Shafer’s Red Shoulder Ranch vineyard in Carneros is home to countless gophers who love to feast on young vine roots. To contain this problem, Shafer erected owl nesting boxes and hawk perches to encourage day and night rodent patrol. The Red-shouldered hawks and other birds of prey do such an outstanding job that the vineyard was named in their honour.

This vineyard offers a long, consistently cool growing season that is ideal for retaining acidity in Chardonnay fruit. Grapes were harvested by hand, then whole cluster pressed. To focus on varietal flavours, Shafer only uses wild yeast for fermentation and does not put the wine through malolactic fermentation. The majority of the wine spends 14 months aging in new French oak barrels. The remainder matures in stainless steel “barrels” (plenty of fine lees contact from the low horizontal profile, but no oak influence).

No matter what time of year you open this wine, you’ll have a taste of summer in Napa Valley. Lush aromatics fill the glass with white flowers, lemon zest, honeysuckle, clove, and flint. There is a rich balance of liveliness and density in the mouth with abundant flavours of apricot, white melon, grapefruit peel, ripe pineapple, and minerality, with a beautiful finish that goes on and on.

“All elegance and silk, this beautifully balanced wine offers a lively texture, with subtle lemon, toast and kiwi flavors on a full body. The mouthfeel is graceful and mouthwatering, backed by acidity that perfectly meets the generous fruit flavors. Making a wine of this caliber in thousands of cases is quite an accomplishment. Best from 2027–2032.”
97 points, Jim Gordon, Wine Enthusiast, December 2023

“A vibrant, agile and poised Chardonnay with aromas of pears, apples, sweet spices, jasmine and hints of stones. It’s medium- to full-bodied with precise definition on the palate. Fresh acidity and crunchy fruity at the center and a velvety touch to the edge, bringing volume and a voluptuous character throughout. Lively and long finish. Drink or hold.”
96 points, James Suckling, December 2023

“The 2022 Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay boldly charges out with notes of Golden Delicious apples, poached pears, and ripe apricots giving way to hints of powdered ginger, toasted almonds, and brioche. The full-bodied palate delivers impactful spiced apple and pear flavors with a pleasant creaminess to the texture and a racy backbone, finishing on a lingering toasty note.”
94 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent, November 2023