95pts James Suckling

This has a lovely core of fruit with aromas of nectarines, grilled lemons and flint. The midweight, textural palate shows balanced acidity, finishing with a slight phenolic grip. Moving out of the cooler 2023 bottling, this is far more generous and open.

94pts Vinous

The 2024 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is a very pretty, elegant wine. Lemon confit, white flowers, mint and light tropical inflections are some of the many notes that grace this weightless, super refined Chardonnay. All the elements are so well balanced. There is a feeling of understated lightness here that is so appealing.

93pts Wine Spectator

Bold and intense, mingling a laser beam of acidity with flavors of ripe, salted melon, mandarin orange, mango puree and apricot at the core. A whiff of fennel pollen, tarragon and dried lemongrass adds aromatic intrigue.

Tasting Notes

This luminous Chardonnay fills the glass with elegant aromas of citrus blossom, honeysuckle, and exotic spice. Flinty minerality and bright honeydew melon add lift, while vibrant acidity and lithe structure create a sense of purity and poise. Beautifully balanced, it delivers energy, freshness, and lasting finesse.

Winery Notes

Shafer Vineyards has produced classic Napa Valley wines for more than 40 years.

Shafer’s wines, including its signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Hillside Select, are found in collectors’ cellars and on wine lists in top luxury hotels and restaurants throughout the world.

The vineyard and cellar teams, led by winemaker Elias Fernandez, cultivate more than 200 acres of Shafer-owned vineyards, sources for the winery's celebrated Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, TD-9, One Point Five, Relentless, and Hillside Select.

The winery has a decades-long commitment to sustainability. Beginning in the 1980s Shafer embraced farming techniques that eliminate insecticides and herbicides, and carefully conserve water resources. In 2004 Shafer became the first winery in the U.S. to go 100% solar.