2008 vintage - 75% Syrah, 25% Petite Sirah. This wine honors long-time Shafer Winemaker Elias Fernandez and his relentless pursuit of quality. Sourced from small ridgetop and foothills vineyards adjacent to the southern border of Stags Leap District, the grapes for Relentless are a "field blend" of Syrah and Petite Sirah. This means it's a wine that is literally blended in the vineyard. At harvest the two grape varieties are picked, crushed, fermented and barrel aged as one. Syrah and Petite Sirah for Relentless are grown in vineyard blocks that offer a variety of sun exposures throughout the day, including steep eastern blocks for lots of morning sun and westward sloping blocks, offering midday and late day solar exposure. Thanks to its thin, volcanic soil and quick runoff the vineyard consistently delivers effusive flavors.

Shafer Vineyards traces its beginnings to 1972 when John Shafer left a 23-year career in the publishing industry and, with his family, moved to the Napa Valley to pursue a second career in wine. After purchasing a 210-acre estate in Napa Valley's Stags Leap District, the Shafer family faced the arduous task of replanting the existing vineyards, which dated to the 1920s, and terracing the steep and rocky hillsides, eventually expanding vineyard acreage to its current 200 acres. Today the winery is managed by father and son team of John and Doug Shafer.