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Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five 2018  - First Bottle

Reviews

97 Wine Enuthiast -
This is a muscular wine with a velvety backdrop—classic for the vintage and appellation. Silky tannins glide across a foundation of turned earth, crushed rock, clove and tobacco. The wine is hugely structured and grand. Dark plum, cherry and mocha flavors round out the profile. Cellar Selection.
95 James Suckling -
This has a deliciously ripe and perfumed nose of blueberries, cloves, potpourri and gravel. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and fresh acidity. Creamy and elegant with a driven, focused finish. Cooler and more refined at the end. Try from 2023.
95 Tasting Panel -
Deep garnet color; velvety, toasty, and spiced, with rich boysenberry and black raspberry. Splendid and beautifully balanced.
95 Jeb Dunnuck -
#36 Top Wine of 2021: The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) might be the finest vintage to date. Dense purple-hued, with a thrilling nose of blue and black fruits as well as graphite and crushed stone, it's medium to full-bodied and has a wonderfully pure, elegant texture, ample underlying tannins, and a great finish. It shows the more focused, elegant, yet structured style of the vintage to a T.
94 Wine Spectator -
Quite lush in feel, with creamy waves of plum sauce, melted black licorice, açaí berry reduction and sweet toast rolling through, laced with subtle alder and bay leaf notes and ending with a sanguine hint amid the fruit. The buried structure will carry this in the cellar as well. Drink now through 2032.
93 Vinous -
Shafer's Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five is bright and punchy in 2018, with striking floral accents that give lift. In most vintages, the One Point Five is a bit more exuberant, but what impresses me about the 2018 is its finesse. Silky tannins wrap around a core of red/purplish berry fruit as the wine fleshes out over time. Best of all, the 2018 will drink well right out of the gate.
93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
Composed of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five charges out of the gate with notes of crème de cassis, chocolate-covered cherries and blackberry pie plus suggestions of bay leaves, fertile loam and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, the mouth is completely coated with juicy black fruit flavors, supported by plush tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing with an invigorating herbal lift.

Technical Details

  • Blend98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec
  • WinemakerElais Fernandez
  • CountryUS
  • RegionCalifornia North Coast
  • AppellationNapa Valley
  • VineyardEstate and Borderline vineyard
  • Farming MethodSustainable
  • Aging/Cooperage20 months in 60 gallon French oak barrels (100% new Allier and Troncais)
  • Brix at Harvest23.5-25.8
  • Release Date03/15/21
  • Alcohol15.3%

Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five 2018

Cabernet Blends  |  US
WE97, JD95, JS95, TP95, WS94, WA93, VN93

Too late, we are SOLD OUT!

“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five is brilliant.” -- Jeb Dunnuck. So brilliant in fact that it clocked in as his #36 top wine of all of 2021! But Jeb was not the only one who flipped for the 2018, so did Virginia Boone!“The wine is hugely structured and grand.” -- Wine Enthusiast.

There's little we can probably say that you don’t already know about Shafer and winemaker Elias Fernandez’s drop-dead sexy, powerful wines, are we right? Well, how about this? Did you know Doug Shafer has a podcast? It’s a hoot to listen too - check it out HERE or wherever you get your pods!

But, back to the REAL important thing -- we will SELL OUT of this, quick, so please jump on it! 2018 is a fine vintage here in the verdant Napa Valley (we finally got some rain last night!) and this wine will simply knock you out. Lush, deep, but with a terrific freshness and floral lift that makes this, by far, the best version of this wine I have ever tasted. With a finish that goes on forever and a distinct graphite and roasted coffee flavor that lingers on the tongue. It can be enjoyed RIGHT NOW but we have a sneaking suspicion that this will be hanging on for 20+ years. We agree with Jeb Dunnuck..."brilliant”!!

PAIRING IDEAS: Fall is here pretty much, so get your braise on! Slow-roasted beef, with buttery noodles on the side, yes! Don’t use the Shafer for the wine in the recipe though, unless you’re a true lavish gourmand. We’d guess you’ve got something else to cook with! DRINK that Shafer!

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Why not listen to Doug’s podcast? Here’s the link again. Other good ones in this realm are “Drinking on the Job” with John Coyle, and “I’ll Drink to That!” with Levi Dalton. Enjoy!

About the Producer

John Shafer uprooted his family from Chicago in 1972, and bought 209 acres in what would later become Stag's Leap District. He quickly planted a small parcel of Cabernet in the hillsides above the winery at the advice of Nathan Fay and created his first wine from that planting in 1978, a precursor to their legendary Hillside Select. John's son Doug joined the family biz in 1983 and has helped move the winery into the international limelight.