2008 Merlot

Long-time winemaker Elias Fernandez describes 2006 as "a sleeper vintage" and also believes that Shafer's 2008 reds will last a long time, but it was still the 2007 Hillside Select, a real essence of Napa Valley cabernet, that dominated my March visit here. It's the 25th anniversary of this outstanding bottling and should have no problem lasting until the winery's 50th birthday. Fernandez told me that the Hillside Select wine gets two rackings during its first year and then just one more, or sometimes none at all, prior to being assembled for bottling the third spring after the harvest (the '07 was bottled in May of 2010). Shafer has cut back a bit on the use of new oak for its non-malolactic Red Shoulder chardonnay, said Fernandez, in order to preserve freshness and perfume. Twenty-five percent of the '08 and '09 chardonnay were aged in stainless steel barrels, up from just 5% in 2007.