Shafer
About Shafer
In 1978, the first-ever vintage of the Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon was released and earned a most encouraging 95 points from Robert M. Parker Jr., who called it “a remarkable example of California Cabernet Sauvignon” that “comes across like a Pauillac-styled red”. Today, Shafer Vineyards is managed by Doug Shafer with Elias Fernandez overseeing the winemaking.
An iconic producer of the Stags Leap AVA, Shafer Vineyards has long since been recognized for its outstanding range, in particular the Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon. A blend of the best fruit from 14 blocks located on the rugged hillside, the first vintage of the Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon earned 95 points from Robert M. Parker Jr., who called it “a remarkable example of California Cabernet Sauvignon” that resembles a “Pauillac-styled red”.
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California | 1 | 94+ (VN) | HK$29,005.00 | |||||
Vinous (94+)(14.9% alcohol): Good dark red. Perfumed, liqueur-like aromas of black plum, dark berries, licorice and cocoa powder. Dense, thick and very ripe but still a bit youthfully brooding; shows the darkest fruit character to this point in the tasting. This extremely dense, thick, youthfully brooding Cabernet finishes with serious ripe tannins and good medicinal reserve. If the 2001 is claret-like in the context of this bottling, then the 2002 is classic liqueur-like Napa Cabernet, even if it's in a bit of a shell today. Less detailed today than the 2001 but I'd love to try these wines side by side again in six or seven years. |
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California | 4 | 96 (WA) | HK$12,165.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (96)Possibly the Cabernet Sauvignon of the vintage is Shafer’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Last year I thought it was a strong effort, but it’s even better now that it’s been bottled. With an opaque black/purple color and notes of subtle burning charcoal embers, blueberry, blackberry and graphite, the wine has a certain Bordelais minerality, but then the richness of Napa kicks in. It’s full-bodied (somewhat unusual for a 2011) with lighter tannins, and no doubt the wine will be on a faster evolutionary track than vintages such as 2010, 2012 and 2013. Nevertheless, the Shafers and Elias said this was the toughest vintage they’d ever experienced. To be able to produce a compelling wine like this is a testament to their extraordinary skills and craftsmanship. This wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 15-20 years. |
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California | 1 | 100 (JD) | HK$22,650.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)Pure perfection, the prodigious 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select reveals an even deeper purple/blue hue as well as extraordinary notes of unsmoked tobacco, crushed rocks, graphite, crème de cassis, and blueberries. With a massive, full-bodied profile and a texture that builds incrementally on the palate, it has a stacked mid-palate, ultra-fine (yet lots of them) tannins, flawless balance, and a monster of a finish. It’s tight and closed at the moment, so hide bottles for a solid 7-8 years. It should age at a glacier pace. |
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California | 2 | 100 (JD) | HK$14,410.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another perfect wine, although readers will need to have patience, as it’s still a baby. Deep purple-hued with a perfumed, vibrant bouquet of blue fruits, graphite, spring flowers, and lead pencil, it’s full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, has perfectly integrated acidity, tannin, and alcohol, not a hard edge to be found, and an incredible finish. This monumental Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 7-8 years away from maturity and will have 40-50 years of overall longevity. |
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