Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five Stags Leap District Napa Valley 2023

The stellar 2023 vintage of Shafer’s signature One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon is here – from their hillside estate vineyards along with a handful of select pristine Napa sites. With a massive 96 points, this flawlessly marries elegance, liveliness, and structural power in the most compelling of manners. Don’t miss our special case-stocking price when you order 2 or more bottles (shipping included)! 

Shafer Vineyards is one of Napa’s most-loved and historic wineries. The people behind it (Doug Shafer, of course, and the humble and unbelievably talented winemaker extraordinaire Elias Fernandez, among others) are salt-of-the-earth folks who simply make the most impressive wines year after year, that is so allocated we never get but a few bottles.

Doug’s father, John, purchased the estate in 1973 and harvested the fruit for their first wine in 1978 – releasing it for sale in 1981. Just two years later, Doug joined the team as the winemaker at the time, coming alongside his father and learning the ropes of the wine business together, to rapidly mounting success and critical applause. They call their story not a typical second-generation winery, where one family member hands down the business to their kin after decades of running it – but, instead, a “generation and a half.” A father and son, working side by side – inspiring the name of this wine, One Point Five.

Grown in the widely celebrated, cooler vintage of 2023, this Cabernet Sauvignon – blended with 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Merlot, and 1% Malbec – experienced an exceptional growing season, yielding richly colored fruit with incredible energy and pure aromas. Aging for 18 months in 100% new French oak gives it a lush, frame of cedary, toasty warmth with roasted vanilla and black licorice interspersed throughout. A tantalizing core of blackberry confit, cassis, and juicy plums is wrapped up in notes of dark roast coffee, tobacco, violets, and graphite, polished off with plush, velvety tannins and a long, fresh finish. This is everything we’ve come to expect from the pedigreed and passionate Shafer Vineyards, with loads of power to age for decades to come. We didn’t manage to secure much, and at just $90 a bottle when you buy 2 or more, they are going to fly! 

FOOD PAIRINGS: Let’s go a little crazy and whip up some high-end, rosemary-salted duck fat fries served alongside a gourmet lamb burger slathered in blackberry-goat cheese spread. The gamey richness of the lamb and the savory crunch of the fries will play beautifully with this Cab’s plush tannins and dark fruit core for an absolute dream of a weekend meal!