Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

Wineadvocate

Possibly the Cabernet Sauvignon of the vintage is Shafer’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Last year I thought it was a strong effort, but it’s even better now that it’s been bottled. With an opaque black/purple color and notes of subtle burning charcoal embers, blueberry, blackberry and graphite, the wine has a certain Bordelais minerality, but then the richness of Napa kicks in. It’s full-bodied (somewhat unusual for a 2011) with lighter tannins, and no doubt the wine will be on a faster evolutionary track than vintages such as 2010, 2012 and 2013. Nevertheless, the Shafers and Elias said this was the toughest vintage they’d ever experienced. To be able to produce a compelling wine like this is a testament to their extraordinary skills and craftsmanship. This wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 15-20 years.

Vinous

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is intensely aromatic and bright. Rose petal, sage, mint and blood orange give the 2011 crazy aromatic presence. Still very fresh and nuanced, the 2011 has aged impeccably and also has the energy to drink well for another decade. The 2011 will always be a lithe, understated Hillside Select, but the pedigree is very much there. The introduction of optical sorting for the first time surely helped. - AG 05/2022