Shafer TD-9 2018
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James
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Jeb
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The 2018 is an aromatic feast of summer berries, rose petal, rhubarb, raspberry, and black cherry jam. In the mouth this racy red blend is all juicy, briary red and black berry fruit that’s spicy and energetic with a structure of ripe tannins and a long, plush finish.
Blend: 56% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a meaty nose with grilled plums, smoke, tapenade and dried leaves. Some tomato paste. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins. Broad and flavorful with a distinctively savory, saline finish. 56% merlot, 23% cabernet sauvignon and 21% malbec. Better from 2021.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 TD-9 Proprietary Red Blend is based on 56% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Malbec. It's another balanced, charming, and impeccably made wine from this estate that has lively red and blue fruits, scorched earth, graphite, and licorice aromas and flavors as well as a medium to full-bodied, elegant style on the palate. It shows the more streamlined, focused style of the 2018 vintage and is going to evolve for 10-12 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
This vintage of TD-9, named for the founder’s favorite tractor, combines 56% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Malbec. Aromatic tones of rose and raspberry meet accents of cedar, tobacco leaf, iron and crushed rock, all while maintaining an intensely full-bodied, structured feel.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 58% Merlot and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Red Blend TD-9 displays a medium to deep garnet-purple color and expressive notes of blueberry compote, mulberries and plum preserves plus nuances of potpourri, dried Provence herbs and tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a lively backbone creating great tension with the ripe, plummy flavors and rounded tannins, finishing with an enticing herbal lift.
Other Vintages
2019-
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Dunnuck -
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Robert
Parker -
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Dunnuck -
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Enthusiast
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Jeb
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Wine &
Spirits
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Shafer Vineyards has produced classic Napa Valley wines for more than 40 years.
Shafer’s wines, including its signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Hillside Select, are found in collectors’ cellars and on wine lists in top luxury hotels and restaurants throughout the world.
The vineyard and cellar teams, led by winemaker Elias Fernandez, cultivate more than 200 acres of Shafer-owned vineyards, sources for the winery's celebrated Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, TD-9, One Point Five, Relentless, and Hillside Select.
The winery has a decades-long commitment to sustainability. Beginning in the 1980s Shafer embraced farming techniques that eliminate insecticides and herbicides, and carefully conserve water resources. In 2004 Shafer became the first winery in the U.S. to go 100% solar.
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.