By: Ryan Tedder
We had a very special evening at Graileys last night with Doug Shafer, his amazing wines from Stags Leap District and Napa, and 20 of our best friends. Doug was in town for just a short period of time and he decided to showcase the lineup of current releases as well as some older bottles of Hillside Select!! It was a great dinner had by all. We drank even better! We drank the following:
2011 Shafer Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch was absolutely delightful. It was rich and creamy without being too buttery or oaky. The sweet citrus and pear was complimented by a nice toasted bread, honey and spice character. The wine was bright and enjoyable on the palate with a long, clean saline finish. Pink sea salt came to mind.
2010 Shafer Merlot followed and it is consistently one of the finest in its category of juicy, slightly spicy Merlot. It is blended with a bit of Cabernet Franc and Malbec in this vintage. The plum, black cherry, tobacco and mocha were impressive and they highlighted the light spice and dried herb character of the variety. One of the finest year in and year out-the 2010 was more aromatically complex than the last few vintages.
2010 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five stepped it up a notch! There is a touch of Petit Verdot blended in (I only mention this because Simon picked it up straight off) and it greatly added another layer exotic, haunting aromatics. This was dark and brooding-deep black cassis, granite, blackberry, pipe tobacco, bay leaf and plum, pressed roses, violets and bitter chocolate oozed out of the glass. The Cab is medium plus in body, with a nice round sweet tannin and a gregarious finish. Great value!
2010 Shafer Syrah Relentless is the only non-Bordeaux varietal based wine from Shafer and it is a personal favorite of mine. The wine has 4% Petite Sirah and it undergoes an extended aging regimen in oak to settle down and refine itself. The ripe and plump purple, blue and black fruit was really showy and even sexy. The chocolaty oak frames these lush fruit elements and the black pepper, beef and road tar components from Syrah combine to create a very complex new world expression of great southern Napa Syrah.
We then finished this already memorable evening with a 3 YEAR VERTICAL OF HILLSIDE SELECT!!! Seldom do such indulgences occur-except at Graileys… Doug Shafer was a gentleman and delight to listen to. He loved the 1997 the most.
1997 Shafer Hillside Select was really special and still had a good amount of power! It reminded me of a new world expression of Ducru Beaucaillou. Cassis, cigar, cedar, graphite, black licorice, gravel and a fine grained tannin made this a very memorable wine that was in its perfect drinking window. Top notch!
2003 Shafer Hillside Select recently got re-reviewed and got 100 Point score from Parker. The wine is STILL a baby and is was ripe, rich, chewy and flamboyant in the glass and on the nose. Milk chocolate covered cherries, yoo-hoo, vanilla, coffee bean, black cherry, and cherry cordial lead but there is minerally gravel, dried herbs, tobacco, and savory elements in the background too.
2009 Shafer Hillside Select is the current release and it just got off the boat so to speak. It was primary but definitely a real winner! This tasted of luxurious French oak with a nice bit of toasty marshmellow. The fruits are saturated blackberry, blueberry, black cherry and cassis. Creamy rich and opulent. Lay this down for 10 years and then indulge!