2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select

Wine Details
Place of Origin

United States

Stags Leap District

Napa

Color

Red

Grape/Blend

Cabernet Sauvignon

Reviews & Tasting Notes

00

Drinking Window

2022 - 2035

Subscriber Access Only

Log In or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

As the challenges of difficult growing seasons fade with time, two things happen. First, in the memory of winemakers, rain events magically become less extreme: the actual torrential rainfall that plagued a harvest shrinks to moderate precipitation and eventually to a vague recollection of moisture. Freakishly cool or brutally hot harvest weather or damaging hail storms are virtually forgotten, as the body has a short memory for pain. At the same time, as the wines themselves mature and are transformed, they reveal themselves to be less extreme after all, until at some point it can be next to impossible to find the insanity of the vintage in the bottle. I’ve seen these patterns play out again and again in temperate wine-growing areas like Bordeaux, Burgundy and northern Italy—and even in normally hot, bone-dry growing regions. Two thousand eight was such a year for California’s North Coast.

00

Drinking Window

2018 - 2026

Subscriber Access Only

Log In or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

00

Subscriber Access Only

Log In or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

00

Drinking Window

2018 - 2038

Subscriber Access Only

Log In or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Shafer doesn't miss a beat. After more than a month of intense tastings of Napa Valley wines in 2012, Shafer was a clear stand out for their consistency across the board. The Hillside Select Cabernet remains the flagship, but readers will also find plenty of equally compelling and delicious wines in this range. In particular, this year I was impressed with the Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five, which for my money is one of the best wines in Napa Valley in its price range. Although clearly made in a style meant to be enjoyed upon release, a recent bottle of the 2004 was superb, and showed the One Point Five can also age gracefully. My most recent visit ended with the 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon, an iconic wine that is still in great shape. John Shafer couldn't get enough workers to pick his vineyard when he wanted, so fruit spent longer on the vine than he originally intended, giving birth to the Cabernet Sauvignon that today is known as the Hillside Select.

00

Drinking Window

2016 - 2028

Subscriber Access Only

Log In or Sign Up

You'll Find The Article Name Here

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

Shafer's iconic Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select gets the lion's share of the attention here, but the rest of the wines also deserve serious consideration. I have been especially impressed with the Syrah-based Relentless on my last two visits here.