Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 2018

100 Points | RP
“A barrel sample of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep purple-black colored 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select bursts with wild blueberries, boysenberries, black and red cherries and fresh blackcurrants with violets, pencil shavings, crushed rocks and tobacco nuances. Full-bodied, firm and grainy, the palate is built like a brick house with great freshness and energy, finishing long and vibrantly fruited. Great purity!” - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
 
99 Points | V
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is a total knock-out, just as it was last year. Fresh, vibrant and wonderfully nuanced, the 2018 is simply magnificent. Red cherry jam, rose petal, cinnamon, violet, lavender and new leather all race out of the glass. More than anything else, I am so taken by the wine's energy and freshness. I find less bombastic intensity than in some previous years. In fact, the 2018 might be the most polished, elegant Hillside Select I have ever tasted. In a word: dazzling.” - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
             
100 Points | JD
“Lastly, the inky blue-hued 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select tastes like you’d expect: a primordial, inky, massive young Cabernet Sauvignon. Blue fruits, cassis, graphite, and liquid violets notes all define the bouquet, and it’s a rich, structured, massively endowed 2018 that hangs onto the purity and finesse-driven style of the vintage. It has a wealth of tannins yet more than enough fruit. It’s going to be a candidate for perfection and should evolve similarly to the 2016 (or maybe the 2014).” - Jeb Dunnuck