Shafer - Relentless 2018 (750ml)
Price: $105.99
| Producer | Shafer |
| Country | United States |
| Region | California |
| Subregion | Napa Valley |
| Varietal | Red Blend |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Sku | 5879 |
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The 2022 Relentless offers an exquisite balance of concentration with elegance. Layers of juicy black plum, wild berry compote, and black licorice exhibit complexity and tension with crushed stone, garrigue, and sage brush. Ideal ripeness and racy acidity add lift to its core. Richly pleasurable now, this vintage will evolve magnificently over the next 20 – 30 years.
Shafer Description
Relentless is a wine that originates in the rugged, sloping chaparral foothills of the Vaca Mountains, along Napa Valley’s arid, cooler southeast corridor. For more than two decades this site has produced a consistently rich, elegant proprietary blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah. We named this wine to honor our legendary winemaker, Elias Fernandez, and his relentless, 40-year pursuit of the absolute best in the vineyard and cellar.
James Suckling: 97 Points
A young wine with superb depth and polish that shows great depth and brightness. Full and focused with blue fruit and long, fine tannins that are compact and energetic. Slate. Graphite. Sophisticated and curated. So beautiful to try now, but be patient and open after 2026.
Vinous: 95 Points
The 2018 Relentless is silky and polished. In 2018 the blend includes a relatively high percentage of Petit Syrah, but the wine does not taste like that at all. Ripe red/purplish berry fruit, lavender, rose petal, black pepper and sweet spice are laced into the super-expressive finish. This might be the most refined Relentless ever.
Wine Enthusiast: 94 Points
This is a heavy, brooding and impressive wine, a blend of 76% Syrah with 24% Petite Sirah. Shocks of white pepper, violet and rich black fruit wrap around a thicket of firm tannin and hearty oak, the wine sinewy and richly layered. This is the 20th anniversary vintage of this wine.
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
A compelling blend that marries deep structure with richness and polish. Features accents of black cherry, grilled anise and smoked pepper, with refined tannins on the finish. Syrah and Petite Sirah. Drink now through 2032.
Wine Advocate: 92 Points
The 2018 Relentless tilts more towards Petite Sirah than many vintages, being a blend of 76% Syrah and 24% Petite Sirah, all aged 30 months in 100% new French oak. Scents of road tar, black olive and blackberries mark the nose, while the palate is full-bodied and framed by cedary notes, reasonably supple but tannic, then picks up an appealing licorice note on the finish.
