Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 2005 - 1.5 Litre Bottle

Hillside Select is made of 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon fruit sourced from rugged hillside vineyard blocks on our Stags Leap District Estate. Truly a "wine of a place," this Cabernet exemplifies the extraordinary richness and suppleness consistently produced in our little valley within a valley.

Hillside Select is aged a full four years prior to release (three years in Alliers and Tronçais oak barrels and one year in the bottle). While enjoyable today, this wine will gain richness and maturity with up to 20 years of careful cellaring.

99 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

One of the world’s great wines and profound expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon, is the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. This wine spends more than 30 months in 100% new oak, and, year in year out, has been one of the most singular and profound examples of Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. It seems Shafer began to ratchet up performance during the 1990s, and the first decade of the 21st century has provided a treasure trove of either perfect or nearly perfect wines, including the 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and more recently the 2010, 2012 and, in all likelihood, the 2013. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select (about 2,000 cases produced) is another one of those “wow” wines, but it does it with a sort of measured richness and restraint and extraordinary subtle character, like the Gary Cooper of Napa Cabernet Sauvignons – authentic, tall, straight-boned, but substantial and worthy of introspection. Inky purple, with a classic nose of creme de cassis, licorice, a touch of vanilla, and forest floor, the wine hits the palate with a gorgeous display of measured, but substantial fruit, body, and intensity. Not a component is out of place, and the wine remarkably pure and persuasive. Combine great winemaking with great viticulture and a special terroir, and this is the result. Readers are in the presence of genius when tasting this wine.

94 Points - James Suckling

Menthol, eucalyptus, and dark fruits with sweet tobacco jump out of the glass. Full bodied, with a soft velvety texture and lots of sweet, juicy fruit. Makes you think and relax. Hard to not to drink this, but you should wait a few years if you can.

92 Points - Wine Spectator

Generous ripe plum, black cherry, and currant flavors are supple and focused, complex and balanced. Full-bodied and focused, ending with a long, layered finish that picks up anise, cedar, and mineral notes. Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted three times, with consistent notes.