Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Continues the tradition of ripe, intricate Firebreaks of recent years, although not quite in the same class as the '99, '00 or '01. Still, it shares the intense cherry and cassis fruit, smooth, complex tannins and delicious veneer of oak.
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Wine & Spirits
The Shafers have been tinkering with sangiovese since the late '80s; they planted it on a rocky knoll above their winery where the manzanitas had been cleared by a fire. Their latest vintage is one of their most successful. It emphasizes the velvet texture that ripe sangiovese achieves with oak age. The cherry flavor of the fruit will fit in between the spinach and the meat of steak Florentine.
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Wine Spectator
Fragrant floral, wild berry and blackberry aromas carry over to the palate, giving this a rich range of concentrated flavors. The tannins are quite firm, too, though the fruit flavors push past on the long, intense finish. Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.