The Hills are Alive...

with the wines of Shafer.... Ok, I've tasted it twice now on successive nights. I've tasted it right out of the bottle and also after being decanted for 4 hours. I found "it". I guess I should explain what "it" is... "it" is a quality that I always looks for in a wine - perfect balance, incredible mid-palate (where many, many wines fall flat), not overly-extracted - but not weak either, a super-long finish. The fruit is balanced with the oak, the oak with the tannin, etc. I am looking for that something that just lights up your mouth - immediately makes me smile. "It" means perfect texture - a mouth-filling satiny wash of fruit. They don't have to be red, though most of them are. In my mind - a perfect wine... I've only ever run into a few wines that have "it"... 1961 Latour, 1982 Pichon-Lalande, 1982 Cheval Blanc, 1998 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo, 1994 Shafer Hillside Select, 1998 Penfold's Grange, 1982 Latour, 1997 Bryant Family, 1985 DRC Romanee-Conti, 1990 JF Mugnier Le Musigny Vieilles Vignes, 1990 Krug, etc. In all, the list is less than 30. I just added another the last 2 nights. The 2001 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon has "it". It is a monster in a bottle - a gentle monster, though. The nose smells of violets, graphite, blackcurrant, slight vanilla, mocha, anise, plums, figs, and a touch of sweet red cherry. The palate is mind-blowing. Amazingly silky texture - the finest mid-palate I've ever tasted on a California Cab. Beautiful, ripe, rich tannins. The pure blackcurrant (classic Cabernet) finish is long..... wow is it long. On Saturday, I stopped the clock over 75 seconds into it. Amazing bottle of wine. If you're looking to get me something for my birthday, this is it. Also tasted last night were the 1985 Chateau l'Angelus (a rather ho-hum effort. This wine is mostly dead, but with some sweet blackcurrant and cherry fruit on the medium-length finish), and the bizarre (overly earthy, but a nice long finish and some dirty black plum) 1997 T.FX.T Aranchol, Mittelburgenland, Austria (believed to be a blend of Blaufrankish with maybe a touch of Zweigelt?). And in case you are interested, yes, I'm still sipping on my 2000 Trimbach Gewurztraminer Hors Choix SGN, and yes, it's getting even better. Have 1/4 bottle left. Cheers.