| Score: |
100 RP.
"One of the great so-called “first growths” of Napa is Shafer’s 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon from their Stags Leap vineyard known as Hillside Select. This has been one of the top dozen or so wines in every vintage for over 15 years. A big wine at 14.9% alcohol, it is aged an atypically long time of 32 months in 100% new French oak, but at ten years of age, no oak is present. It is an utterly perfect wine, surpassing almost everything else made in 2003! It possesses everything one could desire in a Cabernet Sauvignon – minerality, flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, velvety tannins, a skyscraper texture, perfect balance and integration between the acidity, tannin, alcohol and wood, all well-concealed by the luxurious nature of this great wine. The finish is endless in this prodigious offering from a great family of grape growers and winemakers. It proves the point that good guys can finish first." Wine Advocate #207, Jun 2013 |