Shafer’s Iconic Relentless Red
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2017 Shafer Vineyards Relentless Napa Valley 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
Only One Syrah Stands with Grange
Shafer Relentless has been a legend in Napa Valley for nearly a decade, ever since it claimed the #1 spot on Wine Spectator’s Top 100. In winning that honor, it joined an elite club populated by many triple-digit California Cabernets and Cru Classé Bordeaux, but just one other Syrah: the $700+ Penfolds Grange.
No Napa wine embodies opulence more fully than Relentless. It hails from a single ridgetop just below the border of the Stags Leap AVA—a site that could grow great Cabernet that would doubtless cost two or three times what this wine does. But Shafer dedicates the land to Relentless, a red that stands proudly apart from the rest of Napa Valley.
The wine’s name is a tribute to Winemaker Elias Fernandez, who was born to seasonal farm workers and now leads one of California’s truly iconic wineries. Fernandez and Doug Shafer first envisioned Relentless as a field blend that would reflect the 80% Syrah and 20% Petite Sirah planted on the site, and for years they stuck with that plan. But eventually, in their unflagging pursuit of improvement, they decided to treat Relentless like they do Hillside Select, and use only their most compelling and refined fruit.
The long, steady, and warm 2017 season gave the berries ideal hang time, and this edition of Relentless spent 30 months mellowing in 100% new Allier and Tronçais French oak barrels. It’s showing absolutely beautifully right now, a paragon of Napa Valley opulence.