1991 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
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Tasting notes
Dark, full red. Sexy aromas of plum, mocha, coffee, licorice, leather and mint. Wonderfully silky wine with more texture than most 1991s. The flavors of redcurrant, tobacco and cedar are given energy and definition by strong savory minerality. No easy sweetness here but there's nothing hard or tart about this firm-edged Cabernet, which has the acid/tannin support for further development. An excellent showing. (13.5% alcohol on the label, but 14.9% on the accompanying tech sheet)
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
(13.5% alcohol): More saturated, fresher color than the 1990. Multifaceted, rather wild aromas of black raspberry, dried herbs, game, gunflint, leather, truffle and brown spices. Plush, gamey, ripe and generous, but at the same time nicely juicy thanks to lovely harmonious acidity. This savory, captivating Cabernet finishes with supple tannins and excellent lift. The product of a long, cool growing season (the harvest began on October 4, more than two weeks later than average), and it shows. A beauty at the quarter-century mark.
The 1991 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select represents the beginning of a new era where sterile filtration was halted, after which the quality of most vintages soared to new heights. They may also have been picking riper fruit, as Napa Valley was in the midst of enjoying some fabulous vintages in what would turn out to be a Golden Era for its wineries. The 1991 is the finest Hillside Select of the early 1990s, although the 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998 are close in quality. A stunning nose of licorice, vanillin, unsmoked cigar tobacco, crème de cassis and cedarwood are present in this multilayered, full-bodied, opulent, super-concentrated wine. It still possesses an opaque ruby/purple color to the rim. At age 23, this beauty is just hitting its plateau of full maturity.
Very, very deep purple. Black cherry. Round, full, suave, and very appetising. Tannins now quite soft. Nicely refreshing dry end and acidity. (JR)
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.