1984 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

Community Tasting Notes (6) Median Score: 88 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Maximilian7's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/18/2023 - Maximilian7 Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Bottle was in very good condition with an ullage at base neck, clean foil, cork came out easily with the Durand revealing about only 40% cork creep. The wine showed a clean nose from the beginning, PNP. Started to really shine around 30-45 minutes after opening. Great conditon, has evolved beautifully still showing a good amount of fresh currant fruit and desiccated cherries. Lots of layers of dried herbs and spices, tobacco leaves, oregano, tea leaves, ground cinnamon. Wonderfully complex. Palate demonstrated very refined silky tannins and a strong acidic backbone providing ample freshness to the wine. Unanimously voted WOTN amongst some other Cali Bordeaux blends and classed growth left bank Bordeaux. Hardly gets any better. Definitely performing at peak level now but looks like it can handle a few more years.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View jennygoldberg's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/21/2014 - jennygoldberg wrote:

  -pretty vibrant nose despite age, bright red cherry (with a hint of sourness) dried red currant/cranberry, decent body, med tannin, balanced
  -drinkable but wouldn't cellar for much longer

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View gutt22's profile
  • Report Issue

  7/12/2011 - gutt22 wrote:

  From magnum. An interesting and wonderful wine, though probably drinking at its peak maturity. Some bricking at the rim of the glass. Complex, lovely nose of wet earth, tobacco, pencil lead, spice, and mature fruit. In the mouth, a wine that changed as it was exposed to more air and with each sip. Fully resolved structure allowed the mouth feel to take on an almost feminine quality, with terrific balance and elegance. There was plenty of fruit, showing a touch of dried currant, and layers of earth and spice that grew deeper and more resonant with time. Strong finish. A really nice wine. A-/A

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Berno's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/2/2011 - Berno wrote:

  Purchased on the cheap for me and my buddies b-day. (We're both '84's) 4/5 of the cork was saturated, but it came out in one piece. It was showing its age, clear brick red. In the nose, it had some funky, wet tobacco notes. There was some underlying cooked red fruit, tingling menthol and warm Earth. In the mouth, lots of acid, soft mouth coating tannins and a pretty long finish for a wine that's over the hill. Nonetheless, it was the first wine I've had from 1984, it was very special. NR

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View wconnolly's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/28/2010 - wconnolly wrote: 88 Points

  Deep garnet color, slight meniscus, some dark berry fruit, cigar box and chocolate. Needed to open over a two hour period but improved and continued to open. Very nice wine. Interesting comparison to '82 Brane-Cantenac which opened early and subsequently cloised down. Drank with great friends and family at Will and Kate's rehearsal dinner in homr of Kate's birth year. Consumed with Beth, Rick, Linda, Rusty, Ann Greg and Marcia.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 6 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.