Reviews & Scores
Vanilla, toast, blackcurrants, graphite, earth and foresty notes are all present in the 2008 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. It has great fruit, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and quite a perfumed personality, but not quite the intensity and length of its predecessor. It could be one of those troublesome pairings where this just happened to follow an out-of-this-world compelling wine.
WA93December 2014
The estate's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is one of those rare wines that looks like it will be absolutely delicious pretty much at any point in its life. Super-refined and silky, the 2008 caresses the palate with layers of deeply expressive dark fruit. The 2008 is a wine of exceptional textural finesse and pedigree. According to Doug Shafer, cool weather in the spring resulted in small clusters with high skin to juice ratios, always a plus for high quality wines. Today the 2008 does not look like a huge Hillside Select, but is rather a wine built on polish and elegance. It will be interesting to see if the 2008 fills out in bottle, or it remains more restrained in its personality.
VM96December 2012
Another great Hillside Select from selected blocks in Shafer's vineyard. It's a perfect illustration of the 'iron fist in a velvet glove' description of Stags Leap Cabernet, with perhaps more emphasis this year on the velvet glove that the iron.
WE94December 2012
Muscular and tightly wound, yet beautifully focused and proportioned, dense and chewy, delivering rich layers of dried currant, blackberry, spice and licorice flavors. Demands cellaring. *Collectibles*
WS96October 2012
I can't wait to taste this in bottle. Bright fruit, with currants and plums on the nose. A powerful and structured palate, with plenty of tannins and a long flavorful finish. This is precise, a combination of the 2006 and 2007. Barrel sample.
JS97February 2011