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Shafer Proprietary Red Relentless 2017  - First Bottle

Reviews

98 Tasting Panel -
We taste this proprietary blend of Syrah (86%) and Petite Sirah (14%) almost every vintage, and this time we admired the elevated elegance of its structure, with silkier tannins than we recall in former bottlings. Grown on a small ridgetop just south of the Stags Leap District, the grapes experienced a lengthy hang time, and the result is stunning: Chocolate, black plum, slate, black olive, and leather reveal themselves in the opaque, carmineblack–hued liquid, which aged 30 months in 100% new French oak and has an ABV of 15.8%.
94 Jeb Dunnuck -
While I don't think the 2017 Relentless will match the 2018, it's nevertheless a beautiful Syrah that offers lots of smoky dark berry fruits, barbecue notes, spice, and meaty nuances in a rich, pure, nicely textured, medium to full-bodied package. It's going to evolve gracefully for a solid 10-12 years.
94 Wine Spectator -
Deep and powerfully built, with a rich and polished texture that highlights wild berry and blueberry flavors that show notes of espresso, smoky beef and black pepper. Finishes with big but refined tannins. Syrah and Petite Sirah. Drink now through 2030.
92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -
Composed of 86% Syrah and 14% Petite Sirah, the 2017 Relentless has a deep garnet-purple color and fragrant notes of cracked black pepper, licorice and violets over a core of plum preserves, Black Forest cake and mulberries plus an earthy waft of tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has lovely purity and freshness, featuring ripe, rounded tannins and lots of pepper and spice layers, finishing refreshingly savory.
90-93 Vinous -
The 2017 Relentless is a bold, flamboyant wine that seems to have put on even more density over the last year, hard as that may seem to believe. Black cherry, licorice, spice, leather and menthol are all amped up in this decidedly opulent, full-throttle Syrah-based wine.
92 Wine Enthusiast -
This is a burly, muscular yet sophisticated wine, showing complex characteristics of black pepper, clove and garrigue. Woody oak underscores a robust palate of black plum, game and savory herb, with a velvety texture throughout. It's a blend of 86% Syrah and 14% Petite Sirah. Enjoy from 2027–2030.

Technical Details

  • Blend86% Syrah, 14% Petite Sirah
  • WinemakerElais Fernandez
  • CountryUS
  • RegionCalifornia North Coast
  • AppellationNapa Valley
  • Farming MethodSustainable
  • Aging/Cooperage30 months in 100% new 60 gallon French oak barrels (Allier and Troncais)
  • Brix at Harvest24-26
  • Release Date09/15/20
  • Alcohol15.8%

Shafer Proprietary Red Relentless 2017

Syrah Blends  |  US
TP98, WS94, JD94, VN90-93, WA92, WE92

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"Year in year out, this is one of the superstar wineries, not only in Napa Valley and all of California, but in the entire world... One of the world’s great wines and profound expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon...The quality of the wines soared to first-growth standards, and have remained there for the last twenty-plus years.” - Robert Parker

These wines, from the quiet masterwork winemaking of Elias Fernandez (truly, one of the greatest people and winemakers in the Valley), remain rock-solid, polished, powerful and beautifully well-made wines in the entire Valley, year after year. The new wines are here and the Relentless just crushes it this year. 98 points and one of the most compelling versions of this wine (to my palate) since the legendary 2008 which earned the Wine of the Year honors from Wine Spectator almost a decade ago.

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 shepard the winery into the international limelight. The first release of Relentless was in 1999 and was named to honor Elias' relentless pursuit of suberb wine quality.