Shafer - Relentless 2018 (750ml)
Price: $105.99
| Producer | Shafer |
| Country | United States |
| Region | California |
| Subregion | Napa Valley |
| Varietal | Red Blend |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Sku | 5879 |
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Shafer Description
Shafer Vineyards has produced classic Napa Valley wines for more than 40 years.
Shafer’s wines, including its signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Hillside Select, are found in collectors’ cellars and on wine lists in top luxury hotels and restaurants throughout the world.
The vineyard and cellar teams, led by winemaker Elias Fernandez, cultivate more than 200 acres of Shafer-owned vineyards, sources for the winery's celebrated Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, TD-9, One Point Five, Relentless, and Hillside Select.
The winery has a decades-long commitment to sustainability. Beginning in the 1980s Shafer embraced farming techniques that eliminate insecticides and herbicides, and carefully conserve water resources. In 2004 Shafer became the first winery in the U.S. to go 100% solar.
James Suckling: 97 Points
A young wine with superb depth and polish that shows great depth and brightness. Full and focused with blue fruit and long, fine tannins that are compact and energetic. Slate. Graphite. Sophisticated and curated. So beautiful to try now, but be patient and open after 2026.
Vinous: 95 Points
The 2018 Relentless is silky and polished. In 2018 the blend includes a relatively high percentage of Petit Syrah, but the wine does not taste like that at all. Ripe red/purplish berry fruit, lavender, rose petal, black pepper and sweet spice are laced into the super-expressive finish. This might be the most refined Relentless ever.
Wine Enthusiast: 94 Points
This is a heavy, brooding and impressive wine, a blend of 76% Syrah with 24% Petite Sirah. Shocks of white pepper, violet and rich black fruit wrap around a thicket of firm tannin and hearty oak, the wine sinewy and richly layered. This is the 20th anniversary vintage of this wine.
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
A compelling blend that marries deep structure with richness and polish. Features accents of black cherry, grilled anise and smoked pepper, with refined tannins on the finish. Syrah and Petite Sirah. Drink now through 2032.
Wine Advocate: 92 Points
The 2018 Relentless tilts more towards Petite Sirah than many vintages, being a blend of 76% Syrah and 24% Petite Sirah, all aged 30 months in 100% new French oak. Scents of road tar, black olive and blackberries mark the nose, while the palate is full-bodied and framed by cedary notes, reasonably supple but tannic, then picks up an appealing licorice note on the finish.
