*Scheduled to Arrive next week 8/19*97-99 Jeb DunnuckBlue fruits, cassis, graphite, violets, and a remarkable crushed stone-like minerality all shine from the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, an incredibly concentrated and powerful 2023 that's going to check in with the top wines in the vintage. It has a structured, focused mouthfeel with building tannins and a great finish. This shows the fresher, vibrant, elegant style of the vintage while still staying true to classic Hillside Select richness and depth.96-98 Wine AdvocateTasted as a prospective blend—the wine is still in barrel—Shafer's 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another super effort from the team at Shafer and Winemaker Elias Fernandez, who recently celebrated his 40th anniversary with the winery. It's a wonderfully floral and fragrant version of Hillside at this stage of its evolution, with hints of violets accenting black cherries and cassis; the 100% new French oak has seemingly already been absorbed into the wine. The full-bodied palate is concentrated and firmly tannic, the finish long and reasonably elegant for such a young wine. 95-98 Points VinousThe 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another wine that brilliantly illustrates the style at Shafer today, one that is much more contemporary than most people realize. Silky tannins, lifted aromatics and sculpted fruit all grace the 2023. It’s a wine of total sophistication and polish. Hints of blueberry, lavender, mint and white pepper linger on the sophisticated finish. I can't wait to see how it ages. Antonio Galloni. November 2025
