Shafer Cabernet Hillside 2008

97 Points - The Wine Advocate "The flagship wine, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select performed even better this year than last year. A candidate for one of the top "wines of the vintage," it reveals beautiful aromas and flavors of grilled meats and herbs intertwined with extravagant amounts of blackberry and cassis fruit, licorice, and charcoal. Extremely full-bodied, pure, deep, and layered, this is another prodigious Hillside Select that should evolve for 25-30 years."

97 Points - The Wine Advocate The flagship wine, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select performed even better this year than last year. A candidate for one of the top wines of the vintage, it

Like the best vintages of Hillside Select, this wine has tremendous structural power that remains almost imperceptible. On the surface, the tannins are pillowy soft, their supple richness surrounding a core of dark fruit. The wine is black but not hyperextracted, the layers of dark chocolate flavor seem to come from the soil rather than from oak (itrsquo;s not the sort of mocha or milk chocolate character that oak aging provides). This is a cigar-smokerrsquo;s cabernet, a powerful, resinous vintage from a vineyard with a track record for wines that age well over ten to 15 years. (2,400 cases) Shafer Vineyards, Napa, CA

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select continues to put on weight, and displays a Bordeaux-like personality because of the vintagersquo;s cool growing season. A black purple color, stunningly sweet fruit, and a gorgeous bouquet of underbrush, forest floor, creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, and toasty barrique are found in this ripe, full-bodied, deep, stunningly well-balanced, substantial wine with undeniable complexity as well as richness. It is approachable now, but promises to evolve for 25 or more years.

The flagship wine, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select performed even better this year than last year. A candidate for one of the top ldquo;wines of the vintage,rdquo; it reveals beautiful aromas and flavors of grilled meats and herbs intertwined with extravagant amounts of blackberry and cassis fruit, licorice, and charcoal. Extremely full-bodied, pure, deep, and layered, this is another prodigious Hillside Select that should evolve for 25ndash;30 years.

The texture is often what sets hillside Select apart from other Napa Valley Cabernets, the gentleness of its tannins managing to maintain the winersquo;s shape and contour without flattening out. It appears to be seamless, sleek in the best sense of the word mdash; a luxurious wine that feels authentic. part of that is the cool, foresty mushroom flavor at the heart of the tannin; another part the beautiful balance between the tannins and the layers of dark fruit. A fine vintage of Hillside Select, this glows with the contemporary ripeness of Napa Valley Cabernet without overreaching.

Saturated bright ruby. Rich aromas of dark berries, candied cherry, smoke and tobacco. Sweet, lush and deep, with good clarity and lift in spite of its very ripe, thick texture. Black raspberry and dark cherry flavors are complicated by brown spices. A very sexy and pliant wine that finishes with sophisticated tannins. This already gives great pleasure, even if it doesnrsquo;t offer quite the fireworks of the best recent vintages.