2002 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
Community Tasting Note
Cailles wrote:
Wednesday, June 23, 2021 - Small vertical of Hillside Select 1994/2002/2016. All wines showed great with unbelievably complex aroma profiles, laser-sharp precision, and an impeccable structure. They have the Napa fruit and ripeness but all is well dosed and with so much hillside minerality to balance it. The 1994 (97pts) was almost Bordeaux-esque and almost fully mature (the opposite of a very young bottle 2 years ago). The 2002 (96pts) is slowly getting there, shows incredibly complex but still has to lose some baby fat. The 2016 (97+pts) is of course very young but the most singular 2016 Napa I‘ve had to date (out of probably 30) and is a great promise for the future.
TN: Very expressive nose with lots of cassis and blackberries, strong minty notes, some baby fat, baking spices and a touch minerality. The palate shows much more layered and ever changing with lots of ripe but not too ripe dark fruit and blue fruit, graphite and some ashy minerality and smoke, herbs, with time red fruit, violets, hints of chocolate and baking spices as well as some first shy tertiary aromas with fresh tobacco. The wine has a massive but fine tannin structure which is in need of further ageing and a good freshness but not with the same tension great Bordeauxs have (and I guess the 2016 will have at the same point in its life). Easily 96+ points.
Decanting: Quickly double-decanted 7 hours before consumption, good from the go.
Glass: Conterno Sensory
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2 comments have been posted
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Comment posted by Shugs_Claret:
9/24/2022 7:11:00 AM - Agree with this note (wish I would have read before pulling). Still even a bit of oak yet to integrate to my surprise. Would have guessed a much younger wine if blinded. Think my last bottle should rest for another 20 before retrying.
Comment posted by Cailles:
9/24/2022 11:06:00 AM - Thanks for the comment. At least it has a promising future! :)