Many years ago, I read a anecdote about a young boy trying to teach himself about self control. Cream and sugar were kitchen staples that were strictly off-limits. He would put them on the countertop and stare trying to believe that he didn't want them. After several days, he decided that mind had triumphed over matter and that he could do without. To reward himself for his feat, he had some cream sweetened with sugar.
I bought two bottles of 1990 Shafer Hillside Select when it was released. They cost me $29.99 each.
As the price has gone up over the years, I have kept my hands off this wine saving them, I said, to finance my retirement. Finally, last week, I concluded that I really wasn't interested in those bottles any longer and to celebrate I took one to dinner with an old friend at Rubicon in San Francisco.
1990 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stag's Leap District (1/20/2005)
Wine was decanted twenty minutes before drinking. Although this was the first HSS bottled without filtering, there was minimal sediment. Color was a deep crimson with little or no lightening at the edge. The nose was powerful and complex when poured from the decanter showing smoke and cassis. Forty minutes later, the nose had faded quite a bit. The wine showed a full body filling the mouth with big fruit and balanced but not obtrusive acidity. Finish was long with smooth tannins sweetened by age. A first-class bottle of wine that was surprising in still seeming young.(94 pts.)
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