Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is wonderfully subtle and precise. Full bodied and fruity, with great brightness in the fruit and fresh acidity. The finish is beautiful, I can't wait to see where this ends up. It will be on the market in March 2011.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five should turn out to be just as good. Slightly more powerful with sweeter fruit as well as more glycerin and fat, this is a big, full-bodied Stags Leap Cabernet offering abundant notes of roasted herbs, chocolate, cassis, incense and earth. Drink this deep, powerful 2008 over the next 10-15 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Full-bodied and rich, as all Shafer reds are, this wine's blackberry, blueberry, currant and cassis flavors were aged in 100% new French oak, but the smoky wood overlay is seamless. The tannins are big, and the wine has a drink-me-now sweetness, but it really needs time. Give it a good 5-7 years.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Rough-hewn, chunky and extracted, with dried herb, leather, dried berry and sage. Not the typical Shafer polish, but consistent with the One Point Five style. Decant. Drink now through 2018.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.