2016 Shafer One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon Stag's Leap District Napa Valley 750 ml

The Shafer Legend Lives On

In Napa Valley, magnificent wines are many, but icons are few—and Shafer is an icon. Shafer wines have taken home Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year title, been served at the White House, and been lauded by Robert Parker as holding to “first-growth standards.” And today we are proud to offer for the very first time on Wine Access, the 2016 vintage of Shafer’s One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa’s Stags Leap District.

By any measure, the 2016 One Point Five is outstanding. Crafted from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine earned 95 points from Wine Advocate—its highest score ever—and another 95 from James Suckling. It is deep purple in the glass, and shows ripe and juicy aromas of blackberry, blueberry, and cassis, along with complex undertones of mocha, bramble, and toast. After 20 months in 100% new French oak, this is the broad, muscular, and silken wine that has become a legend. Antonio Galloni of Vinous was succinct in his praise: “Another gorgeous wine in this range, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five is fabulous.”

Shafer’s history is already the stuff of Napa Valley lore, but it took on a special meaning on a crystal-clear night in May, when we were invited to an intimate dinner at the estate. That night, as winemaker Elias Fernandez poured us back vintages of One Point Five (the 2004 was positively stunning after 15 years), he and Doug Shafer held court. They told us how in 1972, Doug’s father John, then 48 years old, abandoned a publishing career in Chicago and purchased 209 acres in the Stags Leap District. He ripped out the vines, replanted, and in 1978, Shafer produced its first Cabernet from the estate.

In 1983, John named Doug winemaker. The next year they hired Elias, the son of a vineyard worker, as assistant winemaker. Since then, the trio of John, Doug, and Elias have shaped Shafer wines. Period. In 1994, when Doug was promoted to winery president and Elias to winemaker, Shafer really hit its stride: In less than a decade, Elias had been named Food & Wine magazine’s Winemaker of the Year. It’s no coincidence that Robert Parker wrote that “From the early nineties on, especially starting around 1994, the quality of the wines soared to first-growth standards, and have remained there for the last twenty-plus years.”

It’s winery tradition: The founder works tirelessly to get the operation off the ground and set its course, then hands control to the next generation. But because John and Doug worked so closely for so long, they didn’t think the “second generation” label quite applied. So they named this wine One Point Five to symbolize the closeness with which father and son worked. And never before has the name had more meaning, as 2016 vintage is the first One Point Five released since John Shafer passed away in March, at the age of 94.

Of course, One Point Five is in excellent hands, and its quality is higher than ever. Sourced primarily from two vineyards—the famed Hillside Estate Vineyard that produces Shafer’s flagship Hillside Select, as well as the 25-acre Borderline Vineyard—this 100% Cabernet embodies the Shafer style. It’s ripe, robust, and silky from a long stretch in 100% new French oak barrels. 

There are not many iconic Napa Valley bottlings that can be had for less than triple digits, and the 2016 One Point Five is truly one for the ages. We’re thrilled to have it, and know that Wine Access members will be thrilled to take it home.