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Tasted Wednesday, August 2, 2017 by Loren Sonkin with 495 views
Last night we at long last held our Shafer Hillside Select tasting. For various reasons this had been put off or postponed for around 2 years. Some people had dropped out, others drank their only bottle, but last night 8 of us gathered to sample what might be the finest wine coming from Napa. I consider it to be the Lafitte of Napa for its history, consistency and quality. I don't think there is another winery that can match it in Napa. It has gotten quite expensive over the years. I dropped off the list a couple of years back (probably a bad idea), but its hard to open $250 bottles. That said, many of their peers are twice that or more. I guess I made a mistake.
We started with a Salon to open and then drank the SHS non blind over about 2.5 hours. Breads and cheeses were served. There is about an ounce in each bottle (except the Salon) which will be fun to check out tonight. It was a great time with some new faces joining the older ones.
Thanks to all for bringing a bottle. Maybe we can recreate it again in a few years. In the meanwhile, we should do this more often with other wines.
2002 Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut 95 Points
France, Champagne
Stellar wine, but I had hoped for more given the producer and the vintage. Pale green/gold in color with a nice mousse and lots of tiny bubbles. On the nose there is a seltzer note, slight toast and a bit of citrus (lemon/lime?). On the palate, this has a lot of limes. Some acidity but not the cut I think of when I think Salon. It does have a finish that goes on forever. A couple sips left in my glass until the end of the night are about the same. A bit more fruit, less acidity but that is probably due to the warmer temps as anything. It still drinks young but at age 15, it seems clear this is not going to ever achieve the top heights that Salon can reach. Again, this is a great wine, but I had higher expectations. Still, a real treat to try and a great starter.
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