1987 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

Lighter. Deep crimson. Healthy looking. Less acid. Ripe nose. Gentle, lovely weight of fruit. Soft, to counteract the rasping oak tannins. (JR)

Made during the period when Tony Soter arrived at Shafer and began to insist on making the wines by using their olfactory and palate more than harvesting grapes by numbers and looking for fixed formulas and specific total acids and pHs / alcohol levels, the 1987 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select reveals attractive red and blackcurrant fruit, sweet cherry, loamy soil and a touch of toasty oak notes in a medium-bodied style. With gentle tannins and a lush finish, it is by no means a great Hillside Select, but it is very good.||Shafer’s Hillside Estate Vineyard consists of 54 acres all on steep, amphitheater-like, rocky outcroppings and knolls. It receives the full benefit of southeasterly sunlight, and enjoys the afternoon breezes that blow up from the San Francisco Bay channel. An unusual geographic feature, this vineyard is basically a box canyon. The top soil is virtually non-existent as the bed roots that go into the white tofu volcanic soil base rarely extend more than 18 inches before hitting bedrock. This no doubt is a significant reason for the intense flavors achieved by the Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, and why it is able to spend 32 months in 100% new French oak without a woody taste. eRobertParker.com.December, 2014

Full ruby-red. Bitter cherry, vanilla custard and an edge of burnt sugar on the nose. Vegetal and hollow in the mouth, with little evidence of ripe flavors despite the odd note of spun sugar. Falls away quickly on the finish.