Shafer "Red Shoulder Ranch" Chardonnay 2022
(Carneros, Napa Valley, California) - [WE 97] [JS 96] [DM 95] [JD 95] [WA 94]

About this Wine:
This vintage is a celebration of the Chardonnay from our beautiful Red Shoulder Ranch® vineyard in Napa Valley’s Carneros District. Year after year this Shafer-owned vineyard offers up wine with plush, exotic, zesty aromas and flavors.

“2022 Red Shoulder Ranch is a refreshing, vibrant Chardonnay characterized by its lush, glass-filling aromas of white flowers, lemon zest, and exotic fruit … effortless structure and elegant balance with a long, delightful finish.” — Shafer winemaker Elias Fernandez

Tasting Notes:
Lush aromatics fill the glass with white flowers, lemon zest, honeysuckle, clove, and flint. There is a rich balance of liveliness and density in the mouth with abundant flavors of apricot, white melon, grapefruit peel, ripe pineapple, and minerality, with a beautiful finish that goes on and on.

Technical Information

Brix at Harvest: 22.8° – 25.0°
Fermentation: Whole-cluster pressed and fermented with wild yeast in individual barrels (75% oak, 25% stainless steel); 0% malolactic fermentation
Cooperage: 14 months in 75% new French oak barrels (Allier, Vosges) and 25% in stainless steel barrels
Alcohol: 14.9%

Ratings & Reviews

97 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"All elegance and silk, this beautifully balanced wine offers a lively texture, with subtle lemon, toast and kiwi flavors on a full body. The mouthfeel is graceful and mouthwatering, backed by acidity that perfectly meets the generous fruit flavors. Making a wine of this caliber in thousands of cases is quite an accomplishment. Best from 2027 - 2032. Cellar Selection." - JG (10/2023)

96 Points - James Suckling:
"A vibrant, agile and poised Chardonnay with aromas of pears, apples, sweet spices, jasmine and hints of stones. It’s medium- to full-bodied with precise definition on the palate. Fresh acidity and crunchy fruity at the center and a velvety touch to the edge, bringing volume and a voluptuous character throughout. Lively and long finish. Drink or hold." (9/2023)

95 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"Beautifully deep golden colour flecked with emerald hues. A full-flavoured, round, expressive Chardonnay with a host of spicy ginger, salted lemon peel, honeycomb and sea shell mineral nuances. It is so round and creamy on the palate but balanced by ripe acidity, which seems to hit the palate with such precision that it builds tension only after the rich, sweet fruit character pulls you in. Everything aforementioned reemerges on the long finish layered with jasmine, ginger cream and sweet cedar. -JC (1/2024)

95 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"I love the 2022 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch. It's a richer, broad, yet still fresh and lively Chardonnay with ripe citrus and pineapple fruits, medium to full body, a layered mouthfeel, and terrific toast, brioche, honeysuckle, and lemon oil aromatics. It will keep for 4-6 years, if not longer, but I love it today." (12/2023)

94 Points - Wine Advocate:
"A modern-day classic, Shafer's 2022 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch continues the tradition, delivering pristine pineapple notes alongside hints of citrus curd, pencil shavings and mocha. Full-bodied, round and generous, this no-malolactic-fermentation Chardonnay harmoniously tapers down into a clean, crisp finish. The only quibble with this vintage is that it may show a touch of alcoholic warmth." -JC (12/2023)