Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018
Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018
Shafer Vineyards
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2018 Red Shoulder Ranch® Chardonnay
Napa Valley • Carneros
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary Vintage of Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay
Shafer’s single-vineyard Carneros-grown Chardonnay is produced from small-clustered clones of grapes selected for their low yields and distinctive flavors. Fermentation takes place within individual oak and stainless steel barrels using native yeasts. The wine matures on the lees for 14 months and since it undergoes no malolactic fermentation this Chardonnay retains a lively natural acidity. The vineyard is named for its Red-shouldered Hawks and other birds of prey, who play an important role in Shafer’s sustainable farming practices.
“This 25th vintage of our Chardonnay offers abundant, exotic aromas and flavors of citrus blossom, apricot, pineapple, grapefruit zest, and honeydew melon all held together with seamless structure, elegant balance, and energy that comes from pure, clean acidity.”
— Elias Fernandez, winemaker
Reviews
“Incredible purity and precision, as well as opulence, define the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select … classic 2018 Napa Valley with its purity, freshness and precision as well as sensational concentration and perfectly integrated acidity, tannins, and alcohol. It delivers pleasure today yet warrants a solid 4-5 years of bottle age and is going to be a 30- to 40-year wine.” 98+ — Jeb Dunnuck
“This is a perennially impressive wine …” — Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast
Vintage and Production Notes
Release Date: March 1, 2020
Vineyard Location: Shafer’s Red Shoulder Ranch estate vineyard in Carneros
The 2018 Growing Season: A lengthy, cool, steady summer created ideal conditions for the fruit to hang on the vine a long time developing bright color, alluring flavors, and enticing aromas.
Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Brix at Harvest: 22.8° - 25.0°
Fermentation: Whole-cluster pressed and fermented with wild yeast in individual barrels (75% oak, 25% stainless steel); 0% malolactic fermentation
Cooperage: 14 months in 75% new French oak barrels (Allier, Vosges) and 25% in stainless steel barrels
Alcohol: 14.9%
Red Shoulder Ranch Story
Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay is a wine that bears the elegant imprint of its vineyard home – 68 acres that roll across the pastoral hill country of Los Carneros, a place where Napa Valley meets the northernmost rim of San Francisco Bay. The vineyard is named to honor the Red-shouldered Hawks and other birds of prey that play a vital role in our sustainable farming practices (in this case keeping gopher and other rodent populations naturally under control).
Shafer Vineyards
Shafer Vineyards is a 30,000-case family owned winery in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District. The Shafers own and farm 200 acres of estate vineyards, sources for Shafer’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah, and Petite Sirah.
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