Reviews & Scores
Hillside Select is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon produced each vintage from carefully selected blocks – including Sunspot, John’s Upper Seven, Venado Ilegal and Firebreak – of the hillside vineyards surrounding the winery, designed to express the voluptuous fruit, rich flavours and velvety texture that characterise Stags Leap District grapes. Aged 32 months in 100% new 60-gallon French oak barrels.Very heavy bottle. Deep crimson. Intense with notes of balsam that save it from being cloying. Dry finish with gloss and pace and, I’d like to think, the polish of Stags Leap. Much fresher than I remember from earlier vintages. Not plagued by too much ripeness. - JR
JR18
The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is an insanely beautiful wine. The aromatics alone are pure seduction. Juicy, red berry fruit, crushed flower, cinnamon, blood orange and spice give the 2017 quite a bit of complexity, but it is the wine's textural finesse and impeccable balance that elevate it to its place among the very finest wines of the year. Stylistically, the 2017 is a bit more red-toned in profile. Texturally, it is a bit lighter and less opulent than the norm, but that is not a bad thing. The 2017 has always been stellar from barrel, but the from-bottle tasting is the proof in the pudding. It's a tour de force from Proprietor Doug Shafer and Winemaker Elias Fernandez. - VM
VM97
Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select displays a deep garnet-purple color, bursting from the glass with scents of blueberry pie, crème de cassis, black cherry compote and chocolate box plus nuances of cedar chest, clove oil, lavender and menthol. The richly fruited, full-bodied palate has a lively skip in its step, featuring gorgeous ripe, velvety tannins and fantastic freshness to support all the spicy black fruit layers, finishing long and perfumed. An absolute triumph! - WA
WA98+