Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

wa97ws92-94

BN#275070

Shafer

The 2005 Hillside Select is dark and voluptuous with rich density, balancing elegant, extracted fruit and youthful power. These are the signature aromas and flavors of our hillside vineyards – loads of blackberry, black cherry, cassis, dark chocolate, and black spice integrated seamlessly with vanilla and oak, all drawn together by silky-textured, ripe tannins. This is a vintage that I'd compare to 1994 and 1997.

Wine Advocate

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select continues to put on weight, and displays a Bordeaux-like personality because of the vintage’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.

Score: 97. —Robert Parker, December 2008.

Wine Spectator

Thick and racy, with zesty wild berry, blackberry and boysenberry fruit that's ripe and well-structured, with firm tannins and a long, intense aftertaste that keeps the emphasis on the fruit.

Score: 92-94. —James Laube, August 31, 2006.