1995 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
(14.1% alcohol): Healthy dark red. Captivating floral lift to the aromas of raspberry, peppercorn, leather and wet soil, conveys a strong impression of terroir. Wonderfully silky and soil-driven in the mouth, boasting terrific energy and tension for a 21-year-old California wine. The long finish features firm but suave tannins and a slatey quality that gives the wine noteworthy grip. Made from a light, late harvest. This bottle was far better than the one I tasted at my 1995 horizontal tasting in March.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
Full bodied, rich, plush, fat and juicy, the wine is lush, round textured, concentrated, delicious and packed with fruit, plus it's ready to go!
Interestingly, the first thing that came to my mind in smelling the 1995 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select was a relatively young vintage of Château Latour. Another fabulous effort, with notes of blackcurrants, graphite, a touch of vanilla, sweet tannin and a full-bodied, multidimensional mouthfeel, this vintage offers stunning aromatics of black fruits, earth, charcoal and lead pencil shavings. In addition, there is an intense, full-bodied mouthfeel, and a youthful vibrancy and vigor that are sensational. This is an amazingly young wine that’s coming up on 20 years of age and another great example of just how these best terroirs of Napa can produce incredibly long-lived Cabernet Sauvignons. It should last at least another two decades as well.
Very, very deep crimson. Very, very sweet nose. Seems rounder than the 1994. Very explosive. Youthful. Great balance. Vital. Reminds me of young Lafite. Very, very energetic.
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.