Shafer Relentless 2011

Professional Ratings

• 96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  From a more challenging vintage, the 2011 Relentless exhibits a similar opaque blue/purple color as well as remarkable concentration and balance. With stunning perfume, purity, texture and full-bodied richness, the 2011 is slightly more evolved and softer than the 2010, but it offers much of the same character. This compelling effort is one of the superstars of the vintage in 2011.
  Range: 94-96
• 94 Wine Spectator
  This big red brims with dark, rich, chunky blackberry and wild berry fruit, with notes of black licorice that edge toward prune. Maintaining a fine balance for its size, this is extracted, with firm, chewy, peppery tannins. Syrah and Petite Sirah. Best from 2015 through 2028.
• 94 Wine Enthusiast
  There’s no denying the power in this wine, which contains Syrah and Petite Sirah sourced from one ridgetop Stags Leap District site. But in this case, power is a beautiful thing, sinewy and contained. Complex in plum, gamy meat and a lingering suggestion of coconut, it has size offset by the acidity, and a beguiling finish of cracked black pepper. Things will get more interesting in the cellar, through 2021–2026.
• 93 Vinous

  The 2011 Relentless is bright, fresh and full of vivacity. Lively acids perk up a core of red-fleshed fruit. In the glass, the 2011 is lithe - as wines from this vintage are and yet its balance is absolutely impeccable. The first signs of aromatic development are starting to appear. I would not push my luck on aging, but the 2011 is pretty terrific now. I loved the 2011 from barrel, but then found it initially disappointing from bottle. This showing is more consistent with my first encounter. Superb.