My brother in-law,Bob, standing next to me in blue brought this beauty to the party last night: 2010 Shafer Hillside Select.
What an incredibly well made wine with nuances and layers which seemed endless! We kept talking about this wine all night! What a great side by side comparison it was against the 2009 Chateau L'Evangile! 100 point Bourdeaux & 100 point Cali !!!
I picked up a super faint nose of petrol which intrigue the hell out of me all night! It was awesomeness in a glass!! The palate was gorgeous with highlights of dark fruit, vanilla and a little bit of minerality which was perfectly intertwined into the body of this beauty. The finish was long and strong.
Thank you Bob for sharing this beauty from your cellar in celebration of Christine's Birthday!! — 7 years ago
This wine, made from a blend of very old vine Grenache and younger vine Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon grown on terraced vineyards, is among the most exciting wines I have tasted. Unfortunately, only 300 cases are produced, all of which is exported to the United States. It is aged in 100% new French oak casks and bottled without fining or filtration. 1994 is considered to be one of Spain's all-time great vintages, so it is not surprising that this wine possesses more potential than the exceptional 1993 and 1992. Try to imagine a hypothetical blend of Petrus, l'Evangile, Rayas Chateauneuf du Pape, and Napa's 1993 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon. The color is an opaque black/purple. The nose offers up spectacularly rich, pure aromas of blackberries, black-raspberries, minerals, and subtle vanillin from new oak barrels. Extremely rich and dense, with unbelievable levels of concentration and extract, this amazing wine is a strong candidate for a three-digit rating when it develops more maturity in 5-8 years. Since it is a newly created wine, there is no track record established for ageability, but a wine such as this should keep for 20-25 years. This is one of the most exciting young wines anyone could possibly taste. Awesome! — 10 years ago
1986 vintage. Tasted through 5 bottles at a 1986 BDX dinner at Mister A's-San Diego. Double decanted and tasted over 5 hours. Tremendous bottle variation in the nose. That expected, light Beychevelle body (similar to L'Evangile in Pomerol) aping Burgundy. Bouquet was all over the place but the five bottles consistently sung. Yes, there was brett here and there. Did it DQ any particular bottle(s)? Not from my perch. Better than anticipated. Can see this going steady in this phase for another 4-5 years before dropping down a notch. 3.14.24. — 8 months ago
Joe Weinberger
Had a dose of Brett that I found distracting in this wine (I don’t always find it so, but here it obscured too much). Would have loved to taste without that flaw. Even so, still very good. — 7 months ago