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The first vintage where they've put Cabernet Sauvignon on the label, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon TD-9 is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and the rest Malbec, raised all in new barrels. Medium ruby/purple-hued, it has a killer nose of caramelized red and black fruits as well as lead pencil, dried flowers, and toasty oak. It's balanced, medium to full-bodied, and just about impossible to resist. There are roughly 10,000 cases produced, and it's a wine readers will love over the coming decade.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2021 TD-9 is a very pretty wine. Crushed flowers, sweet red berry fruit, spice and white pepper are all nicely delineated. This mid-weight, vibrant red is full of appeal. The 2021 is the first vintage in which this wine is now a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend. It is done in an approachable, fresh style meant for near and medium-term drinking.
Shafer's TD-9 is now a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine, with the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon TD-9 being composed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec. Offering up scents of cherries, wood spice and vanilla, it may lack a bit of complexity and concentration, but this full-bodied effort still hits all the right notes, finishing long and velvety.
About the producer
The site of Shafer has been around since 1880, and grapes continued to be grown here, even during prohibition. It is said that some wine was made here during that time. In 1972, John Shafer bought the property in the Stag’s Leap district, he immediately began planting the Cabernet on the hillside.