Shafer Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Red Shoulder Ranch 2021

95 points / 'Cellar Selection,' Wine Enthusiast: "This full-bodied and beautifully balanced wine is powered by energized fruit acidity, giving it a lively mouthfeel, vivid green apple and lemon zest flavors and a snappy finish, while subtle oak notes remain secondary. Fermented in oak barrels and stainless barrels, and matured without maloactic conversion, the wine is super refreshing, clean and mouth-watering and should only get more complex and smooth with time. Best from 2024-2031. (Mar 2023)"

94 points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2021 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is another winner that has a slightly fresh, more vibrant style in its lemon and citrus fruits as well as honeyed minerality and spice. Medium-bodied, balanced, and elegant, it’s going to put on weight with a year or two of bottle age and should keep through 2031. Drink: 2024-2031. (Feb 2023)"

93 points Joe Czerwinski (Wine Advocate): "Always an impressive bottling, the 2021 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch was barrel fermented in a 75% new French oak and 25% stainless steel. Boasting fabulous aromas of lemon curd, apple, pear and pencil shavings, this non-malolactic Chardonnay is full-bodied, round and generous on the palate, then crisp and refreshing on the finish. If it's not as complex or rich as the very best Chardonnays California has to offer, it's not that far behind, and the pricing and availability (6000 cases produced) remain reasonable for a wine of this quality. Drink: 2023-2030. (Mar 2023)"

93 points Wine Spectator: "Impressive, this white starts off broad, with a generous mix of salted ripe melon, citrus and stone fruit flavors, but then focuses on a sleek, juicy core, revealing snappy acidity and crushed rock on the finish. Drink now. (6/30/23)"

92 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2021 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch is brisk, fresh and finely cut, with plenty of citrus and floral character. Bright acids drive the profile in this vibrant, steely Red Shoulder Ranch. The 2021 was bottled with a bit less time in oak than normal to compensate for the lack of 2020, an approach that turned out quite well. Drink: 2022-2027. (Feb 2023)"

92 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independant): "The 2021 Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay waltzes out of the glass with gorgeous scents of fresh apricots, spiced apples, and juicy Bosc pears, plus hints of baking bread, nutmeg, and coriander seed. The full-bodied palate is as bright and refreshing as it is satisfyingly rich, delivering loads of stone fruit and spicy layers and a satiny texture, finishing with a skip in its step. Drink: 2023-2028. (Mar 2023)"