A visit to Shafer

Last week I was out in Napa and stopped in at Shafer. One advantage to being on their lists is that they wave the tasting fee ($45). It was a generous tasting and the setting is beautiful. All wines were popped and poured five minutes before we sat down.

• 2008 Shafer Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch 87 Points

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Green gold in color. The nose has vanilla and limes. Pretty nice and not over bearing oak. On the palate, there is a crispness which is nice with some lime notes. It is also slightly searing and slightly bitter. Long, but not pleasant finish. The oak shows much more on the palate. The wine sees no ML, which I like, and its mos so much style, but I find few Cal Chards I like. At $45, this is an easy pass for me, but ymmv.

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• 2007 Shafer Merlot 85 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Ruby/garnet in color, clear and bright. Very tight nose, maybe some cherries. Juicy texture which is nice. The palate has lots of oak, cherries and pretty straight forward. Slightly green notes emerge. Medium tannins. Searing oak. With air, it smooths out a bit. Just nothing special here. I know lots of people would like this a lot though.

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• 2007 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  This is delicious. Purple/ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is much deeper with cassis and slight graphite notes. Sweet ripe fruit. Raspberry jam, cassis. There is a lot here, but a few years in the cellar would make it even better. Slight heat on the finish with firm tannins. With air it smooths out. At $75, it is fairly priced vis-a-vis the market. I bought some to lay down. Can't wait to see the 07 SHS.

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• 2007 Shafer Relentless

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  I am not going to rate this. I didn't like it. Found it to have lots of oak, a hollow mid palate and heat on the finish. So why not rate? It reminded me of the 99 and 00 Relentless, the last vintage I bought. Yet, recent tastings of both of those years were excellent. For my palate, this wine needs 5 to 8 years of cellaring to develop and fill out. Now, in general, I am not a fan of northern Cal Syrah (with a few exceptions). But, and this is where knowing the label changes my view, I wouldn't be surprised to see this be a 92+ point wine in a few years.

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• 2006 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 96 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  Well sure this was too young. Ruby/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, cherry cough syrup, slight iodine and mint notes. On the palate, this is so silky and smooth. Sweet cassis. Tightly packed layers of interest. Lots of tannins. Long finish. This is flat out delicious now, if in desperate need of air. Down the line, it will be stunning I have no doubt.

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• 2007 Shafer Firebreak Dessert Wine 87 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  Apparently this is only sold at the winery. They call it a Port, but no where on the bottle is that term used. Ruby in color, clear and bright. The nose is sweet raspberry. The palate matches with some heat. Fun and tasty, but no complexity. Its 100% Cab and 19% Fortified ABV.

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