Shafer Napa Valley Merlot (1.5 Liter Magnum) 2014
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Winemaker Notes
Flatter Merlot’s fruit by adding a similar element of fruit to poultry, pork and meat dishes (duck breast with dried cherry-Merlot sauce, roast chicken with cranberry-wild rice stuffing). Carmelized onions, roasted garlic and mushrooms are pleasant companions.
Blend: 88% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Lush, plum and berry nose; velvety texture with ripe plum and blackberry; toasty oak and great balance; rich, deep and layered; long and intense. 78% Merlot, 14% Malbec, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Shafer also makes one of the better Merlots. The 2014 Merlot includes 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and is a beauty. Mocha and chocolaty notes intermixed with red cherry, plum and blacker fruits jump from the glass of this perfumed and fragrant style of Merlot. It is medium to full-bodied, exceptionally pure and rich and should drink beautifully over the next 10-12 years of life.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2014 Shafer Merlot continues its streak as one of Napa Valley's top red wines. The wine offers an elegant juxtaposition of ripe fruit and sweet earth in the flavors. Smooth and textured in the finish, this is a natural with lighter meat dishes. Drinks nicely now. (Tasted: November 2, 2016, Napa, CA)
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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.
As Napa Valley’s third most planted grape, Napa Valley Merlot shows time and time again its potential to produce exceptional results. Napa’s vaunted combination of climate, soil and the human factor of winemaking expertise lead to big, ripe, cellar-worthy and world-class versions.
Whether made by itself in single varietal bottlings or as an important role in Bordeaux Blends, Merlot continues a prominent role in this famous region. While Cabernet typically takes the lead role, Merlot’s contribution—even at 10% to 20% or so—is significant indeed. Often described as “the flesh on Cabernet’s bones,” Merlot lends a soft, round and plush character that beautifully complements Cabernet’s linear, full-throttle structure. Its flavors of plums plus subtle herbs and mint also dovetail nicely with Cabernet’s blackberry and cassis.