January 9, 2024 - Opened over the afternoon for evening dinner. We all drank it down. This was a wine that you swear you bought yesterday. Lost a little on the nose upon opening but the mouth feel and berry, mint, graphite, tobacco and old raisin flavors. Long lingering and flavorful and great with NYS steaks. Also of such good quality we drank it down almost immediately upon opening.
January 26, 2023 - really nice mature Cab. a little wooden trunk aroma on first opening, then smooth and fairly rich with secondary flavors of leather and earth. The 99's in general are turning out to be really nice. We had this in a line up that included Montelena estate and staglin. all were great experiences with the Staglin being the best by a small margin
December 12, 2021 - Drank this weekend in Copake. Notes are consistent. Nose is earthy and woody, with some bricking. There's still black fruit here, tho more pruny than previously. There's mushrooms, forest floor, and some spice. Thinning at the back end a bit, and the finish is a bit short. Nonetheless, enjoyable mature, well-aged Cali Cab, and certainly was worth what I paid oh-so-long-ago
November 6, 2020 - PNP in Copake. Nite 1: I've had this wine b4, this wine being the final of a 6-pack purchased long ago. Generous aromas of earthy mushrooms hit me on pouring this wine. There's some slight bricking at the edges. Surprisingly more dark fruit than I recall or expected, balanced by spice and notes of eucalyptus. The finish is long but a bit sour and tart. Mushrooms, earth, tobacco and forest floor dominate now.
Nite 2: Much improvement in the wine in the past 20 hrs. Nose still on the plus side with no fade. More black fruit apparent and rounder, much more pleasant mouth feel than yesterday. Wine more balanced between fruit and mushrooms/tobacco notes. Still a bit sour on the finish. Tannins mostly resolved. Very nicely preserved, tasty mature Cali Cab.
October 29, 2020 - Don't know that this bottle has gained much in the way of complexity but it has held up very well.
May 17, 2020 - Graceful wine in the late part of its prime drinking window. Smooth purple berry fruit, menthol and eucalyptus, nicely integrated oak, gentle tannins, nothing boozy or heavy. 1999 remains such an underrated California cab vintage, and Shafer made a really good one here.
September 10, 2019 - Very beautiful, purple in the glass. Typical CS nose of dark fruit. Indeed dark fruit on the tip of the tongue--blackberry, currant, prune--but, also nice minerality. It's been years since I've seen anybody call out pencil lead in their tasting notes, but if this were 2005, that that's the way it would have been described. Tannin and acid have been, very much, reconciled, However, to anybody who has this in their cellar, do not panic. I think this one will remain at its high level for quite some time.
October 28, 2017 - Decanted for an hour. Strong aromas of smoke and menthol with some fruit mixed in. Drinking well now. Not overly complex but delicious. Still has some years left.
June 2, 2017 - BYOB Lunch get together (Sergi de Meià - Barcelona): Double decanted for 2 hours. Still a deep color that shows some evolution. From memory: intense aromas of black fruit, smoke and menthol/medicine. Powerful wine on palate, with quite volume but not overwhelming. Plenty of everything here and this seems to start to unwind a bit and can be drank with a some air but it's nowhere near to being ready.
December 25, 2016 - Drank last nite at Bruce's. Had this wine a year ago and my notes are consistent. Pungent nose of black fruit, along with some tobacco. Light to medium bodied, still plenty of black fruit, along with some cigar smoke and spice. Still holding its own