2017 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 93.1 points

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  6/15/2023 - wino_tim wrote: 88 Points

  Very deep, opaque purple. This will likely border on heresy but I'm not sure I have ever really understood Hillside Select. It tastes a lot like One Point Five, costs about three times as much and rarely seems to deliver three times the wine. On the nose this vintage offers appealing sweet aromas of fresh blackberries, black cherry jam, jelly doughnuts, crème de mûre, strawberry bubblegum, violets, French toast, and tons of oak spice. On the palate it is full bodied with notably diminished acidity, fine tannins and pervasive alcoholic heat. The texture here is seamless and the sweet fruit flavors nice, but the idea of spending $325 on this... I don't know. It will make a lot of people happy, that much is sure.

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  5/13/2023 - Harry Cantrell Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Deep garnet. Nose with hint of volitility, black fruits. Taste was closer to typical Hillside Select. One thing I noticed was use of a composite cork with a thin maroon disk on the wine end. Like most Champagne corks. I have not noticed this before

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  3/27/2023 - Harry Cantrell wrote: 94 Points

  Deep garnet. Nose of dark chocolate, black fruits. Missing is that Hillside sweetness I usually get. Mouth like the nose. Medium weight. Very good.

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  3/14/2023 - Collector1855 wrote: 94 Points

  During a merchant tasting, not detailed notes. Nose of dark fruit, cassis, some spices. Very young. I like the fact that this feels much less sweet and overdone like usual, a cooler vintage can sometimes help with balance. No aromas of the forest fire perceptible either. A success. 94-95

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  9/28/2022 - RichD2 wrote: 90 Points

  Disappointing! Showing little fruit but plenty of coarse tannins. Too young to drink, perhaps, but even the next day, it did not open up.

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