Unbelievable wine! Still young after 30 years! My fourth bottle, and the best: deep, deep dark color, supercomplex nose. On the palate an explosion of dark fruit accompanied by chocolate, vanilla, coffee, tobacco and an overlay of wonderful sweetness. And additional layers of cedar, sandalwood, exotic spices…. Depth and freshness plus power (14% alc only…) Very long, elegant and silky finish. A legend! Will enjoy winelovers for another decade!
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Phenomenal balance and structure. Holding like a first growth. Great nose, body, fruit, balance and finish. Lots of black fruit, very soft and mellow tannins, phenomenal balance and structure. Mental, still has that cedar wood but very subtle. Seems like it still has a decade in it, no sense of any cracking even on edges.
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A revenge selection to make up for a cancelled flight, this was quite fun to drink. Held up great over 2 days. A bit of a musty nose at first, but opened up to show some dried floral notes. Still a bit of dark fruit on the palate with a hint of iodine. While this still has plenty of tannins and structure for longer aging, can't see this getting much better from here. Drink now with a couple hour decant.
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Via Coravin, no decant. Deep red color. Very complex nose. Not the same Superman show than 3 years ago: the wine developed more secondary notes and additional Bordeaux-like elegance, more deepness. On the palate a wonderful harmony of very present mostly dark fruit and very ripe and silky tannins creating an opulence and decent power that ends in an incredible long finish. Power, elegance and complexity in a marvelous balance. This is the stuff why wine drinkers like me love Californian Cabernet! World class!
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(Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select) Opaque red violet color; ripe black fruit, black olive, black plum nose; tart black plum, black olive, mineral, light herb palate; medium-plus finish 93+ points
4/8/2024 - shafer1994 Likes this wine: 100 Points
Unbelievable wine! Still young after 30 years! My fourth bottle, and the best: deep, deep dark color, supercomplex nose. On the palate an explosion of dark fruit accompanied by chocolate, vanilla, coffee, tobacco and an overlay of wonderful sweetness. And additional layers of cedar, sandalwood, exotic spices…. Depth and freshness plus power (14% alc only…) Very long, elegant and silky finish. A legend! Will enjoy winelovers for another decade!
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8/13/2023 - Bimal Likes this wine: 95 Points
Phenomenal balance and structure. Holding like a first growth. Great nose, body, fruit, balance and finish. Lots of black fruit, very soft and mellow tannins, phenomenal balance and structure. Mental, still has that cedar wood but very subtle. Seems like it still has a decade in it, no sense of any cracking even on edges.
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6/28/2023 - dpolzien Likes this wine: 94 Points
A revenge selection to make up for a cancelled flight, this was quite fun to drink. Held up great over 2 days. A bit of a musty nose at first, but opened up to show some dried floral notes. Still a bit of dark fruit on the palate with a hint of iodine. While this still has plenty of tannins and structure for longer aging, can't see this getting much better from here. Drink now with a couple hour decant.
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4/8/2022 - shafer1994 Likes this wine: 99 Points
Via Coravin, no decant. Deep red color. Very complex nose. Not the same Superman show than 3 years ago: the wine developed more secondary notes and additional Bordeaux-like elegance, more deepness. On the palate a wonderful harmony of very present mostly dark fruit and very ripe and silky tannins creating an opulence and decent power that ends in an incredible long finish. Power, elegance and complexity in a marvelous balance. This is the stuff why wine drinkers like me love Californian Cabernet! World class!
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10/5/2021 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very good.
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