SHAFER RELENTLESS 750ML 2021
Product price
$76.87
Description
SHAFER RELENTLESS is a bold blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the renowned Napa Valley region of California. This wine showcases a rich flavor profile, characterized by dark fruits, black pepper, and subtle oak undertones, providing a complex yet balanced experience.
Ideal food pairings for SHAFER RELENTLESS include grilled lamb, hearty stews, and aged cheddar cheese. Its robust character complements rich dishes and enhances the dining experience by balancing flavors effectively.
Product Details
| Category | Wine |
| Color | Red |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Size | 750 ML |
| Container | Bottle |
| Other | 240 |
| Subdepartment | CALIFORNIA-OTHER RED |
Expert Reviews
In this vintage, winemaker Elias Fernandez celebrates his 40th year crafting wine at Shafer. The 2021 Relentless is a blend of 97% Syrah and 3% Petite Sirah, sourced from ridgetop and foothill sites along the Vaca Mountains, just south of the Stags Leap District AVA. Aged for 20 months in 100% new Allier and Tronçais French oak, the wine is remarkably restrained in 2021, showing elegant cherry and spiced plum fruit alongside sandalwood and rose petal nuances. This full-bodied Syrah leads with pronounced mineral tension, revealing cool wet slate and forest berry fruit. The tannins are sleek, polished, and well-integrated, framing a juicy, balanced finish. Despite its 15.8% alcohol, the wine maintains excellent poise and grip, with no noticeable heat.
The 2021 Relentless is a potent, brooding wine. Dark cherry, plum, licorice, cloves, game, scorched earth and black pepper explode onto the palate. Swaths of tannin wrap it all together. This intense, structured Syrah-based blend clearly needs a few years in bottle to be at its best. It's pretty impressive, even in the early going. The 2021 spent six more months in barrel than originally projected because of the delayed 2023 harvest. My impression today is that the extra time in wood robbed the wine of some freshness.
The 2021 Relentless is a blend of 97% Syrah and just 3% Petite Sirah, all aged 28 months in 100% new French oak. Like the rest of the Shafer red wines, it has effortlessly absorbed the oak treatment, delivering blackberries and blueberries on the nose. Full-bodied, sturdy and tannic, it finishes long and dusty. Give it another couple of years to smooth out and then drink it over the next 15 years.