1989 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
The first wine of a new era, the 1989 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is the finest produced since the debut vintage in 1978. It still reveals a deep ruby/plum/garnet color to the rim as well as notes of graphite, cedarwood, blackcurrants and forest floor. Medium-bodied with excellent richness, soft tannins and an authoritative finish, it was a revelation in a vintage I generally do not find appealing.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Very, very deep crimson. Blackish. Not especially ripe. Velvety tannins. Still quite youthful. Chewy. (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.