Shafer One Point Five 2021

One Point Five is the Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon from Shafer Vineyards, named for the generational handover at the family estate in Napa Valley. The valley floor and low hillside sites here see warm, reliably dry growing seasons, so Cabernet ripens fully and develops the deep colour, ripe black fruit and high alcohol that mark the style, here at 15.3 per cent. Volcanic and alluvial soils give good drainage and concentrate the fruit. The wine ages 18 months in 225-litre French oak barrels. The small barrel format means a high ratio of wood to wine and steady oxygen exchange, which polishes the tannin and layers in vanilla, cedar and sweet spice while the colour stabilises. It pours dense, near-opaque purple. The nose is blackcurrant and plum with dark chocolate, tobacco and toasty oak. The palate is full and structured, with concentrated black fruit, firm ripe tannin and a long, warming finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant an hour or two ahead. It is built for red meat off the grill.