Shafer Hillside Select spotlight
The official Shafer Vineyards channel presents Hillside Select as a wine of a place: the Stags Leap hillside blocks behind this flagship Cabernet.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2021 Hillside Select. Their published low is $349.56 and the average is $391.56. Our slash is $250, well under that published low, against a $400 typical retail.
2021 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District, USA
Elias Fernandez's Hillside Select, Stags Leap volcanic tufa and 28 months new French oak, a 99-point 2021 you can open at two hundred fifty dollars.
The 2021 Hillside Select is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from Shafer's hillside blocks: blackberry, cedar, just-picked cherry, wet stone, now $250.
Stags Leap hillside blocks, not a Napa blend built for volume
Hillside Select is Shafer's flagship because it comes from the estate's best hillside Cabernet, Sunspot, John's Upper Seven, Hitching Post, Firebreak. Elias Fernandez's 38th vintage at the house. Decanter, James Suckling, and Wine Advocate all landed on 99. Shallow volcanic tufa, ironstone, sagebrush, tannins that dance instead of thud. This is the bottle that still defines Stags Leap.
The house
John Shafer planted the Stags Leap hillside in the late 1970s. By 1983 the family knew the hillside Cabernet was something apart and named it Hillside Select.
The wine
100% Cabernet Sauvignon. 28 months in 100% new 60-gallon French oak (Allier and Troncais). 15.5% ABV.
The scores
Decanter 99. James Suckling 99. Wine Advocate 99. Wine Enthusiast 97. Wine-Searcher aggregate 97.
The drinker
Blackberry and cedar first. Decant 90 minutes if opening now. Serve near 62 F. Prime rib or Cabernet-braised short ribs.
Power, polish, and hillside tension
Elias Fernandez writes blackberry, cedar, black currant, just-picked cherry, floral and leather tones, then tobacco, red plum, wet stone, lavender, and black tea. Decanter found huckleberry, black truffle, dried violets, graphite, and salted dark chocolate, framed by racy acidity.
A Napa classic of warm days and cool nights. The 2021 has the rare mix of depth, freshness, and concentration. Ripe tannins, serious structure, a finish built for decades.
Blackberry, cassis, just-picked cherry, huckleberry, red plum, dried violet.
Full, 15.5% ABV, fine-grained tannin, 28 months 100% new French oak, racy acidity.
Graphite, black tea, wet stone. Decant 90 minutes now. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Hillside blocks, then 28 months in new French oak
On the Shafer sheet, the 2021 is 100 percent Cabernet from specific hillside blocks, 28 months in 100 percent new 60-gallon French oak from Allier and Troncais. Wine Advocate called it harmonious from front to back at 15.5 percent alcohol. The oak is tailoring. The hillside is the cloth. Blackberry and ironstone stay in the glass.
About 2,900 cases. Barrel selection of the best blocks on roughly 25 hectares of shallow volcanic tufa.
Open now with a long decant and real food, or cellar toward 2050. The deeper purpose is time.
Why Hillside Select still carries weight
Hillside Select is Shafer's identity: Stags Leap perfume, ripe Napa fruit, mineral tension, tannins that feel polished rather than blunt.
John Shafer left publishing for Napa and planted the Stags Leap hillside. The family named the wine Hillside Select in 1983 because those blocks were different.
Elias Fernandez was hired two weeks out of UC Davis in 1984. The 2021 is his 38th vintage. The modern Shafer style is still deep, still luxurious, more lifted than the old reputation for excess.
Sunspot, John's Upper Seven, Hitching Post, Firebreak. Those names are the map. The 2021 is that map in one bottle.
What to put on the table
This is not the bottle for delicate food. Give it roast edges, salt, slow heat, pan juices, and enough richness to meet the wine halfway.
Two plates. One prime rib with red-wine jus. One Cabernet-braised short rib with polenta. Both can take Hillside Select.
Decant 90 minutes if opening now. Serve 60 to 64 F in a large Bordeaux stem. The 2021 can take a serious roast.
Perfect Prime Rib with Red Wine Jus
Roast beef, salt crust, and a wine jus are the cleanest match for cassis, cedar, and hillside tannin.
Why it works: Fat and jus meet 15.5% Cabernet. The wine's acidity keeps the plate from going heavy.
View Recipe for prime rib with red wine jus (opens in a new tab)
Cabernet-Braised Short Ribs with Polenta
Slow beef, polenta, and herb gremolata give the 2021 a savory landing.
Why it works: Braise matches blackberry and tobacco. Polenta softens the fine-grained tannin.
View Recipe for Cabernet-braised short ribs with polenta (opens in a new tab)Put Hillside Select in the cart
Elias Fernandez, three 99s, Stags Leap hillside Cabernet. Two hundred fifty dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Shafer flagship for the table that matters and a cellar that can wait.
