Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (750ml)
Product price
$399.99
Description
From the eastern hillsides of the Stags Leap District comes Shafer's top bottling, a 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon drawn entirely from estate blocks and built in the Napa Valley tradition of structure married to ripeness. This is all Cabernet, aged 32 months in new French oak, the kind of California red made to be cellared rather than rushed.
The nose mixes mineral-laced blackberry and black cherry with graphite, dark earth, and wildflowers, all framed by cedar and a cool lift of mint. Medium to full-bodied, it opens on tannins that are remarkably fine-grained, almost pixelated, with a chocolatey edge, while compact dark-berry fruit fills the mid-palate and a thread of saline minerality keeps everything bright. The finish runs long, folding in brown spice, tobacco, currant leaf, and sage. Despite real power, it stays balanced and even cool on the palate, and it has decades of development ahead.
Product Details
| Category | Wine |
| Color | Red |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Subregion | Stags Leap District |
| Varietal | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Producer | Shafer Vineyards |
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Size | 750 ML |
| Subtype | Still |
Expert Reviews
Super attractive nose of mineral-laced blackberry and black cherry fruit, pulverised graphite, sumptuous earth, and wildflowers framed by fragrant cedarwood and a pop of spearmint. Just a classically-fashioned Hillside Select, the flagship iconic wine from Shafer. Medium to -full-bodied with a seamless palate expression that begins with beautifully textured tannins, which are pixelated, extremely fine-grained, and have a chocolatey note. The wine's compact, sweet, dark berry fruit penetrates the mid-palate, lifted by saline minerality. The finish lasts a full minute and weaves in brown spices, sagebrush, currant leaf and tobacco nuances. Most impressive is that at 15.5% alcohol, the wine is perfectly balanced, even cool to the palate. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from hillside vineyards in the Stags Leap District, which include Shafer estate vineyard blocks Sunspot, John's Upper Seven, Venado Ilegal, and Firebreak. The wine spent 32 months in 100% new Allier and Tonçais French oak barrels. 2,400 cases produced. (Decanter, January 2024)
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another magical vintage for this cuvée. All Cabernet Sauvignon from hillside vineyards on the eastern side of Stags Leap, it offers a vivid purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of cassis, black raspberries, violets, camphor, and spring flowers, with perfectly integrated background oak. Full-bodied but not massive, it’s flawlessly balanced on the palate and has ultra-fine tannins, a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, and a great, great finish. It’s another 30- to 40-year wine from this incredible team that readers will absolutely love. (Jeb Dunnuck, February 2023)
Sourced from specific blocks of estate-grown fruit, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another highly successful vintage. All Cabernet Sauvignon aged 32 months in 100% new French oak, it boasts intense aromas of pencil shavings, dark loam, cassis and plum on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, super-ripe, rich, dense and concentrated—a truly impressive California vin de garde. Tannic but ripe, it finishes long and firm on the finish, adding a hint of mocha. To be released in September 2023, it's a strong showing and hopefully an indication that quality will remain high under the new ownership. (Wine Advocate, March 2023)