2009 Shafer 1.5

[TheEngineer]

After a few off bottles, tonight, no #!$!# around. I wanna good bottle. So after nearly pulling many of my go to favs, I stopped here and pulled this out. I guess I wanted a young wine.

I was impressed. Deep ripe fruit with a great backbone still. This is a large scale wine. Sweet, ripe fruit, good balance still, perhaps a touch closed today but still showing well! I wanted a rocking CA cab and I think I pulled one out.

[TheEngineer]

I really do like this wine and geez, every time I open it, I wonder why I spend the major delta to Hillside Select. Yes HSS is very very good but is it 3x good?

This thing si bold and brash and everything that a good hillside fruit should be. This is a vibrant wine, while the colour is certainly dark, it is not just a fruit bomb. Nice structure, dark berries. cassis, a bit tar. This thing is full on, oaky to be sure bu not overtly, good balance, smooth tannins and great texture. will not disappoint

[winoweenie]

I remember when it was first introduced I wondered why they were featuring a Magnum of wine without disclosing what the blue-blazes it be. I agree it is a whale of a bottle for the bucks. (But, so is the HSS.) WW