Shafer TD9 Red Blend Napa Valley 2018 750ML

This has a meaty nose with grilled plums, smoke, tapenade and dried leaves. Some tomato paste. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins. Broad and flavorful with a distinctively savory, saline finish. 56% merlot, 23% cabernet sauvignon and 21% malbec. Better from 2021.

The 2018 TD-9 Proprietary Red Blend is based on 56% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Malbec. It's another balanced, charming, and impeccably made wine from this estate that has lively red and blue fruits, scorched earth, graphite, and licorice aromas and flavors as well as a medium to full-bodied, elegant style on the palate. It shows the more streamlined, focused style of the 2018 vintage and is going to evolve for 10-12 years.

This vintage of TD-9, named for the founder’s favorite tractor, combines 56% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Malbec. Aromatic tones of rose and raspberry meet accents of cedar, tobacco leaf, iron and crushed rock, all while maintaining an intensely full-bodied, structured feel.

A blend of 58% Merlot and 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Red Blend TD-9 displays a medium to deep garnet-purple color and expressive notes of blueberry compote, mulberries and plum preserves plus nuances of potpourri, dried Provence herbs and tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a lively backbone creating great tension with the ripe, plummy flavors and rounded tannins, finishing with an enticing herbal lift.