Shafer

This exquisite Chardonnay is the product of a cool site in Carneros, where Red-Shouldered Hawks patrol the vineyard rows from the sky, hunting rodents and scaring away small birds that thieve upon the grapes. The cool climate gives the wine fresh citrus, minerality, and texture. But Shafer’s practice of fermenting in new French oak without any secondary malolactic provides the balance, adding texture and spice without any butteriness. Shafer’s winemaker, Elias Fernandez, described the 2021 Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay as a “refreshing, vibrant Chardonnay characterized by its lush, glass-filling aromas of white flowers, lemon zest, and exotic fruit. On the palate, it offers a graceful balance of energy and richness, with flavors of white melon, apricot, ripe pineapple, flint, honey, and Crème Brûlée. With its pure, Chablis-like acidity this vintage offers effortless structure and elegant balance with a long, delightful finish.” Seared halibut, grilled salmon, or a salad with a light honey vinaigrette would pair well with this Chardonnay. 

Two vineyards in the Stags Leap District, the Hillside Estate and the Borderline Vineyard, provide the fruit for this fine wine. But One Point Five is named to commemorate the 40+ years that John Shafer and his son, Doug, worked together to build one of Napa Valley’s premier estates. About One Point Five, Robert Parker offered high praise, saying it is “for my money, one of the best wines in Napa Valley in its price range...Year in and year out, this is one of the superstar wineries, not only in Napa Valley and all of California, but in the entire world.” The 2019 vintage is crafted as a left-bank style Bordeaux blend, comprising 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot. Describing the 2019, Antonio Galloni opined, “Bright, red-toned fruit and effusive aromatics lend striking brilliance to a Cabernet that is gracious and light on its feet. The 2019 stands out for its freshness and red fruit profile. It is beautifully done.” This is young Cabernet at its most intense and powerful. Cellaring for a few years would be wise, but if you can’t resist opening a bottle, be sure to decant and give it some time to open up.  

TD-9 was the model of the old International Harvester tractor that John Shafer used to cultivate the family’s rocky hillside property. Because Shafer senior knew little about farming (or operating farm equipment), his effort to master the ancient machine symbolizes the adventurous spirit needed to start a winery. Whereas TD-9 had been crafted as a classic Bordeaux blend, with either Merlot or Cabernet playing a significant role, it is now labeled as Cabernet Sauvignon with a cepage of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec. With fruit sourced from sites in Stag’s Leap District, Yountville, and southern Napa Valley foothills, TD-9 is a full-bodied, juicy wine. Winemaker Elias Fernandez notes that the wine “fills the glass with irresistible aromas and flavors of fresh black cherries, black currant, red plum, thyme, rose petal, and cocoa. Lush and mouth-filling, this 2021 offers the kind of complexity and structure that ensures many years of enjoyment ahead.”

Doug Shafer suggested naming this Syrah/Petite Sirah blend “Relentless” because he felt it captured the drive and energy of the wine as well as the winemaker, Elias Fernandez. The wine has flavors that burst on the palate and stimulate the pleasure sensors long after the glass has been put down. The blend of 76% Syrah and 24% Petite Sirah is sourced from two hillside sites just south of Stags Leap AVA. Although the dark-skinned Petite Sirah (a.k.a. Durif), no longer exists in France, its ability to deepen color and add tannic structure makes it an excellent “blend partner” with Syrah. Despite the power, Relentless has excellent balance and compact, chalky tannins. Critics love this wine. Jeb Dunnuck awarded the 2018 Relentless 98 points, likening it to “a great Cornas on steroids with its gamy, exotic character paired with beautiful richness,” and lauding its “fabulous purity, ripe, polished tannins, and great finish.” Relentless will improve for a decade or more, but right now you would not regret opening a bottle to enjoy with braised ribs, lamb shanks, duck or beef - especially with syrah-based sauces.

One Point Five salutes the “generation and a half” partnership of John and Doug Shafer as stewards of their land in the Stags Leap District. The wine is sourced from some of the winery’s estate vineyards on the hillsides as well as the Borderline Vineyard, located on the valley floor of the Stags Leap District. Because of wildfire smoke that enveloped the region right before harvest, the winery did not release this wine in 2020. But the gorgeous 2021 was worth waiting for. According to Elias Fernandez, Shafer’s winemaker,  “The 2021 One Point Five is distinguished by lush, intense aromas and flavors of black cherry, crème de cassis, black plum right from the tree, lavender, and savory herbs. This classic Cabernet Sauvignon displays equal measures of richness and balance while the wine’s seamlessly integrated tannins offer the kind of structure that promises decades of beauty to come.

Two vineyards in the Stags Leap District, the Hillside Estate and the Borderline Vineyard, provide the fruit for this fine wine. But One Point Five is named to commemorate the 40+ years that John Shafer and his son, Doug, worked together to build one of Napa Valley’s premier estates. The 2018 is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec. Describing the vintage, Shafer winemaker, Elias Fernandez, noted that “a lengthy, cool, steady summer created ideal conditions for the fruit to hang on the vine a long time, developing bold color, enticing aromas, and vivid, complex flavors.” About the wine, Antonio Galloni said, “Bright, floral and punchy with terrific energy…. Super-ripe red and purplish berry fruit, lavender, mint and sweet spice all abound in this pliant, beautifully layered Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2018 is a gorgeous wine in the making – that’s all there is to it.” This is young Cabernet at its most intense and powerful. Cellaring for a few years would be wise, but if you can’t resist opening a bottle, be sure to decant and give it some time to open up.  

Hillside Select is a 100% Cabernet made from the rocky vineyard the Shafers planted in the early 1970s. Ever since the first vintage, in 1978, those hillside vines have been producing stellar wines that Robert Parker has called “… one of the New World’s most profound Cabernet Sauvignons.” As the first step in making a great wine, the vineyards are meticulously managed, requiring multiple passes during pruning, leafing, and dropping fruit that isn’t up to par. In the winery, Hillside Select is aged for more than four years – three in 100% new French oak barrels plus an additional 15 months in bottle. The result is a wine with classic richness, youthful elegance and texture. Jeb Dunnuck awarded this vintage a score of 100 points, writing “Incredible purity and precision, as well as opulence, define the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, and this is as good as any Cabernet Sauvignon in the world today. Revealing a deep purple hue as well as a thrilling bouquet of pure crème de cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, lead pencil shavings, and an incredible minerality, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, seamless texture, ample mid-palate depth, and a great finish. This is classic 2018 Napa Valley with its purity, freshness and precision as well as sensational concentration and perfectly integrated acidity, tannins, and alcohol. It delivers pleasure today yet warrants a solid 4-5 years of bottle age and is going to be a 30- to 40-year wine.”

Shafer Hillside Select regularly makes the list of Napa Valley “cult” wines. But unlike some overnight sensations that seem to fetch stratospheric auction prices, Hillside Select is a true wine of place with a track record of quality and age-ability stretching back to the 70s. Hillside Select is made from the rocky vineyard the Shafers planted in the early 1970s. Throughout the growing season, the vineyards are meticulously managed – to the point where even individual berries are snipped off their bunches if not up to par. Because the vineyard’s topsoil layer is so thin, vine roots don’t travel far before hitting bedrock. Whether it’s the struggle to survive or the picking up of mineral elements, the flavors of the Hillside fruit are so intense, the wine can spend 32 months in new French oak without picking up a woody taste from the barrels. The result is a wine with classic richness, youthful elegance and texture. Jeb Dunnuck wrote,“In the running for the wine of the vintage, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is an incredible success and offers more depth, opulence, and purity than just about every other wine out there … a seamless, pure, incredibly layered mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great, great finish …” If possible, wait five to seven years before opening!