Cabernet Sauvignon "Alexander Valley", Silver Oak, CA, 2020

Professional Ratings

• 96 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.
• 93 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.