2008 Hillside Select: “potential wine of the vintage”

- Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

In the 1970s, aged 48, John Shafer left his secure job in publishing in Chicago to head west and buy a small vineyard somewhere called Napa. For all his inexperience, John wasn't one to make uninformed decisions. He studied extensively, decided hillside vineyards were the way forward when everyone else around was planting on the valley floor, and then decided to grub up the hodgepodge of vines he had inherited and plant Cabernet. That may seem like an obvious choice today but it was very far from it back then. Shortly afterwards, his neighbour, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, would triumph at the Judgment of Paris competition, and vindicate John's decisions.

Forty years on, Shafer's hillside vineyards on the Stags Leap Palisades are firmly established as one of the world's finest Cabernet terroirs. Those lucky enough to have tasted John's first wine, his 1978, say it ranks among the finest Napa wines ever made - extraordinary, considering the conditions in which it was made. John, now 88, continues to work alongside son Doug and winemaker Elias Fernandez, a dream team together for nearly three decades. Together, they've garnered most of the accolades available to a leading California winery. And they've just added another: 2008 Relentless takes the top spot in the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2012. Congratulations to John, Doug and Elias. /AR

'The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select may turn out to be nearly as good [as the 2007]. A great success for the vintage and further proof of just how good this year can be for Napa Bordeaux varietals, it boasts an opaque purple color as well as a big, sweet bouquet of white chocolate, espresso roast, oak, creme de cassis, blackberries and camphor. A potential candidate for the wine of the vintage, it is dense, full-bodied, rich, powerful and well-balanced. This is another compelling effort from Elias Fernandez and his two bosses, Doug and John Shafer. This 2008 should be fabulous when released in 2012, and last for 30+ years. 97-99 points' - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, December 2010

Offered subject to confirmation for shipment spring 2013