Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 / 750 ml.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another perfect wine, although readers will need to have patience, as it’s still a baby. Deep purple-hued with a perfumed, vibrant bouquet of blue fruits, graphite, spring flowers, and lead pencil, it’s full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, has perfectly integrated acidity, tannin, and alcohol, not a hard edge to be found, and an incredible finish. This monumental Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 7–8 years away from maturity and will have 40–50 years of overall longevity. (Jeb Dunnuck)

Incredible purity and precision, as well as opulence, define the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, and this is as good as any Cabernet Sauvignon in the world today. Revealing a deep purple hue as well as a thrilling bouquet of pure crème de cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, lead pencil shavings, and an incredible minerality, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, seamless texture, ample mid-palate depth, and a great finish. This is classic 2018 Napa Valley with its purity, freshness and precision as well as sensational concentration and perfectly integrated acidity, tannins, and alcohol. It delivers pleasure today yet warrants a solid 4–5 years of bottle age and is going to be a 30- to 40-year wine. (Jeb Dunnuck)

So much black licorice in this, together with tar, blackcurrants, blackberries and slate. Full-bodied, but very toned and focused, with polish and energy. Extremely fine tannins and wonderful length. All about balance and purity. Gorgeous now, but this will age for decades to come. Great finish. Better after 2026.

Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select displays a deep garnet-purple color. It charges out of the gate with bold crème de cassis, blueberry pie and black cherry preserves notes, plus hints of smoked meats, fragrant earth and tar, with a fragrant waft of violets and Provence herbs. Full-bodied, the palate is packed with muscular black fruits, supported by a solid foundation of firm, grainy tannins and compelling freshness, finishing long with an enticing herbal lift. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

Just as it was from barrel, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is stunning. Bright acids give the 2018 tons of energy. This is an especially mid-weight, refined Hillside Select that is all class. Dark blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, mint and blood orange build in the glass. Elegant and bright, the 2018 shows all the energy of the year in spades. (Antonio Galloni)

Frankly ripe but well-focused, with blackberry and creamed boysenberry notes flowing through atop the polished structure, while cocoa and black licorice frame the finish. A subtle hint of sassafras lingers at the end, adding textural nuance. This has the stuffing to age well. Drink now through 2038. 2,400 cases made. (James Molesworth)