Shafer VineyardsRelentless 2021

A supersaturated, deep, almost thick wine that coats the mouth with potent dark fruit flavors and wraps them in a full body and firm, gripping tannins that need time to resolve. It's syrah with a 3% boost of petite sirah, bringing all the deep color, dark blue fruit and peppery spices of the Rhone. Grilled meat, charcoal and dried blackberries, too. Best from 2030.
Jim Gordon
Executive Editor

The 2021 Relentless is a potent, brooding wine. Dark cherry, plum, licorice, cloves, game, scorched earth and black pepper explode onto the palate. Swaths of tannin wrap it all together. This intense, structured Syrah-based blend clearly needs a few years in bottle to be at its best. It's pretty impressive, even in the early going. The 2021 spent six more months in barrel than originally projected because of the delayed 2023 harvest. My impression today is that the extra time in wood robbed the wine of some freshness.
- By Antonio Galloni on December 2024

The 2021 Syrah Relentless is composed of 97% Syrah and 3% Petite Sirah. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a little shaking to awaken notes of plum preserves, blueberry pie, and Morello cherries, followed by hints of violets, black pepper, and licorice. The full-bodied palate is packed with pepper sparked black and blue fruit preserves, framed by ripe, rounded tannins and lovely tension, finishing long and fragrant.

Aged 30 months in new barrels, the 2021 Syrah Relentless is a beauty offering some wild, gamey nuances in its black and blue fruits, lavender, iron, and bacon fat-like nuances. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Syrah with a pure, layered, elegant style, fine tannins, and outstanding length.