2002 Syrah Relentless
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
(80% syrah with 20% petite sirah) Good full ruby. Musky aromas of bitter chocolate and espresso turned oakier with aeration. Bright, penetrating black raspberry fruit offers excellent intensity but comes across as a bit hard-edged. Turned a bit drier on the back end under its load of oak.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The brainchild of winemaker/viticulturist Elias Fernandez, the Relentless (a blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Petite Sirah aged 32 months in 100% new French oak) has been a fabulous success since its debut vintage. There are 2,500 cases of this remarkable cuvee. The inky/purple-hued 2002 Relentless possesses a fabulously exuberant, extroverted nose of black fruits, creosote, flowers, and pepper along with huge, sweet blueberry, chocolaty, espresso notes. Flamboyant, rich, full-bodied, and intense, but not overweight, it will drink well for 10-12 years. Shafer Vineyards, one of the most impeccably run wineries in the world, is a wonderful family operation that deserves all the success they have earned. Tel. (707) 944-2877; Fax (707) 944-9454
The 2002 Relentless is an ideal wine for drinking now, as it is fully mature, or close to it. Black cherry, tobacco, gravel and bittersweet chocolate are front and center. There's quite a bit of oak influence and torrefaction here, a reflection of the heavier toast barrels that were favored at the time. Even so, the 2002 has aged impeccably. That's all there is to it.
About the producer
The site of Shafer has been around since 1880, and grapes continued to be grown here, even during prohibition. It is said that some wine was made here during that time. In 1972, John Shafer bought the property in the Stag’s Leap district, he immediately began planting the Cabernet on the hillside.