2008 Red Shoulder Ranch® Chardonnay
Release date: March 1, 2010
Suggested California retail: $48
“…one of the best non-malolactic, barrel-fermented Chardonnays in California …”
– Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate
On 68 acres near the northern tip of San Francisco Bay, Shafer harvests fruit for this classic single vineyard wine.
The Red Shoulder Ranch vineyard in the Carneros region offers a long, consistently cool growing season, which is ideal for retaining acidity in Chardonnay fruit. To focus on varietal flavors, Shafer uses only wild yeast for fermentation and does not put the wine through malolactic fermentation.
“The Red-shouldered hawks and other birds of prey do such an outstanding job, we named the vineyard in their honor,” says Doug Shafer.
Winemaker’s Notes
“Crisp exotic spice, rich melon, honeysuckle, apricot, all held together with bright acidity, good structure and elegant balance,” says Shafer Winemaker Elias Fernandez.
“Excellent acidity backs up considerable tropical fruit notes offered in a medium to full-bodied substantial format.”
— Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate
2008 Red Shoulder
Ranch Chardonnay Fact Sheet |
Shafer Brochure Finding Our Wines Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, December 2009 |
2008 Red Shoulder Ranch® Chardonnay – Reviews
“… a single-vineyard California dream, elegant and balanced, full of fruit and spice with a hint of melon, a note of apricot, a minerally note and a lot of rich flavor.”
– Peter Gianotti, Newsday
“Nicely balanced and filled with apricot, honeysuckle, apple and toasty aromas,”
– D magazine (Dallas, TX)
“… rich and creamy but clean, with good acids and without the distinct dark toast that seems trendy in Napa Chardonnay. Flavors were several different types of apples, from fresh green apples to slightly baked Pink Ladies, pears, and a touch of citrus. The finish was long.”
– David Honig, PalatePress.com
“… exemplifies California Chardonnay at its best. It’s very pale gold color belies the fact that this is an extremely powerful wine. Effulgent aromas of ripe pear, apricot, ginger, and butterscotch, with a hint of the steely minerality that typifies Carneros Chardonnay. … Very highly recommended.”
– Alan Boehmer, Suite101.com
2008 Red Shoulder Ranch® Chardonnay Downloads
Shafer Brochure
2010 Current Releases
Red Shoulder Ranch® Story
2008 Red Shoulder
Ranch Chardonnay Fact Sheet
Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, December 2009
2007 Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay
Press Release, March 2008
Elegant Chardonnay
In the early 1990s Shafer discovered a bounty of rich, exotic fruit aromas and flavors in its Red Shoulder Ranch, a rolling vineyard within sight of San Francisco Bay.
