2021 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley
A Napa icon by reputation, this Alexander Valley Cabernet blends bold fruit with uplifting Sonoma finesse. Expect a rich core of wild strawberry, raspberry, and plum, with brushy sage and thyme accents that elevate the profile beyond typical Cabernet fare. Cedar, vanilla, and clove weave through the generous red-fruit palate, framed by silky American-oak integration and elegant mid-palate lift. Ready to impress now yet structured for longevity, this is classic Silver Oak—refined, full-bodied, and undeniably alluring.
There are few wineries in California that embody the pioneering spirit of Napa Valley better than Silver Oak. Founded in 1972, Ray Duncan went all-in with Cabernet Sauvignon early in the game, and the rest, as they say, is history. This mighty oak's roots run deep, and have helped this family-owned winery stand tall and strong amidst Napa's constant winds of change. While many wineries with Silver Oak’s track record and sales volume are content to rest on their laurels and coast, this Oakville institution is relentlessly pursuing perfection anew. They’re doing it primarily in the vineyard, modifying their vineyard practices to ensure that every grape is optimally ripe before it enters the winery. They even have a machine that rolls through the vineyard, scanning and measuring the diameter of emerging shoots in order to map vine vigor (and therefore determine irrigation and pruning needs). That’s pretty intense. The results speak for themselves.
Decanter
The 2021 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley was harvested between 4 September and 8 October. The blend comprises 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot and 1% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. After blending, it was barrel-aged for 24 months in American oak, 50% of which was new, followed by 14 months of bottle ageing prior to release. The wine is beautifully layered and highly fragrant, with remarkable precision and focus in this vintage. Medium- to full-bodied, it integrates the hallmark Silver Oak American spice character through cedarwood aromatics, elegant whispers of vanilla bean, and nuances of fresh fennel (from more refined American oak barrels crafted after precision trials of both seasoning and toasting from the American oak cooperage they own in Higbee, Missouri). Supple dark-cherry and blackberry fruit are framed by graphite minerality, violets and clove, building in richness and complexity across the palate. Suave and silken, the dark-berry fruit is wrapped in a tapestry of velvety tannins, gliding to a focused finish of brown baking spices and crisp, clean acidity.
James Suckling
So full-bodied, ripe and robust, offering spicy, iron-like, black fruit aromas, with generous dark cherries on a firmly tannic palate. Concentrated black plum, graphite, black pepper, coffee bean, pine resin and oak toast flavors on a full body. The tannins are powerful and fine-grained, shaping the texture significantly at this stage. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.