Offering is live!
If you haven’t heard by now, 2023 was a vintage for the ages. Long cool summer, buffered by an average+ crop size – the only thing you needed to bring was patience.
As we get further from harvest, the minute day-to-day details give way to broader impressions and a few specific core memories. Some you’d like to forget, like nearly stepping on a rattlesnake while sampling grapes in flip flops, but if you were to ask me when I knew I was in the middle of something great was the first day of fermentation. I opened the bottom valve to get started and the purity and power of the aromatics made me stop in my tracks. When Shifflett Ranch is on, there is nothing in Napa like it.
The Wines
After a brief fling with Pinot earlier in the vintage, we got back home to Napa and specifically the family at Shifflett Ranch. We are back to where everything started and it sure feels good. The best news -yields were strong, allocations are up and in what may ultimately be a better vintage than 2016/2018, the best time to stock up.
2023 William & Mary Wine Company Proprietary Red Wine, Shifflett Ranch
60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc
175 cases produced
14.7% alcohol$95/btl
I wanted one last look at this wine before I wrote it up, so I took it to a family gathering last night in hopes that I could steal some new words for this venerated staple of the lineup. Cork pulled, left to go watch the kids/cousins/nephews play and when I got back – gone. Empty.
Most years I co-ferment this wine, meaning the biggest decisions are made the minute they are picked and go to tank. This year, crop & tank size lent itself to separately fermenting the Cab Franc and Merlot, not something I usually prefer, but might need to reconsider given the results. Lifted aromatics, white and purple flowers, with a midpalate that glides. Often the Cab Franc can sit a little tall in the midpalate, but the Merlot in 23 was uncommonly powerful and matches perfectly. The tannins are fine and instead of locking down the fruit, they put them on a pedestal and in the spotlight. An absolute joy to drink.
2023 William & Mary Wine Company Cabernet Sauvignon, Shifflett Ranch
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
150 cases produced
14.7% alcohol$125/btl
‘Is this the best W&M Shifflett Cab you’ve ever made?’
Probably.
2016/2018 are the natural rivals here but 2023 takes the best from both vintages in a way I didn’t think possible. The depth of field and fruit are very reminiscent of the 2018, but even to this day that wine needs air to shake loose the remaining structure. 2016 had Shifflett structure but the abundance of primary red/blue fruit to overcome the tannin and open the drinking window early. This year we got it all – depth, power, fruit and structure in a balance that allows everything to shine without any of the rough edges. If you have liked this one in the past, chances are good you’ll love this one.
