Just a few days after tasting the 2016 release of Shafer’s superb “One Point Five” Cabernet Sauvignon, we got the sad news that the estate’s 94-year-old founder, John Shafer, had passed away. As many of you know, his story was one of the Napa Valley’s foundational narratives, and the Shafer family’s Cabernets are simply essential to one’s understanding of this region and this variety.
Sourced predominantly from estate vineyards on the volcanic upper slopes of Napa’s Stags Leap District, “One Point Five” may occupy the second position in price and perception behind Shafer’s iconic “Hillside Select,” but it really doesn’t feel like a “second wine” in the Bordeaux mold. This 2016 lacks for nothing, showcasing 100% Cabernet Sauvignon at its most powerful and profound, so take it for what it is: One of the very best values you’ll find among the elite reds of the Napa Valley. We obtained enough to offer up to six bottles per customer today, so make room in your cellar for this benchmark—it’s got a long and distinguished life ahead of it!
The 2016 “One Point Five” is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced mostly from the Hillside Estate and Borderline vineyards and spends 20 months in 100% new French oak barrels before bottling (compared to 32 months for Hillside Select). It is a big, brooding, “mountain” style of Napa Cabernet, with a tremendous amount of soil character balancing the richly concentrated fruit. In the glass, it’s an opaque purple-black in color with an explosive nose of blackcurrant, cassis, violets, licorice, cocoa, espresso, a touch of eucalyptus, tar, and crushed black rocks. It is full-bodied with a capital “f” but in a muscular, rather than sappily fruity, way. There’s enough freshness that its alcohol and massive structure don’t feel at all ponderous, but rather pleasingly intense. With a lot of big-ticket Napa Cabernet, there’s all sorts of pleasure right away but not necessarily the structure for aging, whereas this wine feels like a sure bet for the cellar: dense, firm, fresh, and concentrated enough for a 20-year run. If you’d like a peek at it now, it will more than satisfy given some time to unwind: Decant it an hour-plus before serving at 60 degrees in large Bordeaux stems. Take it slow—a little goes a long way—and pair it with something with a nice char to it, to pick up on similar grilled-meat notes in the wine. It will make for a memorable main-course wine now and for many years to come. I’ll be opening one soon and raising a toast to one of Napa’s legendary families. Cheers!