That’s it for the 96 Red Shoulder, it’s my last bottle, and clearly the weakest and most mature of the bottles that I’ve opened. This example shows clear signs of thick butterscotch, caramel . Little fresh fruit, the butterscotch components overwhelm all others. Ragged finish with some lemon and elevated acidity. It was best within the first 30 minutes but then degraded after that. If this is a representative example, then the 96 is now done.
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A wonderful, mature chardonnay. Flavor remains fresh, creamy and spicy with fine citrus notes and minimal oak. Great color and a nice, long finish. It is a great surprise that a 1996 Chardonnay would be as great as the 1996 Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch after 11 years.
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After ten years, this wine is beginning to show it’s age. No tasting note from this opening, but the bottle showed a clear oxidized character suggesting that this bottle is in decline.
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8/8/2010 - uberoh wrote: 87 Points
lots of butterscotch, sweet texture and taste, has lost some of the acid balance - still drinks well but probably near the end of the road.
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3/2/2008 - mlawren1 wrote: 87 Points
stong butterscotch flavors overpower the hints of fruit that are left. Finishes with a bit of toasted biscuit.
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1/17/2008 - Mark wrote: 84 Points
That’s it for the 96 Red Shoulder, it’s my last bottle, and clearly the weakest and most mature of the bottles that I’ve opened. This example shows clear signs of thick butterscotch, caramel . Little fresh fruit, the butterscotch components overwhelm all others. Ragged finish with some lemon and elevated acidity. It was best within the first 30 minutes but then degraded after that. If this is a representative example, then the 96 is now done.
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8/21/2007 - Gfritzh wrote: 94 Points
A wonderful, mature chardonnay. Flavor remains fresh, creamy and spicy with fine citrus notes and minimal oak. Great color and a nice, long finish. It is a great surprise that a 1996 Chardonnay would be as great as the 1996 Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch after 11 years.
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4/5/2007 - Mark wrote: 88 Points
After ten years, this wine is beginning to show it’s age. No tasting note from this opening, but the bottle showed a clear oxidized character suggesting that this bottle is in decline.
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