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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.7 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 42 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by callmeacab22 on 1/2/2021: Drank as part of a Blind Tasting of old bottles in the cellar on 1/2/21. No Notes: (Sorry, just catching up) (31 views) | | | Tasted by jwebtx on 7/9/2015: Nose of cocoa and maybe some cherry. Mid-body. Cocoa and dusty cherry in the mouth, but dominated by alcohol. Drink up. (3903 views) | | | Tasted by ScottS on 2/20/2015 & rated 90 points: Consumed on my 50th and still alive and kicking. Drink up if you have them, I'm sure this benefitted lasting this long by being in a 6 L format. (3913 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 1/29/2014 & rated 90 points: This is a very nice simple wine to enjoy. No issues, nothing over the top, just a solid wine for lunch or dinner. (4605 views) | | | Tasted by RR47 on 8/31/2012 & rated 90 points: Similar to Jan 2012 notes. Still alive and doing well, but give it 30+ minutes of open time. (5997 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 8/4/2012 & rated 89 points: This wine is still nice to drink, but fading. (5999 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 4/5/2012 & rated 90 points: This wine is still drinking great. (3660 views) | | | Tasted by dallasboiler on 3/5/2012 & rated 87 points: Was expecting more based on other reviews, but this was still a very good bottle of wine. The group tasting this noticed a pleasant cherry nose followed by some blueberry and eucalyptus. Aftertaste had hints of cocoa. Wish that I would've either tried this a couple of years ago or would've given it 30 minutes of decanting. (3468 views) | | | Tasted by RR47 on 1/25/2012 & rated 90 points: Still an impressive nose of spice, cedar, cassis and some hints of bell pepper. Nice in the mouth with a grilled steak. Finishes medium length with a bit of grip. This really is an excellent 10 year old California Merlot. Bravo John, Doug, & Elias (2768 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 9/24/2011 & rated 91 points: This is a nice, easy drinking wine. Enjoy (1970 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 9/24/2011 & rated 91 points: And we had another bottle with friends this evening, along with Sushi, smoked salmon and other "zakuska", and "nosh", which was very enjoyable. (1954 views) | | | Tasted by woofy on 7/31/2011 & rated 88 points: After finding this case due to CellarVU, this wine is beginning to fad. Still drinkable, better than most restaurant wines by the glass, but definitely a bit on the back foot. Time to drink up and finish...but I have 11 bottles to go. (1949 views) | | | Tasted by RR47 on 1/30/2010 & rated 89 points: Still a nice Merlot, alive with dark fruit and some complexity of cedar and spice. Went quickly with grilled steaks at dinner party. (2793 views) | | | Tasted by RR47 on 8/2/2009 & rated 89 points: A dark, dense merlot. Blackberry and blueberry dominate with smooth tannins. (3010 views) | | | Tasted by jameswm13 on 5/29/2009 & rated 89 points: Nice, simple, enjoyable (3266 views) | | | Tasted by Cheryl on 9/2/2008 flawed bottle: Reconsidering Merlot, a Barolo and a Mystery White (Il Corso, NYC): corked (4149 views) | | | Tasted by lpk22 on 4/13/2008 & rated 90 points: Nice balance, tannins were nicely integrated. Oaky mocha, hint of olive at the end. (3559 views) | | | Tasted by Tejano on 10/18/2007: Dark rich purple and with a quick decant the nose showed dark berries with ripe blueberry notes. Good grip and framework that had a medium to full fruit texture, and a little edge of spice and pepper that I do not remember from before. Shared with family at home after a high school production of McBeth...not quite the bloody merlot we were looking for, but enjoyable non the less! Better with food... (3658 views) | | | Tasted by 6831 on 3/10/2007 & rated 92 points: Not exceptionally aromatic, even with sufficient air time. However, the flavor profile is excellent with very sturdy tones of black currant, blackberry, mineral, smoke and a pleasant trace of vanillin and oak. Finishes well and long with a nice balance of fruit, acid and tannin. This full-bodied wine is definitely young, but starting to drink well at this stage. Had I tasted this blind, I would have guessed Cabernet for sure. Impressive. (3980 views) | | | Tasted by Mike Bates on 12/27/2006 flawed bottle: Wine was corked (4218 views) | | | Tasted by Quequeg on 9/9/2006 & rated 89 points: At Iovino's, with Donna (she had a delicious Barrimundi; I had phenomenal ravioli with goat cheese, lemon and leeks). Very good, and just the right size; lots of power, and less of the sweetness that one sometimes gets with Merlot. Nice! (4482 views) | | | Tasted by JLL on 8/5/2006 & rated 91 points: Best showing of this wine since last year, I guess the 1.5L was to thank. Fruit, which was dark and surrounded by mocha was very forward with perfect tannins......wonderful (4534 views) | | | Tasted by JLL on 6/1/2006 & rated 88 points: still very good, see my earlier notes (4713 views) | | | Tasted by shine on 4/30/2006 & rated 90 points: Well integrated . Subtle nose of fruit and greens. Complex flavors with nice mouthfeel. Good food wine. (4786 views) | | | Tasted by JLL on 3/18/2006 & rated 87 points: was far better 6 months ago, the fruit is still there, but there is now some harsh heat to be found on the finish. (4940 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, January/Feburary 2005, IWC Issue #118
(Shafer Vineyards Merlot Napa Valley Stags Leap District) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Shafer Producer website
John Shafer and his family founded Shafer Vineyards, located in the Stags Leap District of the Napa Valley, in 1979. From the Shafers' first wine, a 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon,
their wines have won much acclaim. Today, the Shafers farm 200 acres of vineyard in the Stags Leap District, Carneros and Oak Knoll regions. Their flagship wine, Hillside Select,
is produced from selected blocks of the family's hillside vineyards and is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. They also produce Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, Merlot, One Point Five
(Cabernet Sauvignon) and Relentless (a Syrah/Petite Sirah blend), which was named #1 wine of the year by Wine Spectator's "Top 100" of 2012.MerlotMerlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to be a diminutive of merle, the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Its softness and "fleshiness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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