Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Shafer makes Hillside Select from Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the Stags Leap District, one of the smallest AVAs in Napa Valley and the rocky hillside that helped put the region on the map. The vineyards sit on steep, stony volcanic slopes that drain freely and stress the vines, keeping yields low and concentrating the fruit, while the warm Napa days and cooler nights drawn in from San Pablo Bay ripen the Cabernet fully and hold its structure. Cabernet Sauvignon on this terrain gives dense cassis and dark cherry, firm tannin and good colour. The wine is aged for thirty-two months in French oak from Allier and Tronçais, a long élevage during which slow oxygen exchange through the barrel polishes the tannins to a fine grain and adds vanilla, cocoa and sweet spice, while time concentrates and integrates the fruit. The result is deep and powerful, with a nose of cassis, dark cherry and chocolate, a palate that is full and richly textured, carrying cocoa, vanilla and tobacco, and a long finish on smooth, ripe tannins. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant ahead, as this wine rewards cellaring. It suits grilled and roast red meat and lamb.