One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon

Producer history

The Shafer site in Stags Leap District has grown grapes and made wine commercially since 1880, and vines were kept going through Prohibition by Batista and Maria Scansi. The modern estate begins in 1972, when John Shafer, a Chicago publishing executive, bought the property; he planted the hillside estate to Cabernet Sauvignon through the mid-1970s and made the winery's first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1978. Doug Shafer joined as winemaker in 1983, and Elias Fernandez arrived in 1984 as assistant winemaker, taking the winemaker title in 1994 and being named Food & Wine's Winemaker of the Year in 2002; he is now marking forty harvests on the property. Together the three built what the winery calls the trademark Shafer style of elegance, richness and balance, and created Hillside Select. In February 2022 the family sold the winery to Shinsegae Property of South Korea, reportedly for around $250 million, ending nearly five decades of family ownership; Doug Shafer and Elias Fernandez stayed on with the core winemaking and vineyard team.

Signature pairings

• Dry-aged ribeye, grilled over charcoal, salt and pepper only — A Cabernet at this concentration needs protein and fat to show its shape. Dry-aged beef brings a nutty, umami depth that meets the new-oak cedar directly, and the char answers the wine's dark fruit.
• Rack of lamb with a mustard and herb crust — The herb crust picks up the savoury edge that Petit Verdot and Merlot add at the margins of the blend, while lamb fat softens ripe Cabernet tannin without dulling the wine.
• Thai charcoal-grilled beef salad, dressed light on chilli (ยำเนื้อย่าง) — Grilled beef and the smoke from the charcoal work well with a barrel-aged Cabernet, and the lime and fish sauce lift a wine that can otherwise sit heavy in a tropical climate. Held at heat_level_ok 1 and specified light on chilli, since a standard Bangkok chilli load would clash with 14%-plus alcohol and new oak.