Nose
The elegant 2017 offers a wealth of aromas and flavors – black plum, herbs, grilled game, vanilla, leather, herbs, river stone, and spice.
Palate
The richness, balance, and vibrancy of the wine is mouth- filling and soul-satisfying on every level with ripe, silky tannins that offer the promise of greater pleasures with years of cellaring.
It's a bold, flamboyant wine. Black cherry, licorice, spice, leather and menthol are all amped up in this decidedly opulent, full-throttle Syrah-based wine.
Growing Conditions
Grown in a small ridgetop site and a foothills site along the Vaca Mountains just south of Stags Leap District. The 2017 growing season was a lengthy, warm summer allowed the fruit to hang in near ideal conditions for a long, long time producing clusters of fruit with vivid color, enticing flavors, and unrivaled aromas.
Harvest
Brix at harvest: 24.0° - 26.0°
Winemaking
Relentless is a blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah that originates in a rugged, sloping vineyard planted in the chaparral foothills of the Vaca Mountains, along Napa Valley’s drier, cooler southeast corridor. The soul of the wine, though, comes from its namesake, our longtime winemaker, Elias Fernandez, who the Shafer family honors with this proprietary blend for his relentless pursuit of quality.
Aging
30 months in 100% new 60-gallon French oak barrels (Allier & Tronçais)
Appearance
A deep garnet purple.
