2014 Napa Valley Merlot
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Tasting notes
Shafer also makes one of the better Merlots. The 2014 Merlot includes 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and is a beauty. Mocha and chocolaty notes intermixed with red cherry, plum and blacker fruits jump from the glass of this perfumed and fragrant style of Merlot. It is medium to full-bodied, exceptionally pure and rich and should drink beautifully over the next 10-12 years of life.
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Robert Parker
Robert Parker
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Dark red cherry, plum, spice, menthol, licorice and gravel are beautifully delineated in Shafer's 2014 Merlot. This is a somewhat brisk, linear style, but it works nicely. Savory overtones add aromatic intensity and lift throughout. There is plenty to like, but readers should expect a slightly more reserved Merlot than is the norm here.
Expressive floral and spice notes open up first in the 2014 Merlot. Fresh, nuanced and energetic in the style of the year, the 2014 is a highly representative wine for the vintage. The 2014 is not quite as generous as the 2013, but it offers a touch more vibrancy today, not to mention considerable potential.
Shafer also makes one of the better Merlots. The 2014 Merlot includes 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and is a beauty. Mocha and chocolaty notes intermixed with red cherry, plum and blacker fruits jump from the glass of this perfumed and fragrant style of Merlot. It is medium to full-bodied, exceptionally pure and rich and should drink beautifully over the next 10-12 years of life. Oct 2016, www.robertparker.com
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.