2010 | Shafer Vineyards | Hillside Select 6L

The 2010 is quite simply an astounding release. It is immensely rich, kaleidoscopically complex and immaculately balanced. Full-bodied and voluminous, it never feels heavy and exhibits the hallmark finesse for which this wine is now well-known.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select offers a mindblowing display of blue, red and black fruits along with licorice and floral notes. The prodigious aromatics are followed by a precise, rich, pure blast of inky black currant, blueberry and mulberry flavors. The oak is virtually undetectable, and the wine, for all its power, richness and depth, is incredibly light on its feet and ethereal. It should drink well for 3 to 4 decades. Those who might argue that wines over 14% alcohol are hot, loathsome and heavy really need to objectively taste these wines rather than bloviate.

• James Suckling: The Shafer family has made compelling reds for decades and this one is a knock-out. Fabulous character of currants, mint, spice and wet earth. Juicy and fruity, with an intense chewy finish. September 2014 release. Needs time to age.

Producer Information

Shafer Vineyards is a family-owned wine producer in the Stags Leap District of the Napa Valley. It is particularly known for its Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, regarded as one of the very finest wines in California. With the first wines appearing in 1978, Shafer Vineyards is one of the founding estates of – and a benchmark in quality for – the Stags Leap District AVA. Shafer has around 57 hectares (140 acres) of vines in the Stags Leap District, spread out across several vineyards. The Hillside Estate vineyard has shallow, free-draining soils tha produce small, intensly flavored berries. The best blocks are used to make the Hillside Select, a plummy, cherry-laden wine with ripe tannins that will age well for a decade or more. Shafer's other vineyards, including the Borderline and Ridgeback & Schoolbus sites, provide fruit for the other Cabernet Sauvignon wines, while the La Mesa vineyard is planted to Syrah and Petite Sirah for Shafer's Relentless cuvée. The Red Shoulder Ranch in Carneros is planted to 27ha (66 acres) of Chardonnay, which is fermented in stainless steel and makes a zesty, complex wine. Shafer began life in 1972 when John Shafer arrived in Napa with the hope of growing his own wine. He bought a plot of land in the Stags Leap hills, and terraced and replanted the steep vineyards. The first vintage of Cabernet was 1978, and Shafer's wines have gone on to great critical acclaim. John's son Doug Shafer took over the winemaking reins in 1983.

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