Shafer 2022 Hillside Select Cabernet

Shafer’s 2022 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon is exactly the kind of Stags Leap District Cabernet that reminds you why this vineyard and this name command such extraordinary attention. Drawn from carefully selected hillside blocks including Sunspot, John’s Upper Seven, Venado Ilegal, and Firebreak, this is a wine built around concentration, pedigree, and sheer Napa Valley presence. The fruit comes from 100% hillside vineyards, where naturally small berries deliver the deep color and intensity that have long defined Hillside Select.

The 2022 growing season produced fruit of remarkable promise, and Shafer captured that character with impressive precision. The winery describes the vintage as long and sunny, allowing the Cabernet to develop rich color alongside clean, elegant, pure aromas and flavors. In the glass, the wine immediately delivers an enticing cascade of blackberry, plum, acai, dark chocolate, espresso, toast, and dried herbs. It is powerful without becoming clumsy, lush without losing its sense of freshness, and richly textured from the first sip through the finish.

There is serious depth here. The palate is dense and full bodied, packed with ripe dark fruit and framed by tannins that are already remarkably polished. The combination of concentrated hillside fruit and 28 months in 100% new French oak from Allier and Tronçais gives the 2022 Hillside Select an extraordinary sense of richness and authority. Yet the oak does not overwhelm the fruit. Instead, it adds layers of toast, espresso, and dark chocolate while the vibrant acidity keeps the wine energetic and focused.

The critical reception only reinforces what is evident in the glass. Antonio Galloni of Vinous called it a dense, full bodied wine with power and sumptuous dark fruit, awarding it a 95 to 98 point range. Jeb Dunnuck likewise praised its layered, rich, textured style, sweet tannins, purity, and full bodied character with a 95 to 97 point range.

For Cabernet collectors, this is the kind of bottle that deserves serious attention. The 2022 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon combines Stags Leap District pedigree, extraordinary hillside fruit, lavish French oak, and beautifully integrated tannins into a wine with both immediate appeal and enormous long term potential. It is sumptuous, polished, powerful, and unmistakably Shafer, with the depth and complexity to make a profound impression now and for years to come.

Alcohol: 15.5%

97 POINTS - "This offers the classic richness and breadth of the Shafer property, backed by a firm structure of fine-grained tannins and the cool, collected character of the Stags Leap district. It is saturated with dark cherries, dried blueberries, blackcurrants, graphite and bittersweet chocolate. At first sip expansive and ripe, then firmer and more linear on the palate due to the persistent tannins and overall fine balance. Drink now or hold." - James Suckling

96 POINTS - "Beautifully done, with a non-2022-like level of freshness and purity, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select reveals blackcurrant, spice, flowers, subtle chocolate, and graphite that all develop nicely with time in the glass. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate and has a pure, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This incredibly successful 2022 can be drunk any time over the coming two decades. Drink 2025-2044." - Jeb Dunnuck

96 POINTS - "Shafer's big kahuna, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, was presented as a barrel sample in August 2025. Black cherries and cassis are framed by cedar and vanilla-inflected oak, giving this wine a slightly monolithic bouquet right now. It's full-bodied, dense and concentrated but still boasts the signature Stags Leap District texture to its suede-like tannins, which linger elegantly on the finish. Barrel sample: 94-96." - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

96 POINTS - "The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select opens with a burst of dark-toned fruit wrapped up in beams of imposing tannin. Black plum, coffee, spice, leather and incense are all amplified. There's gorgeous depth and plenty of structure. The 2022 is still coming together in barrel, but it is one of the most promising wines of the year. Range: 94-96." - Vinous

96 POINTS - "2022 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – Stags Leap District shows a medium to deep ruby color and opens with ripe plum aromas that feel both generous and composed. Medium-bodied with impressive weight on the palate, it unfolds in layers, offering lively red and black fruit flavors framed by structure and finesse. The finish is firm and textured, carrying depth and persistence, reflecting the power and pedigree of this iconic hillside site." - Wilfred Wong of Wine.com

90 POINTS - "A frankly ripe red, with a caressing, forward feel, this shows a bit more depth than most in the vintage, offering dark cherry and plum compote flavors laced with singed mesquite and melted black licorice in a style that delivers immediate appeal." - Wine Spectator

The 2022 Hillside Select opens with generous aromatics, poise, and elegance. Hailing from a true Mediterranean vintage, the balance of opulence and freshness is striking with vibrant aromas and flavors of blackberry, plums, acai, toast, espresso, dark chocolate, and dried herbs. The ripe tannins are exquisitely integrated offering tension, depth, and enormous promise for layers of beauty and complexity in the coming decades.