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Shafer's 1997 Hillside Select is a magisterial wine, and my favourite example of this cuvée. Seriously endowed with fine-grained tannins, it needs some time in the decanter to open up, but when it does the aromatic display of cassis, blackberry, spring flowers and woodsmoke is magical. On the palate this wine is undeniably massive, but its savoury tannins confer a more classical character to the wine than one finds in, say, the super-ripe 2002 or 2007 vintages at this address. The 1997 Hillside is ageing very gracefully indeed, without any trace of over-ripeness or heat, and may even be a few years away from its profound best. It's a reference point for modern California Cabernet, and certainly one of the wines of the vintage. Drinking Window 2017 - 2030Decanter | 96 DECThe 1997 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is a relatively evolved style for Hillside Select and seemingly more advanced than the older vintages, such as 1995 and 1994. Nevertheless, there is plenty to excite. It’s a big wine, dense purple in color with some lightening at the edge, plenty of crème de cassis fruit, lead pencil shavings, sweet vanilla and earth. It is very ripe, full-bodied, opulent and voluptuously textured. This is terrific stuff, hedonistic, showing secondary/tertiary nuances in the aromatics and essentially a full resolution of the tannin. This wine also seems to have come into its own and is clearly at its peak of flavor. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 96 RPFabulous. Dominated now by oak, from the smoky charry aroma to the sappy, sweet flavor. If you chew on it, you find absolutely brilliant blackberry fruit, ripe and pure. Breathtaking structure, with near perfect creamy tannins and soft but supportive acidity. Gorgeous now in it's flamboyant, fleshy youth, or worth aging-have it your way.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE(14.5% alcohol): Bright saturated ruby to the rim. Brooding blackberry, dark cherry and licorice aromas show both medicinal and superripe aspects. Rather suave and tight-grained on entry, then high-pitched, thick and very sweet--in fact almost liqueur-like--in the middle, conveying a slightly chunky character to its dark fruit and licorice flavors. Huge material here but still a bit unevolved and hard to warm to. I wanted more shape, clarity and elegance but this wine, amazingly, still needs time. Finishes with big, chewy tannins. This bottle was a bit less plush than the one I tasted in 2016 as part of an extensive vertical tasting at Shafer Vineyards but appears to have a considerably longer life ahead of it.Vinous Media | 92+ VMMature and at an optimal drinking age, with a mix of mature plum, dark berry, gravelly earth, anise and light cedar teetering on the brink.—Blind 1997/2007 California Cabernet retrospective (January 2017). Drink now. 2,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Solidly in the Hillside Select model, this vigorous young Cab is dramatically ripe and powerful. The flavors of red and black currants, milk chocolate, figs and smoky vanilla erupt in the mouth, making the tastebuds jump with joy. However, there is also the structure, among the greatest in California Cabs. The acidity is fine, but the tannins are stupendously rich, sweet and complex, practically a food group in themselves. Stunning and gorgeous now in its youth, this collectible wine will reward at least through 2015.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE...The 2003 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select has a dense, purple color, notes of creosote, graphite, blackberry and cassis fruit, charcoal and scorched earth. It has a full-bodied mouthfeel and excellent purity, while some rather noticeable tannins kick in on the finish... it’s outrageously good Cabernet Sauvignon, and I expect myself, as well as any of my readers, would drink this 24/7.Robert Parker | 95 RP(bottled in the spring of 2006) Medium ruby. Aromas of black raspberry, currant, cocoa powder, cedar, graphite, violet, licorice and sweet oak. Lush and very sweet but with lively mint and naphtha notes lifting the flavors of black cherry, dark berries and dark chocolate. Finishes with a firm edge of tannins and acids and yet this wine should give early pleasure. I find a wider range of ripeness here than in the supernal 2002.Vinous Media | 93 VMElias Fernandez produces a powerful, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the hillside blocks John Shafer planted in the 1970s. The 2003 vintage is about as potent as they come, its austere, mineral structure managing to hold all the richness of tannin and crushed berry fruit. Layers of flavor begin to take shape with air, from chocolate cake to blackberries and a hint of strawberry-a complex impression that lasts. Hillside Select will reward cellaring for ten years or more.Wine & Spirits | 93 W&SBig and expressive, with intense notes of dark berry fruit, cedar, crushed rock and loamy earth, gaining depth, velocity and texture. Impressive on the finish, where the flavors taper and weave into the tannins. Best to drink this soon.—2003 California Cabernet blind retrospective (July 2013). Drink now through 2024. 2,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSBlack raspberries, creamy new oak, liquorice and cherry compote meld in an expressive bouquet, introducing a ripe, open-knit and flamboyant palate. While a large-scaled, full-bodied wine, this ranks as a comparative middleweight in the context of Hillside Select. Drinking Window 2017 - 2020.Decanter | 92 DEC

One of the perfect wines from Shafer is the 2007 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Think it over – in the first decade of the 21st century, Shafer scored three perfect scores and two 99s – that’s about as high a praise as I can give any producer in the world. Opaque purple in color, the 2007 has a stunning nose of sweet crème de cassis, black cherries, licorice, and toasty oak, a multilayered, full-throttle personality, and a texture that builds and builds. Great purity, fabulous fruit intensity and a richness without heaviness characterize this massive, prodigious effort from Shafer. It’s still very young, despite this vintage, which seems to be maturing precociously. I don’t believe this wine will hit its stride for at least another 5-10 years and drink well for at least 2-3 decades.Robert Parker | 100 RPThis won’t be out until next year and will mark 25 years of Hillside Select. Nice aromas of mint, mineral, dark fruits, and delicious currants. Full bodied, with a soft beginning that just builds and builds. This is muscular and toned, very impressive. Save your money to get plenty of this. Thought provoking wine. Don’t drink this for four or five years. 15+24+24+34. Find the wineJames Suckling | 97 JSIn keeping with the voluptuous approachability of the 2007 vintage, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is simply fabulous now for its flood of the ripest, sweetest blackberrries, cherries, cassis and chocolate imaginable. Especially noble is the tannin structure, firm and soft, dry and sweet, a combination of opposites. The depth is vast, and the spicy finish goes on for a long time, suggesting the wine’s concentration. Simply a joy to drink, it should develop over many years, but you might want to err on the side of youthfulness and open it by 2015.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE(25th anniversary bottling): Good full ruby. Captivating aromas of cassis, blackberry and violet show an almost liqueur-like ripeness. Then rich, sweet, highly concentrated and large-scaled, with compelling flavors of dark berries, brown spices and sexy oak complicated by powerful soil tones. This drenches the mouth with flavor, with the wine’s tannins melting into its powerful fruit. Showing spectacularly today but this will evolve for decades. The hillside behind the house and winery makes up the core of this blend. (Incidentally, the very long 2006 showed a spectacular nose in March but is in a rather closed, tough stage right now and should be held for at least another five years).Vinous Media | 96 VMThe ruby-black, unctuously-textured 2007 Hillside Select is a large-scaled wine, even by the standards of this extravagant cuvée. It bursts from the glass with ripe aromas of kirsch, cassis, blueberries, charcoal and subtle woodsmoke. On the palate the acids are fresh, and the wine’s vast volume is nicely balanced out by mid-palate depth. This seems to bear a close kinship to the Rubenesque 2002 vintage, and is a real success in that paradigm. Drinking Window 2017 - 2025Decanter | 94 DECImpressive for the density, complexity, focus and concentration, this hits the right notes, unveiling tiers of dusty berry, mocha, herb, cedar and anise flavors. Though the tannins flex their muscles, the flavors flow freely.—Blind 1997/2007 California Cabernet retrospective (January 2017). Drink now through 2025. 2,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSLusty richness drives this vintage of Hillside Select, from vines John and Doug Shafer planted in the 1970s on a series of knolls tucked under the Stag’s Leap escarpment. It has the site’s trademark tannins, as soft and savory as a bittersweet chocolate cake. The dark cherry-scented fruit is hidden behind the oak and the tannin for now, needing a decade to show its detail. For the cellar.Wine & Spirits | 92 W&S

Very deep inky-purple colored, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is incredibly intense and impactful on the nose, revealing notes of crushed black cherries, blackberries and fresh black currants with underlying notions of charcoal, sautéed herbs, black soil, chargrilled meat and pencil lead, plus a waft of violets. Very full-bodied, very rich and wonderfully concentrated, the wall of fruit is well matched by a firm structure of ripe, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with great length and depth.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is a classic wine for the era. It is deep, dark and explosive, with serious depth and tons of texture. Black cherry, espresso, licorice, plum, incense and new leather all come together, building toward its huge, resonant finish. At age ten, the 2014 remains quite youthful. Blood orange, cinnamon and leather linger on the potent, driving close.Vinous Media | 98 VMLastly, the flagship 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (the only vintage where it wasn’t 100% was in 1984, when it included 9% Cabernet Franc) brought up all in high-class French oak. A textbook example of the balanced nature of the 2014 vintage, it offers a complex bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf, and subtle minerality. Finesse-driven yet powerful on the palate, with full-bodied richness, its tannin structure is perfectly integrated into the wine, it has notable purity and freshness, and a great finish. It’s relatively approachable by this cuvée’s standard but has another 20-30 years of longevity ahead of it.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDA fascinating nose of licorice, tarte tartin, blackcurrant compote, orange rind, ivy, holly, pine needles, ash, Christmas cake and even raspberry cheesecake as well as a slight minty/herbal note. The palate is so well-knit but powerful; it’s the sort of wine that takes no prisoners. Yet the vintage shines through, and it remains always fresh and balanced. Layers upon layers of fruit and a long, decadent finish. Drink in 2022.James Suckling | 97 JSThe famous wine lives up to its mighty reputation in this vintage. Densely packed in tones of red currant, cassis and cocoa powder, the palate offers a sublime texture that lingers despite an overall powerful punch of structure and tannin. Elements of crushed rock and black licorice unfold on the finish. Enjoy from 2024–2034. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE

Very deep purple-black in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select comes bounding out of the glass with gregarious scents of crème de cassis, warm black cherries, plum preserves and Indian spices with hints of lilacs, garrigue, stewed tea and cigar box plus a waft of charcuterie. Full-bodied, rich, boldly fruited and wildly decadent, it has a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and compelling freshness, finishing with loads of earthy and savory layers.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPI was able to taste four vintages of the estate’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, their Hillside Select. This first growth-like cuvée was first made in 1978 and always comes from their estate Hillside Vineyard just above their estate in Stags Leap. This is a 54-acre south-facing, amphitheater-like vineyard of thin, rocky, volcanic soils. Today the cuvée is always 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that spends upwards of 32 months in new French oak. It is consistently one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignons in the world. Starting with their 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, it boasts a deep, saturated purple hue as well as a heavenly bouquet of sweet blueberry and cassis fruits interwoven with plenty of graphite, tobacco, and lead pencil notes, with ample minerality emerging with time in the glass. This was a hot, low-yielding vintage for Napa, and while this beauty is massively concentrated, it’s also silky and seamless, with great tannins, no sense of over-ripeness or heaviness, and a finish that goes on for nearly a minute. This is a brilliant, incredibly sexy wine to enjoy over the coming 30-40 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThere’s an intensely ripe, fresh and vibrant edge to this focused, elegant and assertively pure cabernet that delivers attractive blueberry and cassis aromas in stylish form. The palate arrives as a precise and focused suite of ripe blueberry and blackberry flavors, building smoothly to an attractively crisp and even-paced finish. Another superb edition of this wine. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another superb wine from Shafer in this vintage. Dark and brooding in the glass, the 2015 possesses fabulous textural intensity and overall power. Blackberry jam, espresso, bittersweet chocolate and licorice are all dialed up to the maximum. The 2015 has aged impeccably, even though it very much carries the strong oak imprint of this era.Vinous Media | 96 VMThis is very solidly built, with a core of red and black currant and blackberry fruit that still shows some youth as well as serious density. That’s flanked by singed apple wood and alder notes, while savory, tobacco and warm earth aspects flicker throughout. Still has grippy structure, too, with a walnut husk echo lingering. No hurry. -- Blind 2015 California Cabernet retrospective (July 2025). Best from 2027 through 2045. 2,400 cases madeWine Spectator | 96 WSHaving spent three years in barrel, this 100% varietal wine (from the producer’s famous hillside) is brawny in concentrated black fruit, Christmas spice and thick, firm tannin. A dusty thread of crushed rock, black licorice and flint provide exotic accents to the velvety thick grip. This will do well over time; enjoy best from 2025–2030.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

Sourced from specific blocks of estate-grown fruit, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another highly successful vintage. All Cabernet Sauvignon aged 32 months in 100% new French oak, it boasts intense aromas of pencil shavings, dark loam, cassis and plum on the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, super-ripe, rich, dense and concentrated—a truly impressive California vin de garde. Tannic but ripe, it finishes long and firm on the finish, adding a hint of mocha. To be released in September 2023, it’s a strong showing and hopefully an indication that quality will remain high under the new ownership.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is one of the most elegant wines I have tasted at Shafer. Effusive aromatics and silky tannins are immediately captivating. Crushed red/purplish berry fruit, mint, spice, lavender and licorice are all finely knit. We will see, but the 2019 may very well represent a new direction for Hillside Select, one of Napa Valley’s most iconic Cabernets.Vinous Media | 98 VMThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another magical vintage for this cuvée. All Cabernet Sauvignon from hillside vineyards on the eastern side of Stags Leap, it offers a vivid purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of cassis, black raspberries, violets, camphor, and spring flowers, with perfectly integrated background oak. Full-bodied but not massive, it’s flawlessly balanced on the palate and has ultra-fine tannins, a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, and a great, great finish. It’s another 30- to 40-year wine from this incredible team that readers will absolutely love.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDA beautiful nose of pitted cherries, redcurrants, fresh herbs and violets. Full-bodied with fine, structured tannins. More gravelly, mineral and dark than the nose lets on. Savory almost. Terrific depth and concentration that keeps the palate flavorful through the generous finish. Chocolate, sage, rosemary, bark and moss. Layered. Superb wine. Needs time to come together. Best after 2024 and onward.James Suckling | 98 JSA ripe, exuberant style, with generous plum cake, blackberry compote and açaí berry notes mixed with melted black licorice and a nicely polished, singed mesquite–accented finish. Hard to resist now (if you like the power style), but also has the energy to take some cellaring. Drink now through 2039. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 2,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

All Cabernet Sauvignon from specific hillside blocks on the estate, Shafer’s 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select spent 28 months in 100% new French oak. It’s a big, ripe wine, weighing in at 15.5% alcohol, but it remains harmonious from front to back. Deep, intense aromas of black cherries and cassis are accented by dried spices on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich and textural, showing tremendous intensity and length on the finish. Based on how previous examples have aged, this vintage should drink well through 2050.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPAged 32 months in 100% new French oak. It is quintessentially Stags Leap, with grapes grown on Shafer’s famous Hillside estate vineyard, roughly 25ha, with very shallow volcanic tufa soils. It’s a barrel selection of the very best blocks. A total of 2,900 cases were produced. Such a beautifully balanced wine with tremendous staying power and expressive Stags Leap ironstone minerality with heady sagebrush and conifer notes with white pepper and walnut husk. The wine has an impressive depth of red-toned fruit on the mid-palate framed by tannins that practically dance across the palate, exuding length, tension, and power. Huckleberry and black cherry fruits, black truffle, dried violets, graphite, and salted dark chocolate are all framed by racy acidity, which keeps everything fresh and lifted. The 2021 releases mark Elias Fernandez’s 38th vintage as Shafer’s winemaker. He was hired by John Shafer in 1984, two weeks out of UC Davis.Decanter | 99 DECThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of shaking to bring out notes of crème de cassis, blackberry pie, and kirsch, leading to nuances of dried roses, star anise and cardamom with a hint of cigar box. The full-bodied palate is decadently concentrated with firm grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long with loads of exotic spices and mineral sparks.The Wine Independent | 98As always, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that will spend 28 months in new barrels. Its deep purple hue gives way to a behemoth of a wine that has incredible cassis, black raspberry, and even blue fruits to go with loads of camphor, minty herbs, graphite, and darker chocolate. It’s full-bodied, concentrated, yet pure, flawlessly balanced, and has a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDThe 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Floral and vibrant, the 2021 sizzles with tension and a level of delineation I don’t remember seeing in the past. Like all the 2021s here, the Hillside Select possesses notable purity of fruit and exceptional balance. The tannins need to soften a touch, but time should take care of that. I don’t see the opulence or inner sweetness of most years, but that is not a negative at all.Vinous Media | 96-99 VMJuicy and direct, with a solidly built core of cassis and blackberry preserves lined with cocoa, singed tobacco and warm earth hints. Leans toward toasty on the finish, but there’s ample fruit. Best from 2025 through 2038. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 2,900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS