Spicy, cedary, unsmoked cigar tobacco, blackcurrant, sweet cherry and vanillin notes are present in the 1990 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, along with loads of fruit, a monolithic, plump, rich, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel and a good finish.

The first vintage of Hillside Select that was not sterile filtered at bottling, the 1990 reveals far greater aromatic intensity and complexity. Sweet scents of red and black fruits, spicy oak, roasted herbs, toast, and vanilla jump from the glass. The wine possesses full body, great fruit extraction, plenty of glycerin, and chewy, gorgeously-proportioned, supple, rich flavors unaccompanied by the hard, tannic structure and heaviness usually associated with wines of this level of extraction. Flavorful, accessible, and already complex, the 1990 should be fully mature by the turn of the century and last for two decades.