Shafer Vineyards One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 2019 (750ml)

 

Rated 96 Points by Jeb Dunnuck

 

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five is a gem of a wine that readers will love to have in their cellars.  Sweet cassis, violets, and graphite define the bulk of the aromas, and it’s a classic Napa Valley Cabernet on the palate with its full-bodied richness, velvety tannins, and opulent yet balanced style.   A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and the rest Malbec and Petit Verdot, raised 20 months in new barrels, it’s going to keep for a solid two decades.

 

Rated 95 Points by James Suckling

 

Blackberries and blueberries with cherries, too.  The palate is very polished and refined with fresh, velvety tannins that provide tension and verve.  It’s long and vivid with polish and beauty.  Drinkable now, but give it at least three or four years to soften.  Better after 2026.

 

Rated 93 Points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five is a blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot.  Deep garnet-purple in color, it delivers bright, vibrant notes of cassis, cedar, Marmite toast and black raspberries with hints of bay leaves and tilled earth in the background.  The palate is full-bodied, rich and plush, featuring a lively backbone and a long finish that displays wonderful purity and precision.  Lisa Perrotti-Brown

 

Shafer Vineyards One Point Five

 

Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Stags Leap District 2019

 

One Point Five is a Cabernet Sauvignon that celebrates two things close to our hearts.  The name refers to John and Doug Shafer’s 35 year father-and-son partnership.  It also honors Stags Leap District, a place we’ve called home since 1973.

 

When you open a bottle of One Point Five we hope you enjoy it with people you care about!

 

Tasting Notes

 

2019 One Point Five fills your glass with a generous, opulent Cabernet Sauvignon offering aromas and flavors of bright black cherry, red currant, cranberry, lavender, allspice, and crushed herbs.  All this lush, vivid fruit is seamlessly brought together with ripe, cashmere-like tannins that promise years of beauty ahead with careful cellaring.  Shafer Winemaker Elias Fernandez

 

Blend:  83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 3% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot

 

Alcohol:  15.3

 

Release Date:  February 1, 2022

 

Vineyard Location

 

Predominately from two Stags Leap District sites — Shafer’s hillside estate vineyard and “Borderline” vineyard located about two miles south of the winery.

 

Cooperage:  20 months in 100% new French oak Barrels (Allier & Tronçais)

 

The 2019 Growing Season

 

The long, sunny 2019 summer created a beautiful growing season for our Cabernet Sauvignon.  The fruit developed rich color and classic, elegant aromas and flavors.

 

The One Point Five Story

 

On a cold day in January 1983, Doug Shafer entered the family winery for the first time as winemaker.  Suddenly his viticulture degree from U.C. Davis and experience at other Napa Valley wineries and vineyards didn’t seem to be enough.

 

“I had turned Dad down two or three times when he’d asked me to take over winemaking.  As I looked at all those tanks I wondered why I’d finally said yes.  A lot was riding on this.”

 

A Generation and a Half

When Doug and John Shafer started working together in 1983, the winery’s future was an unknown.  John Shafer’s first wine, 1,000 cases of 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon, had been on the market about 18 months.  Even though it would go on to win accolades, it took a lot of time to get that first Cabernet on store shelves and restaurant lists.

 

For the father-and-son team it was the start of a working relationship that would last more than 30 years – a partnership that is embedded in the name One Point Five.

 

“Most family owned businesses have their second-generation story – a first generation handing over the reins to a second,” says Doug. “Things happened differently here.  Dad and I were in this together early on and learned the business side by side.”

 

They coined the term “a generation and a half” to differentiate theirs from a traditional second-generation story.  From that comes the name One Point Five.

 

Stags Leap Commitment

Shafer has produced two Cabernet Sauvignon wines since the early 1980s.  Hillside Select originated from hillside vines surrounding the winery.  Their Stags Leap District Cabernet was sourced from Shafer’s property and from growers nearby.

 

“By 1996 the growers we were buying from were starting to make their own wine and wanted to keep their fruit,” says Doug.

 

In 1996 Doug purchased Cabernet from as far north as Calistoga and as far south as Oak Knoll, producing the winery’s first non-Stags Leap District Cabernet.

 

“We thought it’d be fun to create a Cab that’d be a snapshot of the vintage Napa Valley-wide,” says Doug.

 

Ultimately though, their hearts remained with Stags Leap District.  In 1999 Shafer purchased the last sizeable parcel of vineyard land within the appellation naming it “Borderline,” as it lies along the southern boundary of the District.

 

“The challenge was how to work with a flat, broad property with deep soils and yet cultivate vines that produce the sort of concentrated, small-berried fruit that we like so much from our hillside site,” says Doug.

 

The vineyard team prepared Borderline by embedding an extensive subsurface drainage system that would offer quick runoff and keep soils dry, holding the vigor of the vines in check.  Shafer also used low-vigor rootstocks and planted the site using close spacing so that the vines would compete for moisture and soil nutrients.

 

“We also manage the site with sustainable farming methods,” Doug says.  “Each fall we plant a mix of cover crops – bell beans, clover, and oats.  These provide further competition with the vines for water and nutrients, pushing them to produce small berries and rich flavors.”

 

The new Cabernet Sauvignon, One Point Five, introduced in 2007, offers classic Stags Leap District aromas and flavors along with easy-to-love tannins that has proved to be a favorite with wine lovers around the world.

 

 

Shafer Vineyards

 

Shafer Vineyards is a 30,000 case winery in Napa Valley’s Stags Leap District managed by the father and son team of John and Doug Shafer.  The Shafer family owns and farms 200 acres of vineyards, sources for Shafer’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and Syrah.