Reviews & Ratings

2012 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon "Hillside Select"

Winery: Shafer Vineyards

Vintage: 2012

Wine Name/Vineyard: "Hillside Select"

Wine Category: Cabernet Sauvignon

Grape blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Bottle size: 750 ml

Region: Stags Leap

State or country: CA

Price: $265

Cases produced: 2,400

KWG Score: 96.2 (based on 5 reviews)

Ken's Wine Rating: Excellent (97)

Review date: October 12, 2016

Wine Review: This dark ruby colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Shafer is Excellent! It opens with a fragrant black cherry and red licorice bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, nicely balanced, and super smooth. The flavor profile is a delicious black cherry and black currant blend with notes of nicely integrated oak. I also detected hints of plum and minerality. The finish is dry and its building tannins grow and linger and last for a very long time. This terrific Cabernet would pair perfectly with a well-marbled cowboy ribeye. Enjoy - Ken

Winemaker Notes: We are thrilled to offer 2012 Hillside Select, a 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from our rugged hillside vineyards in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District. On release the wine offers rich elegance, youthful exuberance, and fine balance introducing itself with enticing, vivid aromatics. In the glass you'll find complex flavors of blackberry, cassis, black cherry, dark chocolate, smoke, spice, savory herbs and a touch of vanilla. The tannins are ripe offering refined texture, holding out great promise for decades of cellar age. Hillside Select is aged a full four years prior to release (three years in Alliers and Tronçais oak barrels and 15 months in the bottle). While enjoyable today, this wine will gain richness and maturity with up to 20 years of careful cellaring.

Buy it: Use 1000 Corks to find stores that sell Shafer 2012 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon.