Shafer Vineyards, Hillside Select and hillside Cabernets in Napa
4 bottles, from the Carneros Chardonnay to the Hillside SelectA dense, velvety Napa Cabernet, born on slopes rather than on the valley floor? In 1972, John Shafer left publishing in Chicago and bought an estate at the foot of the hills of the Stags Leap District, on the east side of the Napa Valley. First vintage in 1978; his son Doug joined him in 1983, Elias Fernández in 1984.
The range reads as three wines: the Red Shoulder Ranch, a Carneros Chardonnay; the TD-9, a Cabernet-dominated blend; the Hillside Select, a pure Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate's slopes. It starts at €106 a bottle, sold individually.
Shafer - Hillside Select 2023
Shafer's legendary cuvée, a hillside Cabernet from the Stags Leap District, dense and velvety.
Shafer - TD-9 2022
Shafer's TD-9, a Cabernet-led Napa blend, generous, velvety and spicy.
Shafer - Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch 2023
A Chardonnay of rare elegance and captivating complexity...
Shafer - One Point Five 2023
One of the best Cabernet Sauvignon in California
The dates that made Shafer
One family, one head winemaker and the same hillside: this continuity explains the consistency of the wines from one vintage to the next.
| Year | Milestone | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | John Shafer buys the property, planted with vines since 1880 | The slopes are replanted with Cabernet Sauvignon in the mid-1970s |
| 1978 | First vintage made at the estate | Shafer goes from grape seller to producer |
| 1983 | Doug Shafer, the son, becomes winemaker | Father and son run the estate together, a "generation and a half" |
| 1984 | Elias Fernández arrives, officially head winemaker from 1994 | The 2023 vintage of Hillside Select is his thirty-ninth |
| 1989 | Recognition of the Stags Leap DistrictNapa Valley appellation | An appellation a few kilometres long, on the east side of the Napa Valley |
| 2022 | Acquisition by the Korean group Shinsegae | Elias Fernández still makes the wines |
The Stags Leap District takes its name from the rocky cliffs that tower over the east of the valley. They reflect the heat in the afternoon, while the breeze from San Pablo Bay cools the evenings.
Three wines, from Carneros Chardonnay to hillside Cabernet
Three origins, three ways of ageing: the comparison helps you choose according to the dish, the ageing potential and your budget.
| Milestone | Red Shoulder Ranch | TD-9 | Hillside Select |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vintage and product page | Chardonnay 2023 | TD-9 2022 | Hillside Select 2023 |
| Origin | Los Carneros, north of the bay | Napa Valley, Silverado Trail | Estate hillsides, Stags Leap District |
| Grape varieties | Chardonnay, five clonal selections | 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot | 100% Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Ageing | 14 months on the lees, 75% in new barrels, 25% in stainless steel, blocked malolactic | New French oak barriques | 28 months in new Allier and Tronçais barriques, unfined, unfiltered |
| Ageing | 5 to 10 years | 10 years and more | 10 years and more, often 20 |
| Dinner's ready | Lobster, scallops | Leg or shoulder of lamb | Rib of beef, game |
| Price per bottle | €106, sold individually | €128, sold individually | €560, sold individually |
Blocked malolactic fermentation keeps the Chardonnay's acidity: serve it at around 12 °C.
A Shafer bottle for every occasion
Start with the occasion, and the cuvée will follow.
A great Carneros Chardonnay
Whole-bunch pressing, native yeasts, fourteen months on the lees: a broad, taut white for lobster or scallops.
Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch 2023, €106 a bottle, sold individuallyA generous Napa blend
Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, aged in new barrels: blackcurrant, blackberry, graphite and vanilla, for a leg of lamb or a cut of beef.
TD-9 2022, €128 a bottle, sold individuallyA legendary Cabernet to give as a gift
The best blocks from the estate's hillsides, twenty-eight months in new oak: Shafer's flagship cuvée, to keep for twenty years.
Hillside Select 2023, €560 a bottle, sold individuallyThe neighbour from the Judgment of Paris
In the same district, the Cabernets of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, from Artemis to Cask 23, to compare two readings of the same terroir.
All the wines of the Napa Valley
Hillside Cabernets, Chardonnays and Bordeaux blends from the valley, chosen and tasted by the team for every occasion.
Cabernet Sauvignon around the world
From Napa to Bolgheri, from Margaret River to Maipo: compare Shafer's Cabernet with its cousins from the other great wine regions.
A hillside estate, a single team
Most of Napa's great Cabernets come from the valley floor. Shafer made the opposite choice: a vineyard made entirely of slopes, with poor, stony soils, where the vines yield little and give small, deeply coloured berries. The Hillside Select blends the best blocks from these hillsides, fermented with native yeasts and then aged twenty-eight months in new barriques.
We chose the estate for its consistency. Elias Fernández has made the wines for four decades. The Red Shoulder Ranch shows that a Cabernet house can also make a great white, and the TD-9 offers the Shafer style in a more affordable wine.
TD-9 and Red Shoulder
TD-9 is the name of John Shafer's first tractor, an International Harvester that came with the property, which he learned to drive in 1973. Red Shoulder Ranch pays tribute to the red-shouldered hawks, birds of prey that hunt in the Carneros vineyards and keep rodents in check.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What people ask us about Shafer
Who makes the Shafer wines?
Elias Fernández, head winemaker at Shafer Vineyards, who joined the estate in 1984 and has been head winemaker since 1994. The estate was founded by John Shafer, who bought it in 1972 in the Stags Leap District, and run with his son Doug, winemaker from 1983. The Korean group Shinsegae has owned it since 2022.
What style of wine does Shafer make?
Rich, velvety Napa wines from low-yielding hillsides: ripe black fruit, silky tannins, ageing in new French oak barrels. Alcohol levels are high, around 15% for the reds, but the cool evenings of the Stags Leap District balance the whole. The Chardonnay keeps its tension thanks to blocked malolactic fermentation.
What is the best Shafer wine?
The Hillside Select, a pure Cabernet Sauvignon from the Sunspot, John's Folly, Hitching Post and Palisade blocks, on the estate's hillsides. Aged twenty-eight months in new Allier and Tronçais barriques and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it is among the most sought-after Cabernets in California. The 2023 is €560 a bottle.
What is the difference between TD-9 and Hillside Select?
The TD-9 is a Napa Valley blend, 75% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, at €128 a bottle: rounder, ready sooner. The Hillside Select is a pure Cabernet from the estate's hillsides, denser and longer-lived, at €560 a bottle.
What kind of Chardonnay is Red Shoulder Ranch?
A Chardonnay from Los Carneros, where the Napa Valley meets San Francisco Bay. Five small-bunch Chardonnay selections, whole-bunch pressing, native yeasts, then fourteen months on the lees, three quarters in new barrels. Blocked malolactic fermentation keeps a fine acidity. It is €106 a bottle.
What is the Stags Leap District?
A small Napa Valley appellation, recognised in 1989, on the east side of the valley, along the Silverado Trail. The cliffs that border it reflect the heat in the afternoon, and the breeze from the bay cools the evenings. Shafer and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars are two of its best-known names.
How long can you keep a Shafer wine?
The Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay is best drunk within five to ten years. The TD-9 and the Hillside Select will keep for more than ten years, the Hillside Select twenty years and more in good vintages. To taste it young, decant it for two hours. Keep the bottles lying down between 12 and 14 °C.
What food goes with a Shafer wine?
Red meat for the reds: rib of beef, fillet or game with the Hillside Select, leg or shoulder of lamb with the TD-9. The Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay goes with lobster, scallops, turbot with beurre blanc or Bresse chicken in a cream sauce.
Where can I buy Shafer wines in France?
Right here: this page brings together the Shafer wines that we select and taste, from the Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay to the Hillside Select, shipped from France throughout Europe and internationally. For an exceptional gift, an adviser will answer you, and the whole valley is on our Napa Valley wines page.