I've been hearing lots of praise for this wine lately.....many people saying that is very close to, if not just as good, as Hillside Select is in many vintages. Everyone so far says its highly concentrated, with super rich blue and black fruit, has absorbed every bit of toasty oak that it was fed, has amazing texture, poignant delineation and layers of flavor, with acidity and tannins in bounds, yet completely melded in with smoothness of the fruit, and capable of aging for, well, ages. Over the last week, I've had five people come in and tell me that they rated this wine greater than 94 points. So, what is the consensus on Vinocellar, should I grab a few bottles while I dream of finding bottles of the '02 Hillside Select tucked into a hidden corner of a store somewhere and marked down for discount to $45.00?

So, what do ya'll think?

Jester

I saw this on the shelf recently too. I'll go ahead and take one for the team and tell you how it goes.

ive had the 2000 cab sauv, and it was nothing special what so ever, but then again it was a 2000 cab and not a 2001.

• 2002 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District (5/15/2006)
  .375 opened and consumed over 90 mins. Just a nice strip steak, myself playing bachelor for the night, and an enjoyable bottle! Soft black fruits and chocolate were the predominant flavors; this didn't strike me as a huge or tight wine, but was very balanced. It tasted MUCH BETTER than when I sampled this at the winery in the Fall; I'm sure the smaller format had something to do with its evolution. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Other Cellartracker notes were similar. Might not be as complete and sophisticated as a HSS, but it was a very nice wine. Think I paid $20 for the splits on a super sale; $45 for a 750 is quite fair.