SHAFER Chardonnay 'Red Shoulder Ranch' - Carneros 2023 Bottle

Description

The 2023 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch from Shafer Vineyards has received high praise, including 94 points from Vinous and 93 points from both Wine Enthusiast and The Wine Advocate. This expressive white wine features vibrant aromas of tangerine peel, mint, and white flowers, showcasing notable brightness. The absence of malolactic fermentation keeps the flavours lively while offering a textural creaminess. On the palate, intriguing flavours of ripe white nectarine, peach, and apple skin intertwine with pithy accents of grapefruit, complemented by well-integrated spices. The Wine Advocate highlights bright pineapple and lime notes in its full-bodied profile, delivering a succulent yet fresh and zesty experience. With a drinking window from 2024 to 2030, this Chardonnay promises enjoyment and elegance.

*****

VINOUS 94 points
The 2023 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is a very pretty and expressive white. Tangerine peel, mint, white flowers and tropical overtones lend notable aromatic brightness. Blocked malolactic fermentation keeps the flavors lively, but there's also plenty of textural creaminess. This is a fine edition. - Antonio Galloni

WINE ENTHUSIAST 93 points
Intriguing and attractive, this Chardonnay balances rich flavors with mouthwatering length for a succulent and enticing wine. Aromas and flavors of ripe white nectarine and peach, apple skin, and pithy accents of white and pink grapefruit entwine with well-integrated spices. — Elaine Chukan Brown

THE WINE ADVOCATE 93 points.
Reviewed by: Joe Czerwinski
Drink Date: 2024 - 2030
Shafer's 2023 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch was bottled in July 2024 and was released in September. It's a distinctive style that eschews malolactic fermentation and marries barrel fermentation and maturation in new French oak (40%) with stainless steel drums (60%). Marked by bright pineapple and lime aromas, this full-bodied effort comes across as ripe and succulent while being fresh and zesty at the same time, with a lingering, citrusy finish.

Now that the dust has largely settled following the 2022 sale of Shafer Vineyards to Shinsegae Property, a Korean firm, readers should be reassured that wine quality remains high. I visited with Managing Director Matthew Sharp and Winemaker Elias Fernandez during my August 2024 trip to Napa and came away impressed with the current and forthcoming vintages.

Sharp has a background in wine sales—he was the winery's commercial director from 2016–2022—and has overseen the acquisition of additional vineyards since his promotion to General Manager and now Managing Director. Controlling fruit sourcing is obviously a focus, and Shafer Vineyards now owns approximately 250 acres of vines. The largest parcel remains the original property, purchased by John Shafer in 1972, but there are 90 acres in Carneros (source of the Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay) and the more recently acquired Wildfoote Ranch (Stags Leap District, 2022) and Altimeter Vineyard (Atlas Peak, 2023).

Fernandez joined Shafer Vineyards in 1984 and was named winemaker in 1994, giving him a string of 40 vintages at the property. He's the long-term institutional memory, seemingly able to remember details of past growing seasons with remarkable acuity. Other winemakers in the Stags Leap District community speak of him and his willingness to offer counsel with reverence. On this visit, we tasted the 1994 and 2004 Hillside Selects, plus the current release 2021 and barrel samples of the 2022 and 2023. To this taster, those earlier vintages are at peak; the newer stuff seems capable of achieving similar 30-year lifespans.
Published: Oct 17, 2024