Shafer Vineyards, TD-9 2018 Shafer Vineyards

Get to know: Shafer Vineyards, TD-9 2018

Tasting Note

The 2018 is an aromatic feast of summer berries, rose petal, rhubarb, raspberry, and black cherry jam. In the mouth this racy red blend is all juicy, briary red and black berry fruit that’s spicy and energetic with a structure of ripe tannins and a long, plush finish.

Drink now or keep for 8-10 years.

Try this with a venison & mushroom wellington

Kate Says

“This Bordeaux-style blend is a charming and well-made wine. There’s lots going on with a medley of fruits and spice but it holds it together with superb balance and it has a racy acidity that lifts this full-bodied it. This would a serious treat at a dinner party.”

Producer Info

Blend: 56% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Malbec

20 months in 60-gallon French oak barrels (100% new: Allier and Tronçais)

Named after the tractor that John Shafer learned to use when he began the vineyard, this is a wine that has only one rule – to be as delicious as possible vintage after vintage. “We own a collection of small vineyards in the foothills of the Vaca Mountains just south of Stags Leap District here in Napa Valley where we grow a number of varieties including Cabernet, Merlot, and Malbec,” says Doug Shafer. “Making TD-9 gives us the chance to take the best fruit of each year from these vineyards and create the most compelling wine of the vintage.”

Using estate fruit as a basis, Shafer also purchases fruit from Napa Valley growers they know and trust, who are maintaining their vineyards at the highest standard.

Shafer Vineyards has produced classic Napa Valley wines for more than 40 years. The vineyard and cellar teams, led by winemaker Elias Fernandez, cultivate more than 200 acres of Shafer-owned vineyards. 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.