October 8, 2017 - We bought this bottle at a charity auction and wondered if it would be any good given it was a 2001. It was wonderful! It was really rich (but not buttery) and still had notes of pear and peach. It was fantastic with a salmon dish that I served. If you are holding it, I would drink it because I am not sure how much longer it will last!
March 2, 2007 - Beautiful golden color and superb fruit. Honey and lemon flavors. Probably a little past its prime, it was our last bottle. I would not hold any for the future.
February 12, 2007 - Gorgeous. Rich, unctuous, soft oak, great Chardonnay fruit. Beautiful in the glass. Opulent nose.
January 24, 2007 - This was a delicious bottle of California chardonnay. It will never be mistaken for French chablis. The wine has a big bouquet of hazelnut, baking spices, vanilla and baked pears. It is a mouthful of creamy ripe fruit with enough acidity to balance everything. In fact there are notes of green apple and some citrus - lemon/sweet grapefruit. To top it off, everything ends in a long wonderful finish. If you a fortunate to have any in your cellar, I think you should try to drink this over the next 18 months.
August 30, 2006 - This Shafer was golden in color and very clear. It was creamy with flavors of Apple and butterscotch. It was great by itself as well as with seafood
March 13, 2005 - Shafer Hillside Select Dinner (Manresa Restaurant, Los Gatos, California USA): Light golden straw color; crisp balanced acidity, palate shows good creaminess with apples and pears and a long finish. Great chardonnay. Drinking well now and for maybe two more years. Elias Fernandez explained that Shafer does not use malolactic fermentation because chardonnay gets ripe enough in Napa that you don't need it to balance the wine like in Burgundy and Chablis. The creaminess comes from leaving the wine on the lees in barrels for 16 (?) months.
November 1, 2004 - I'm wondering if I didn't get an off bottle. It's definitely a Red Shoulder, usually a chard at that love. Lemon on the nose, smokey and oaky, crisp but still luscious a thick. The Red Should usually has an incredibly rich, luscious smooth mouth feel and almost syrupy finish. This bottle show little of that finish and instead I get a bit more acid and an harshness on the finish. The white chalky stoney finish is there, but with light weight and just not hugely integrated. The finish is short and a bit astringent.
October 29, 2004 - Dinner at home of chinese food. Very light golden color, with noticable haze. Nose of lemon, toasty oak and lime. On the palate, lemon creme and butterscotch, nicely framed by warm, soft oak. Great balance and excellent complexity. Finish is 30+ seconds, turning to hints of stones.
March 21, 2003 - Red Carpet: Wood w/citrus nose, slight flowers; great follow through to fin;***elegant, but pricey.