2018 Shafer Vineyards TD-9 Red Blend Napa Valley 750 ml

Our first sip came blind and nearly knocked us over. A full-throttle yet elegant purple-cored blockbuster that exudes first-class Napa Valley power, Shafer’s TD-9 had every last person at the table marveling at its richness—and guessing at a triple-digit price point.

Shafer’s 2018 TD-9 is an intense blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec, and it fits right in with the winery’s marquee ($100-$300) bottles like Relentless and Hillside Select. But it’s also an outlier: By showing what Robert Parker called Shafer’s “first-growth standards,” TD-9 makes it possible to put one of Napa Valley’s legendary wineries in your regular rotation.

TD-9 is Shafer’s newest red blend, and it’s custom-built for anyone who loves power-packed Napa Valley reds (and especially Shafer’s inimitable Cabernets and Syrahs). It honors the winery’s late founder John Shafer, who in 1972—when he was in his late 40s—moved his family from Chicago to Napa Valley so he could pursue his dream of growing grapes and making wine. Never mind that he’d never grown anything more than a few flowers in the front yard.

The 2018 consists of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec, raised on Shafer’s vineyard sources in the Stags Leap District and Yountville, and in the foothills of the Vaca Range just south of Stags Leap. The long and steady summer created ideal conditions for the fruit to hang on the vine, developing beautiful aromas and complex flavors. 20 months in 100% new Allier and Tronçais French oak barrels wrapped that dark fruit core in layers of vanilla and woodsy spice.