February 16, 2024 - Drunk as part of a big California wine night. This is a pretty full-throttle wine and drinking perfectly at the moment. Deep, dark, and surprisingly sweet. Lots of dark berry notes--blackberry, cassis, dark cherries, maybe a dark plum, too--and some chocolate notes as well. If I were stretching, you could say there's some slate notes there, too, but the fruit really sits on top. Overall a silky, elegant, if by no means understated wine
December 3, 2023 - Aromatically very similar to the last example; pencil, blackberry, fresh leather in a potent combination. This approaches the ripeness line without crossing it, though it's a little warm in the mouth (not as much as I recall from 2020, though this came after many others). I like this quite a lot; it's got personality.
August 19, 2023 - big, massive, fruit bomb, cocoa, chocolate, enjoyable but not really for food. despite being 25 years old it was the last red of the lineup, and perfectly placed.
August 19, 2022 - On the nose and palate, medium powerful notes of cassis, sweet blackberries, black cherries, smoke, earthy minerality, anise, leather, dark florals, lead pencil, and dark roast coffee. Deep crimson, medium+, bodied, full legs. Tannins and acidity medium and completely, no heat. Great complexity, VG+ persistence, VG intensity. We tasted this blind, and I would have *never* guessed this was a HSS, a bottling among the most frequent I’ve had of premium, at least for me, Napa cabs, although never this far from the vintage date (and I probably hadn’t had a pre-2000 HSS in 15 years or so). This wine swapped out the power and intensity of the ‘04 and ‘09 which I’ve had in the past 18 months or so, for a far more lithe savoriness and elegance. It was beautiful, but I wished it had retained just a bit more of those traits. While I’m not sure if that’s indicative of a change in philosophy at Shafer at some point around 2000 or if this wine is just fully mature (or the answer to that question is just “Yes”) and I won’t go so far as CT friend MSU on where the wine is now, I’d be inclined to drink this sooner than later. CT score bang on. 95-96
August 19, 2022 - lovely wine with great perfume and delectable fruit. downright elegant. the purity of fruit is something to behold.
October 16, 2021 - Shafer HS and a great steak. What a concept! Prime grade bone-in ribeye goes so well with this wine. Was a little dissapointed with the last time I drank this bottle, but the steak really brought it out. Drink anytime.
May 8, 2021 - Drank this wine for Mother's Day along with:
2008 Chateau Rauzan-Segla and 2012 Chateau Batailley
Poured a quarter of a glass during the afternoon and let the wine sit in the bottle until dinner time.
NOSE
Intensity: pronounced
Red fruits, perfume, cigar, red cherries, candy, hint of menthol, Nim Jiom Pei Pa Kao (Chinese herbal throat syrup)
On the nose, very similar to the 1999 Chateau Palmer I had a few months back
PALATE
Body: full
Acidity: high
Intensity: pronounced
Dates, raisins, feels similar to an amarone, spices, red tea, tiny bit of cigar, caramel, vanilla, licorice, eucalyptus
TEXTURE
Tannins: medium+, bordering high
The tannins were chewy and comfortable, not distracting. Very round.
A bit of spiciness
BALANCE
Acidy, alcohol and tannins levels were all high. Overall, it was very well balanced and so smooth in my mouth.
With the alcohol level at 14.5%, it really didn't feel like it.
COMPLEXITY
The changes came slowly but consistently throughout the evening. Felt like if we left it a few more hours or over night, we would be tasting even more flavours.
FINISH
Length: medium+ to long
Eucalyptus, menthol and red tea aftertaste
CONCLUSION
Readiness: Can drink now. But still have many many years ahead of it.
I was expecting this to be powerful and heavy. But I didn't find it to be too filling and the overall structure of the wine was outstanding.
Everyone liked this wine as the nose and palate was by far the best of the night.
December 25, 2020 - This Napa Cabernet tastes like it has reached its golden years, when it’s still alive but lacks the power, precision, and energy of days gone by. I'm not scoring because I can't guarantee the provenance, but I purchased this from the cellar of a three-star restaurant, so I’m as confident as one can be having not purchased it directly.
Garnet in color; medium in body; aromas of prune, blueberry compote, and menthol. Flavors of plum, pencil lead, leather, and underbrush, with a brief and grainy finish. 14.5% alcohol. This never shed its plummy and tired nature over the course of four hours. Again, it could just be the bottle, but I wouldn't recommend holding onto this for much longer.
October 7, 2020 - I must say the nose is beguiling, loaded with pencilly Cabernet, potent and incisive alongside rich blackberry. But on the palate I find this a bit too hot. Not that it’s unpleasurable, but it smudges the details and this terroir doesn’t deserve to be smudged!
October 1, 2020 - Nose: dense blueberry,, blackberry jam, sweet fruit, stones, thyme and leather. Palate: layered dense and youthful, but shedding its exuberant personality. Silky tannins, mineral and cedar give this great presence that show maturity and depth. Finish: lengthy and powerful cassis and blackberry notes.
Seems like there should be much more complexity at this stage, but the palate is packed and stacked with cool stags leap blue fruit. Much fresher than the Harlan served alongside.