 6 hours prior to the dinner of ribeyes on the grill with Brett and Bridgett. Classic Napa nose with ripe blueberries and custard. Phenomenol concentration with a viscous mouthfeel. Very ripe black fruits with a super long finish. Seemed a bit lacking in acidity for my palate, although an overall very nice experience.
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6/17/2008 - Delund wrote: 97 Points
Huge black fruit on the nose, reinforced by the lush cassis palate. Very well integrated for such a young, massive wine, silky tannins, lengthy finish, incredible wine...
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5/30/2008 - jordanj wrote: 99 Points
WOW! Best young cabernet I have ever had. The nose was completley explosive, exotic and focused. The palate was lush and seemless. Long finish.
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5/3/2008 - Winetex wrote: 94 Points
Very dark ruby color with dark red rim; No light shone through this wine; Strong aromas of blackberries, spice and tar(?almost a burned smell); Lots of dark fruit and a fair amount of black licorice flavors along with some minerals on the finish; Balanced even with 14.9% stated alcohol with massive structure. It seemed as if it was at the changing point from primary fruit into more secondary flavors. [Note the decant: Double decanted at 5 pm and left without the cork until it was poured at 10 pm; this wine probably needed that much just to open up] Very, very good wine.
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4/15/2008 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
This wine had it all. Endless layers of sweet, ripe, black fruit and cassis fruit coat your palate. The perfume was intoxicating. The soft textures and oceans of ripe fruit made for a sublime finish.
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3/29/2008 - jkoenen wrote: 98 Points
California tasting @ Restaurant Savelberg (Netherlands): Lots of glycerine. Extremely youthful and promising, but already insanely good. Still can feel the tannines, which were so ripe, soft and 'juicy'. They almost seemed to melt into the cheeks. Fragrant expression of floral and fruity notes, which are very tightly wound but already give a wonderful, luxurious mouthfeel. This is bordering perfection, don't have a clue what to write about it. Literally, stunning. 19.5/20
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3/15/2008 - mdefreitas wrote: 92 Points
Blind Pairs @ Howard's (Old Greenwich, CT): A bit simple at first, with mosty cherry liquor flavors. Syrah? I voted the companion wine of the flight, the 2004 River's Marie Cab the winner of the flight, but with air this picked up weight and power. This became more dense and assertive, with the fine-grained structure nicely framing the ripe fruit. In the end, I gave it the same score as the River's Marie.
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1/31/2008 - Zweder wrote: 98 Points
Enormously concentrated bouquet with lush, ripe black fruits. Enormous concentration in the taste as well. Complex. Oak. Very ripe and sweet black fruits. Extremely good balance between all the components, the acidity and sweetness. Refinement and full bodied. This is very close to perfection.
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1/20/2008 - FakeAccount wrote: 97 Points
Huge, massive wine. Hitting on all cylinders and pretty well-integrated. No secondary aromas yet, but beautifully complex nonetheless... cassis, blueberry jam, spices, and sandalwood. Will only get better.
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1/15/2008 - jeff nowak wrote: 93 Points
needed more air/decanting.
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1/15/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 94 Points
Dinner with Otto (Backstreet): Blueberries, blackberries, chocolate, charred oak and mocha. Good mid palate complexity. Full bodied with nice balance. Great finish. 14.9% alcohol.
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12/31/2007 - JLL wrote: 94 Points
outstanding bottle, much better than the tannic behomoth I tasted a year ago.....decanted for 3.5 hours......nose and color were classic HS, however the nose IMHO is not up to the magnitude that the 02 is right now.....taste was smooth, tannins were non-biting, bit disappointed that this wine exhibited the classic Shafer HSS flavor profiles, but nothing more......in a relative sense I was disappointed, partially due to the love of the three bottles of the 02 that I had the pleasure of drinking this year.....I will give the other bottles another several years.....solid, but not up to my expectations.....this wine was cellared upon arrival, and showed a perfect cork upon opening......
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10/7/2007 - godx wrote: 93 Points
Drank at Tribeca Grill in NYC - Decanted for 30 minutes. Wow. Explosive nose of blueberry jam and vanilla. So concentrated. Inky on the palate. Blueberry mouth explosion. Some spicy and mocha flavours as well. Long finish. This a spectacular bottle of wine, but it’s not my style. This is just too much for me. A little artificial on the palate and overwhelming fruity. Very well made and it’s very hard to find a flaw in this bottle besides the finish: heat and tart. I think this is too young and needs more time in the bottle.
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9/5/2007 - jmd60611 wrote: 95 Points
Drank at Opus Toronto...Big and bold, deep purple with slight bricking on the edges, this was a big punch of ripe fruit and healthy drying tannins...Layers and layers of texture with a super rich and long finish...Delicious,
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7/28/2007 - wineismylife wrote: flawed
Distinct nail polish aroma.
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7/26/2007 - jeff nowak wrote: 94 Points
5 hour double decant. should improve when residual tannins and oak integrate. excellent now.
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7/26/2007 - mattiasjansson wrote: 92 Points
Dinner w/ Roy Piper (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix, AZ): Tight and tannic - needs time. Already showing some beautiful fruit. Some heat on the finish. Will be interesting to try this again in 5-10 years - this may be a great wine in the making.
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6/2/2007 - Hank Gillespie wrote:
The Wine Summit: Shafer Hillside Select - Saturday, June 2, 2007 - 10:45 A.M. (The Post Hotel in Lake Louise, AB): Full appearance – black/purple with a thin purple rim; spices on the nose – mix of fresh berries – runs up the nostrils and there is a bit of milk chocolate; Whew! A massive dose of black currant fruit spreads over the palate, literally overwhelming the other components; rich and full bodied leading to a very long finish – quite harmonious as it draws itself out – fruit though lasts and lasts. This is a terrific wine.
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5/4/2007 - budman wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 4 1/2 hours. Served 2 hours later at a restaurant. Almost flawless wine. Not too decadent, but full of lush, dark fruit, and an incredibly long finish. A real treat.
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4/28/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 96 Points
Shafer Hillside Select Vertical Dinner (1989-2002) (California Club, Los Angeles, CA): I thought this wine had a bit more depth than the 2002. Still very young, and quite structured, this massive wine was packed with cassis, blackberry, tobacco, and dark chocolate. A huge bruiser of a wine, but I loved it, absolutely loved it! This was for me the WOTN and the reason the Shafer HSS ranks among the best wines of the world.
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4/25/2007 - acheng wrote: 94 Points
Sweet, juicy, cola and engaging oak. Tannic off course but not obtrusive. Some heat in the end detract from overall experience.
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4/9/2007 - Jester wrote: 100 Points
This wine is just now beginning to come into its own. Tasted during dinner at Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse and paired with Creamy Escargot Bordelais with Bacon, Mushroom, and Fennel slaw and then with Filet Oscar. Pairing was beautiful. I had extensive notes filled with superlatives that I had taken on this wine, but somehow managed to lose them over the course of the evening. This is only the second wine I have ever rated 100 points, and it is, without a doubt, very deserving. I tasted this wine about 2 years ago and it has definitely evolved in that time. From memory.....Opaque beautiful ruby/maroon in color, this had amazingly pure cassis liquor, black cherry, and black raspberry, dark chocolate, and freshly chopped mint on the nose and palate......beautifully unctuous and rich.......Medium/Full body with perfect integration of acidity and sweet plump tannins. Delicate nuances of mocha espresso, dark chocolate, volcanic soil, and just tiny hints of mesquite, menthol, sage, cedar, and vanilla oak. Simply amazing. I only have two bottles in my cellar, but would love to have more, although I'd also like a few bottles of the '02 ( even though many people say that it is a completely different wine ) I'll probably pop my first bottle in another year or two and open my last bottle in 2011, although I feel that this wine will not even begin its downward stride until 2025 or so. I've had Harlan, Bryant, Screagle, Colgin, Araujo, Abreu and many others, and while Shafer is popular, I don't find that its garnered the cult status that those wines, deservedly, receive. However, in my mind, this wine is the epitome of what California Cabernet can achieve when great terroir meets passion, quality viticulture, and excellent winemaking.
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3/18/2007 - keithgg wrote: 96 Points
A beautiful Stags Leap cab with no rough edges. Very soft, hugely aromatic with distinct chocolate notes, packed with fruit and an immense finish. My palate would prefer a little more grip to the wine.
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1/11/2007 - Nanda wrote: 100 Points
Shafer Hillside Select Vertical (Zealous - Chicago, IL): Deep dark ruby to purple. Sexy and oppulent nose is insanely aromatic. Chocalate, sweet rich blackberry, brown sugar, mint and vanilla toast aromas soar from the glass. Massive, rich and syrupy fruit coat the mouth and stain the teeth. Despite the extraction and weight the palate has impeccable poise and balance. Persistent through a long, long finish. Perfect? My WOTN, group's WOTN. 5+15+20+10=100
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12/21/2006 - RJD wrote: 93 Points
Huge nose. When opened, the aroma's of this wine simply filled the cellar. See Pelz and Winetex notes below. Same bottle. Wait a few years on touching this again.
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12/19/2006 - Winetex wrote:
Probably a 92; No rating due to a head cold. Tasted at Steffen Pelz's 3rd Annual Year-End Wine Tasting . This bottle seemed closed and straightforward compared to the previous one but maybe it was just my cold. HSS is always a good bet.
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12/19/2006 - steffenpelz wrote: 93 Points
3rd Annual Year-End Wine Tasting (34th Street Cafe (Austin, TX)): Definitely a great wine. The nose was so open and effusive, it was almost scary. I enjoyed the pure cassis fruit in this wine and its underlying flavors of chocolate and smoked cardamom. Super long finish. Can't go wrong with this wine, but didn't reach the heights of complexity of the Solengo or VT to me.
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10/29/2006 - gorm wrote: 98 Points
Intense dark core, ruby at the rim. This has the best and most intriguing nose yet: smoked fruit and smoked meat (peking duck?), licquor, coffee, caramel. Its sooo intense and delicious with a brilliant balance. Everything plays together in a symphony and the finish is very long. Rating: 98
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8/29/2006 - phenricsson wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 5 hours, poured back into bottle, left uncorked for 3 hours before tasted. By far the darkest and densest of the wines. Nose is initially a bit green and reticent but opens up and shows very jammy, spicy, toasty and tarry notes with some toffee and mint. On palate it is massive, jammy and rich. Intense black currants, chocolate and roasted flavours. Very sweet but also very tannic. Feels less ready than any of the other wines. Long, sweet aftertaste with Coca Cola notes. 96 points.
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6/1/2006 - winefool wrote: 95 Points
Again, a tie for me for WOTN. This was a really killer wine, as has been pointed out here several times recently (and I was really looking forward to trying it as a result). Opaque black/purple color. Bright big clean aroma. Really great black fruit on the palate – huge concentration and a long balanced finish. 6/06
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5/23/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at David Burke's Primehouse (Chicago IL): Rather ripe fruit on the nose - plum, black cherry with nice traces of chocolate. Deep and intense fruit on the palate that closely continues the aromatic profile. Just barely on the right side of the ripe vs. over-ripe border (for me). Heat comes across rather prominently on the finish.
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5/20/2006 - goofy Yno wrote: 95 Points
wow! decanted and watch the evolution in the glass. started with a buttery feel and peakes of fruit but within 20 min this thing melded into a powerhouse. full of blueberry ,blackberry and black currant. some tabacco and vanilla. the mouth was increadable. lush and full. seemless. tons of fruit and a finish that went on for days. some silky tannins but barely noticable above the rest.
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5/7/2006 - jclary wrote: 98 Points
Decanted about one hour, fabulous wine. On the nose, I got a strong note of blueberries, reminiscent of a '94 Bryant Family in its youth. That continued on to the palate, along with other dark fruits including black cherries and a great chocolate note. The wine has terrific structure, and is clearly built for the long haul. A wall of tannins finishes the wine, but they are silky and not obtrusive in any way. Although way too young, this was a terrific bottle of wine. It will be hard to keep my hands off other bottles.
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3/29/2006 - Russell Faulkner wrote: 96 Points
Very dark, inky ruby, black cherry and a hint of sweet olive on the nose which is very expressive. Shows gloriously ripe fruit on the palate, a rusty, iodine quality, very high tannin - but already quite integrated. With time (and from a different bottle) there was just a hint of rubber in the background, but almost hidden by the pure ripe fruit.
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2/12/2006 - buckeye76 wrote: 97 Points
INCREDIBLE COMPLEXITY AND ELEGANCE WITH RICH DEEP BERRY FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR AND NUANCES OF CHOCOLATE AND LICORICE. LONG FINISH.
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2/10/2006 - dbkitc wrote:
Yeah baby – this is incredibly rich, yet stylish. Very long, fine and pure. Surely California, but I can’t imagine anyone would not like this. (19)
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2/2/2006 - pakabear wrote: 99 Points
Best wine I had all year. The nose and the taste were simply perfect!
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1/19/2006 - Winetex wrote: 93 Points
Big Reds in Austin (34th Street Cafe Austin, Texas): 93+ and should improve. It's clearly too young to drink but I had to know how long we want to hold this wine. Tastings of this wine are few and far between. When first opened the entire kitchen filled with an espresso aroma. It was notable for the strength of the aroma. After a two-hour double decant the wine started to exhibit more complexity with blackberries, dark chocolate. It tasted similar to the 1999 HSS at this point in its life. It had great structure, focus and the fruit was just glorious. Tannic as to be expected. I get the hype but the question is how long to hold the wine? There is something about the wine that makes me think that holding it too long might be an issue but it does have a good track record. [$$$; Decanted back into the bottle for two hours, needed more air time; Maybe 2008 for the next bottle?]
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12/26/2005 - jeff nowak wrote: 97 Points
decanted 4 hours, but several tasters drank it down quickly after presentation, so i was not able to follow it in the glass. some commented that it was the greatest cab they have ever tasted, but that's always relative.
i was able to secure a very generous allocation (750 x 9 and 1500 x 3) of this wine at outstanding pricing; therefore, i felt i could burn one.
i wondered if 4 hours in the decanter would be enough to open this up. however, i thought the wine drank quite well. there are obvious tannins to resolve, but the underlying elegance and balance couldn't be restrained despite it's young development. rich and voluptuous fruit leads to a very long finish. the mouthfeel is just a bit drying, but not grainy or harsh. it's impossible not to like this wine if you drink california cabernet. near the top of the heep.
i did do an extensive 01 tasting with my wine group just before this was released, so it wasn't included. from memory, wines that give it a run for it's money are the foley claret, bond st eden, and colgin cariad.
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12/20/2005 - NobleRot wrote: 98 Points
Excellent wine. A litte muted on the nose at first, but exploded into black fruits and mocha. Very fruit driven which leads me to believe that this may not last 20 years. But who cares, it's great wine!
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12/15/2005 - Blair Curtis wrote: 96 Points
2001 Cults (Plus some extras) from Delyap & Tommy 'O (Vancouver): Gorgeous nose. Distinctive. Shafer HSS? Pure cool cabernet fruit. Great, rich, smooth body and tremendous palate presence. Excellent high-quality fruit. Not overdone. Great wine. The group had this ranked 4 of 13.
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12/10/2005 - davidandrose wrote: 97 Points
Had to open far too early to appease mrs davidandrose for buying too much wine. Went over very well. No detailed notes. but no brain damage about buying the full 2002 allocation.
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12/7/2005 - jwgauthier wrote:
This one was almost identical to the 1999, although I would say it is a better wine by just a hair. Although easy to drink now, the flavors are very primary, but it has a rich, velvety mouth feel, and a very long finish. WOTN for some.
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11/29/2005 - ERoss wrote: 98 Points
Best of the Best Wine Class, Fall 05 (Farmington Community & Senior Center, Unionville, CT): Way too young, and in need of some serious decanter time, but a treat nonetheless. Monochromatic, deep purple in color. While still pretty tightly wound, aromas of cassis, toasty sweet oak/vanilla, pencil lead, dark chocolate, mint, and eucalyptus eased from the glass. Amazing, brooding clarity of flavor with lush essence of black currants and a super mid-palate. Longest finish of the group, with plenty of dusty, but not overly-assertive tannins. Special stuff – flawless New World Cabernet – needs a decade of bottle age, but providing plenty of drinking enjoyment right now.
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11/12/2005 - Mike V wrote: 95 Points
Saturday at Chez Verhille: A lot going on here. Deep viscous wine. Full nose that expands through the night. Tannic deep fruit on the palate. Will be a wow wine.
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10/24/2005 - Mlermontov wrote: 96 Points
Honeymooners in NYC (Montrachet): i am upset - i was not in the best shape by this point and barelly had the opportunity to trully taste this.
Minty, rich to the point of no return, but the backbone is there and this has all the right stuff. Fruit in buckets but this should age well and then maybe show more of the complexity thats obviously there...
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10/20/2005 - winefool wrote: 94 Points
WS New York Wine Experience Grand Tastings; 10/20/2005-10/21/2005 (Marriott Marquis NYC): Full red color. Forward aroma of red fruit with tight spicy acidity. Hughe rich ripe black fruit with a firm tannic structure. Still young, but will be great.
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10/14/2005 - tanglenet wrote:
Tasted at Beltramo's with Doug Shafer in attendence. Per Beltramo's the wine was poured into the glasses about 1 hour prior to tasting. All vintages (1995-2001) appeared to me to be the same color due to the lighting which was a red purple color.
Similar nose to the 2000, dry cherry with vanilla, oak, pepper and a long finish. This and the 1998 were my favorite wines of the evening, excluding the 01 Sunspot which was gorgeous.
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10/10/2005 - Russell Faulkner wrote: 97 Points
Now we are talking, smooth sweet oaky nose, perfumed violets and bright 'cherry tunes', glorious. Layers of complex ripe cherry, dried red fruit and chocolate. Excellent, just how I remember the 1997 being last time. Potential 99 points.
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3/13/2005 - PaulH wrote: 98 Points
Shafer Hillside Select Dinner (Manresa Restaurant, Los Gatos, California USA): This bottle was brought to the dinner by Elias Fernandez. It showed a big nose of ripe cabernet fruit and chocolate... lots of chocolate. The palate was incredibly unctious and full with chewy mouth-filling texture and tastes of bittersweet chocolate, spice and ripe berries. The wine showed a big, big structure with the alcohol, tannins and acidity all in the right place. A great experience. The table picked this as the best wine to drink in the future. I picked it as one of the best wines I have ever had the privilege to put in my mouth. Elias Fernandez says there have been three perfect years for Hillside Select fruit. 1994, 2001 and 2004! I can hardly wait!
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8/23/2003 - AlexHop wrote: 99 Points
Tasted barrel sample at the Shafer mailing list party. I've often had a really tough time tasting barrel samples, but despite more than 6 other vintages of Hillside going back into the 80s, this was the vintage I kept refilling my glass with. Big fruit, amazingling long finish, one of the most intense wines I've ever tasted (only thing that comes to mind as more intense was the 2001 Pride Petite Sirah). This is on track to be a candidate for the best Hillside ever. If I recall they were pouring the 1996 (but not the 97) and the 2001 was way better.
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