Shafer Hillside Select Vertical Tasting

Switzerland
Tasted Monday, July 1, 2013 by Wine_lvr with 1,244 views

Introduction

The event took place on March 26, 2012, the tasting notes were entered into Cellartracker in July 2013.

An extensive Shafer Hillside Select Tasting organized by Martel in St. Gallen. A total of 17 vintages of this monumental wine were presented by Doug Shafer and the Martel team.

The series were chronological. I did not see any decanting, so all straight out of the bottle. The event clearly showed the outstanding quality of the Shafer Hillside wines, there were no real downs since the mid 1990s and quite a few wines that are legends from tomorrow (2001 / 2004 and 2006).

One small point to raise is that when tasting so many Shafer Hillside Selects, something similar I also experienced in the Quilceda Creek vertical tasting, is that I am still not able to find out the character of this wine. These are truly outstanding Cabernets but somehow I am missing the feature that makes the Hillside distinctive from the other great Napa Cabs. Heitz has the mint/eucalyptus, Harlan has the sap and Hillside... well I guess it is just the consistent outstanding quality that makes the Hillside a Hillside.

Flight 1 - 1990 - 1994 (5 Notes)

  • 1990 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Brick color. Malt and Vermouth in the Nose. Quite medicinal in flavor with only a bit of fruit left. This wine is past its prime.

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  • 1991 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Well the 1991 is a whole different caliber than the 1990. Garnet red. Cherries and dark berries in the nose. The wine has a wonderful sweetness is very smooth and elegant. Lots of dark fruit and chocolate. Just wonderful. Drink - 2020.

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  • 1992 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Clear deep garnet. Nose of chalk, cherries and dark berries. Chocolate, red berries in the finish. All very well balanced. This wine still has some reserves. Drink now - 2025

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  • 1993 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 89 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Mature brick color. Malty nose with hints of green vegetables (peppers). It shows chocolate and is quite elegant but all in all too short for a Hillside. Good wine considering the difficult vintage. Drink now - 2015

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  • 1994 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Intensive clear garnet in color. Berries, Coffee and Chocolate in the nose. The tannins are still there but very nicely integrated into the fruit. Flavors of chocolate, currant and boisen berries. Nice wine but I expected more from the 1994! Still plenty of reserves. Drink - 2025

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Flight 2 - 1995 - 1998 (4 Notes)

  • 1995 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Deep garnet, still very young for its age. The nose is just amazing! Currant, chocolate and berries. The tannins are so smooth and very nicely integrated. Hints of tobacco, chocolate and berries in the finish. This is an amazing wine. Drink now - 2030

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  • 1996 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    I was excited for the 1996, especially as I had so many ups and downs with the California Cabs of this vintage. The Hillside was still very young in color. A deep intensive red. In the nose there were hints of licorice and tar all nicely matched with the berry flavors. It is quite a "cool" wine with hints of flint stone, all covered again in rich berry flavors. It matures quite fast in the glass. But to be honest a bottle of the 1996 will not last too long anyway it is sooo nice and easy to drink. While the 1996 is the wine of the moment the 1995 is definitely the wine of the future. Drink - 2025

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  • 1997 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select Flawed

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Big disappointment. The 1997 was flawed! Behind the TCA there is a blockbuster wine. I am looking forward to the next opportunity to try this wine

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  • 1998 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 90 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    1998 - a difficult vintage and this is no different with the Shafer Hillside Select. Quite mature in color. It has a lactic nose with hints of leather. Strong dry tannins and acidity. Unbalanced and short. Over extracted berries with no backbone. Drink now - 2018

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Flight 3 - 1999 - 2002 (4 Notes)

  • 1999 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    1999! A vintage that never disappointed me. Much more affordable than the 1997 and 2001, 2002 but very close in quality. Over the past two years I purchased many California Cabs out of this "forgotten" vintage. Very few of the 1999 have disappointed me yet.

    The Hillside shows a deep, intensive garnet red. In the nose a plethora of ripe red berries and currant with hints of grapefruit (?). Nice harmony between sweetness, tannins and acidity. Easy to drink. Lots of berries, chalk and chocolate. I expect this wine to get better in a few more years. Drink until 2030.

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  • 2000 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Intensive red and still purple in the center. In the nose there was quite a bit of alcohol covering the berry flavors. Quite an opulent wine, with cassis and cherries. Overall considering the vintage a great effort but at the end all is a bit short. Drink now - 2020

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  • 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Many consider this wine as the successor of the legendary 1978 Shafer. Even though I have never tasted the 1978, I can imagine why.

    Still a deep red color with purple in the middle. The nose shows an explosion of flavors, chocolate, tar, licorice, currant and cooked cherries. There is an enormous length to this wine and it is smooth as silk. It is wonderful now but I am quite sure there is much more to come in around 5-10 years. Amazing stuff. Unless you have a good stock of this wine I would hold off from opening the next bottle until 2018.

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  • 2002 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    First impression - still too young. While I expect this wine to be close to the legendary 2001 in a few years of time, I do not think that it will ever reach its greatness.

    Deep purpelish red. Nose of black berries. The tannins are still very present. There is an enormous power and backbone to this wine. A future blockbuster wine. As with the 2001 I would resist pulling the cork for another 5 years. Great wine.

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Flight 4 - 2003 - 2006 (4 Notes)

  • 2003 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Deep red. Lots of sweetness in the nose, rich cherry jam. Quite long, deep and elegant but with a decadent opulence (in a good way). Vanilla, chocolate and cherries. This wine is still on the young side. What I surprise had I yet mixed experiences with the 2003 Cabs. Drink - 2030

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  • 2004 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Out of this wonderful series of great Shafer Hillside Selects, the legendary 2001, the 2006 and this one really stood out to me. It is one that is in Hillside terms still quite affordable but has a complexity very close to the 2001.

    The color is still a deep red. Nose of chalk, coffee and concentrated cooked berries. The sweetness, tannins and acidity are so well balanced. Chocolate, dark berries and vanilla. Amazingly elegant and smooth. While still too young this wine has an enormous potential. Drink - 2030+

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  • 2005 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    As I cannot find any detailed tasting notes on the 2005 I suggest that I was blown away by the amazing 2004 and 2006 Hillside selects and completely forgot about this one. All I find are the points and a few scribbles...classic Bordeaux style, slate, pencil, dark berries, lactic...drink - 2025

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  • 2006 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Same story as with the 2004! An amazing Shafer Hillside select and still affordable compared to the 2001.

    Almost purple in color. Nose of dark chocolate, plums and dark berries. Wonderful harmony between tannins and sweetness. This wine is long, very long yet at the same time so elegant considering it has almost 15% of Alc. A true beauty...Hold at least 5 more years.

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