Shafer 'Red Shoulder Ranch' Chardonnay 2022 (750ml)
Product price
$79.99
Description
Carneros sits at the cooler southern edge of Napa and Sonoma, where bay influence favors white grapes, and it gives this Chardonnay from Shafer Vineyards its poise. The 2022 vintage of the 'Red Shoulder Ranch' bottling is a still California white made in a full but balanced style, the kind of Chardonnay that leans on texture and tension rather than weight alone.
The color runs to deep gold, and the wine opens with pear, apple, salted lemon peel and a thread of sweet spice, jasmine and ginger drifting underneath. It is round and creamy across the palate, but a fresh, ripe acidity keeps it from going soft, arriving with enough precision to build tension after the fruit pulls you in. Subtle toast, honeycomb and a saline, stony note carry through to a long, layered finish. It drinks well now and has the structure to reward a few years in the cellar.
Product Details
| Category | Wine |
| Color | White |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Subregion | Carneros |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Producer | Shafer Vineyards |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Size | 750 ML |
| Subtype | Still |
Expert Reviews
All elegance and silk, this beautifully balanced wine offers a lively texture, with subtle lemon, toast and kiwi flavors on a full body. The mouthfeel is graceful and mouthwatering, backed by acidity that perfectly meets the generous fruit flavors. Making a wine of this caliber in thousands of cases is quite an accomplishment. Best from 2027–2032. (Wine Enthusiast)
A vibrant, agile and poised Chardonnay with aromas of pears, apples, sweet spices, jasmine and hints of stones. It’s medium- to full-bodied with precise definition on the palate. Fresh acidity and crunchy fruity at the center and a velvety touch to the edge, bringing volume and a voluptuous character throughout. Lively and long finish. Drink or hold. (James Suckling)
Beautifully deep golden colour flecked with emerald hues. A full-flavoured, round, expressive Chardonnay with a host of spicy ginger, salted lemon peel, honeycomb and sea shell mineral nuances. It is so round and creamy on the palate but balanced by ripe acidity, which seems to hit the palate with such precision that it builds tension only after the rich, sweet fruit character pulls you in. Everything aforementioned reemerges on the long finish layered with jasmine, ginger cream and sweet cedar. (Decanter, January 2024)