April 27, 2024 - Still a very good wine! Nice fruit and soft tannins.
February 10, 2024 - Open that Bottle Night (Prior Lake, MN): Not my style. Big and over the top with Oak, dark fruits, vanilla, spices and dark chocolate. A tad hot on this one.
October 8, 2023 - Faintest bit of orange on the rim. Bright and juicy fruit and oak on the nose. Tastes of ripe black raspberry, black cherry and plum with pretty oak spice accents. Still plenty of acidity and tannins. Still primary but pretty delicious.
August 19, 2023 - Decanted prior to a dinner featuring grilled swordfish steaks. Clear, deep ruby color. Aromas immediately reveal smokey, black Merlot, reflected by the extracted black raspberry, juicy black cherry, very ripe plum, and underscored with sweet vanilla. Flavors follow through onto the palate. At nearly six years, this is still primary, not yet showing much complexity, nor stability. Past experience leads me to believe, this will eventually come together but it might take a couple more years. Upside potential. Drink through 2032+.
August 6, 2023 - Decent merlot based blend. Not my favorite since Napa merlot is too sweet and fruity. This one lacks depth and lacks acidity . Was expecting more of Shafer. Will not buy again
May 22, 2023 - Not sure why, but I liked this much better than a year ago.
February 10, 2023 - Brief decant @ Peerless in Ashland OR. Still young but all the components are there. Lush nose of dark black fruit, cedar and liquorice. Good acid on the palate with rich yet lithe dark red and black fruit. Slight tannic bite but this a heat-seeking protein matchmaker and paired well with both Oregon rack of lamb and flatiron steak. Probably needs another 2-3 years of hammock time.
November 13, 2022 - Wow, the tobacco notes on the nose were almost overwhelming when this was decanted. They receded a bit over the hour prior to being served, but were still clear through the time the bottle was consumed (2.5 hrs) and were definitely echoed on the palate. This one performed better with food than on its own, but would really have shined with a piece of beef (which was not on the table tonight). There’s good structure here, with enough tannins and acidity to allow at least 4-5 years of prime drinking ahead. All that said, I still miss the old Shafer Merlots and think the TD-9 is a less satisfying use of that fruit.
July 1, 2022 - I opened our prior bottle over a year ago and just assumed that because it was Shafer it needed significant decanting. I was disappointed. Today it is a bit past midpoint in the drinking window and I decanted it for only about 20 minutes. It was a completely different wine, well balanced with soft tanins and lots of structure, great with our grilled burger and marinated pork chop, and at its peak. Will be drinking the last bottle soon before it loses its excellent dark fruit notes.
May 15, 2022 - Rather high toned and ripe, with a bit of heat. Rather mild tannins. Enjoyable and easy to drink but on the alcoholic side. Moderate depth.