2021 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five
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Tasting notes
Deep purple. Crushed gravel and rich black-cherry and dark-chocolate notes. Full and ripe with rounded tannins and sweet and spicy oak. Very glossy. Classic Napa. (SCJ)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
More Cabernet-dominated, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five checks in as 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, and a splash of Malbec. It has incredible purity in its cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and camphor on the nose and a concentrated, medium to full-bodied, layered style on the palate that stays tighter and more compact than the TD-9.
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five is a very beautiful wine and also the first edition that marks the move towards a more serious Cabernet. Black cherry, plum, gravel, spice, leather and tobacco are nicely pushed forward. The 2021 shows the mid-weight style of the year nicely. The One Point Five is mostly estate fruit, with some outside vineyards, including sources that are now owned by Shafer.
An excellent wine, still arguably a decent value in the context of Napa Valley Cab, Shafer's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five features attractive aromas of ripe cherries, cedar and vanilla, plus hints of mocha and loam. Full-bodied, ripe and velvety, it offers more concentration, tannins and length than the winery's TD-9. The question consumers will have to answer is whether it is worth the step up in price.
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.