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Californian winesalso age well

A vertical tasting of Shafers Hillside Selectlays to rest the idea that American wines

cannot withstand the years

Who said that Californian wines dontage well? In order to disprove thiswidely accepted idea of those in theFrench wine industry, the distributorValade & Transandine, which importssome of the best foreign wines,organised an exceptional verticaltasting in Paris of 15 consecutivevintages of one of Californias greatestwines, Hillside Select, a cabernetsauvignon from Shafer. Shafer Vineyards is situated inNapa Valley, 100km north of SanFrancisco. This 30km by 4kmvalley is divided into sections,one of which is Stags Leap. Thisis where Hillside Select isproduced; the vines are situatedon hillsides that eventually leadto San Pablo Bay at the end ofthe valley, a location thatprovides excellent airflow andfreshness. This part of the vineyard isplanted exclusively withcabernet sauvignon, the greatestvariety in Bordeaux andespecially in the Mdoc region.The vertical tasting of this wine,which has achieved a cult-like

following in America, included fifteenconsecutive vintages from 1993 to 2007,and was co-led by Doug Shafer, thePresident of Shafer Vineyards. A first observation, each and everyvintage was top-quality, a feat which

very few of the worlds wines canboast, especially as the influence ofeach vintages unique characteristicswas clear. Of the younger vintages,the 2001 is particularly impressive inits vigour and vitality.

Second observation, a gooddecade is needed before the wine

reaches its peak. Thesumptuous 1998, for example,showed a stunningdevelopment and a near-peakmaturity, a pattern confirmedby earlier vintages. In the great chteaux of theMdoc region it is common toblend cabernet sauvignon witha greater or smaller proportionof merlot, but cabernetsauvignon is the only varietyused in this perfectly agingHillside Select, somethingwhich suits it very well. B.B.www.transandine.fr

Translated from French by Rachel Tait

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