Winemaker Notes
The 2015 vintage
gave us smaller berries packed with an immensity of pure, opulent aromas and
flavors. This rich, polished hillside Cabernet Sauvignon overflows with briary
black fruit, juicy black cherry, racy dried cranberry, black licorice, and
freshly cracked pepper with elegant touches of cedar, baking spice, and wet
stone. The finish is generous and persistent, while the tannins are ripe and
integrated offering both a pleasurable experience now and the kind of structure
that promises even more beauty with time.
98
points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Very
deep purple-black in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select comes
bounding out of the glass with gregarious scents of crème de cassis, warm black
cherries, plum preserves and Indian spices with hints of lilacs, garrigue,
stewed tea and cigar box plus a waft of charcuterie. Full-bodied, rich, boldly
fruited and wildly decadent, it has a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and
compelling freshness, finishing with loads of earthy and savory layers. Rating:
98+
98 points Jeb Dunnuck
I
was able to taste four vintages of the estate’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon,
their Hillside Select. This first growth-like cuvée was first made in 1978 and
always comes from their estate Hillside Vineyard just above their estate in
Stags Leap. This is a 54-acre south-facing, amphitheater-like vineyard of thin,
rocky, volcanic soils. Today the cuvée is always 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that
spends upwards of 32 months in new French oak. It is consistently one of the
greatest Cabernet Sauvignons in the world. Starting with their 2015 Cabernet
Sauvignon Hillside Select, it boasts a deep, saturated purple hue as well as a
heavenly bouquet of sweet blueberry and cassis fruits interwoven with plenty of
graphite, tobacco, and lead pencil notes, with ample minerality emerging with
time in the glass. This was a hot, low-yielding vintage for Napa, and while
this beauty is massively concentrated, it’s also silky and seamless, with great
tannins, no sense of over-ripeness or heaviness, and a finish that goes on for
nearly a minute. This is a brilliant, incredibly sexy wine to enjoy over the
coming 30-40 years.
97
points Tasting Panel
I tasted this as a barrel sample at Premiere Napa
Valley just over two years ago, and memory holds: I still recall the dense,
almost syrup-like quality of black fruit, earth, and sage. Now released into
the marketplace, this heralded 100% Cabernet Sauvignon still has time to
develop, but after decanting, it proved more than worthy of praise. The fruit
comes from Shafer’s best hillside blocks, and given the dry conditions that
year, smaller berries resulted in an extracted expression. Opulent aromas of
cedar, leather, and coffee bean are almost Cognaclike, and on the palate,
peppered licorice and blackberry perpetuate that syrupy density alongside teeth-gripping,
chalky tannins. The elegance rises out of the glass once the wine opens up,
exhibiting violets, sagebrush, and sweet meat.
96
points Wine Enthusiast
Having spent three years in barrel, this 100%
varietal wine (from the producer’s famous hillside) is brawny in concentrated
black fruit, Christmas spice and thick, firm tannin. A dusty thread of crushed
rock, black licorice and flint provide exotic accents to the velvety thick
grip. This will do well over time; enjoy best from 2025–2030.
95
points Wine Spectator
A big wine waiting to unwind. When it does, the core
of steeped plum, blueberry and açaí reduction flavors should stretch out nicely
over melted licorice and Black Forest cake elements. A graphite spine holds
everything together, while embers of smoldering apple wood flicker through the
very long finish. Best from 2022 through 2038.
