Shafer Hillside Select, our signature wine of limited production, is made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the grapes selected from the best lots grown on Shafer's hillside vineyards in the Stags Leap District. Truly a "wine of a place," this Cabernet exemplifies the concentration of hillside grapes and the extraordinary richness and suppleness of Stags Leap District fruit. Aged a full four years prior to release (three years in Alliers and Troncais oak barrels and one year in the bottle), the Hillside Select is a wine with rich chocolate, blackberry and currant flavors and a soft, velvety texture.

Rating

Wine Spectator 92 points (Sep 21 2011) Impressive for its richness, elegance and grace, this is spicy and supple, with full-bodied plum, currant and black licorice notes, gaining momentum and ending with a silky aftertaste of loamy earth. Drink now through 2020.—J.L.  Wine Advocate 98 points (Dec 2010) The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select has the potential to be a perfect wine in 5 to 6 years. Although it has shut down since I tasted it last year, it is unquestionably Shafer’s finest Hillside Select since the 2001 and 2002. It needs 2-3 years of bottle age and should keep for 35+ years. This selection is made from the Eisele clone of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in a choice 50-acre parcel. It takes concentration, graciousness and complexity to its highest level in Napa Valley. An inky/blue/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of blueberries, blackberries, charcoal and subtle toast. The wine possesses fabulous concentration, a seamless/flawless personality, a textbook integration of alcohol, wood, tannin and acidity, an almost endless finish and a voluptuous texture. Exhibiting more tannin and structure than it did last year, this is a colossal wine that will still be going strong in 2050.