Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
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Wong
Wilfred - Decanter
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Spectator
Wine
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has an opaque crimson color with a purplish hue. The alluring nose draws you in with notes of cassis, black cherry, pipe tobacco, salted caramel, cocoa beans, and fresh strawberry. This full-bodied wine enters with a depth of flavor and offers mouth-coating, velvety tannins, and flavors of cream soda and red fruit. Black currant and vanilla notes crescendo through the palate to the lengthy finish. This wine is drinkable upon release, but given proper cellaring conditions can be enjoyed through 2040.
Blend: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11.6% Merlot, 6.7% Cabernet Franc, 2.1% Petit Verdot, 1.6% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Silver Oak keeps on truckin', and the winery's 2014 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon marks a new era for the winery. Now under the stewardship of winemaker Nate Weis—he's the winery's third winemaker in its 45-year history. Nate worked with the previous winemaker Daniel Baron (just as Baron did with Justin Meyer before his retirement). The changes, though somewhat subtle, now showcase just a little more brightness of fruit. TASTING NOTES: This wine displays a seamless synergy of all its parts. Its well-choreographed aromas and flavors of black fruit and oak accents would pair beautifully with a well-marbled, grilled ribeye or even an oven-baked crown roast of lamb. (Tasted: January 18, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
An opaque colour, cassis and bright red fruit nose, this is more structured than the Alexander Valley from the same vintage. It has more mouth-coating density and a longer finish, but right now it’s less layered and complex. Using less new oak is really a plus for this wine as well as the increased amount of Cabernet Franc.
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Wine Spectator
Distinctive, with lots of singed sage, sassafras, black tea and bay leaf notes out front, giving this aromatic distinction while the core of gently mulled plum, black cherry and raspberry fruit is carried by lightly dusty tannins. Shows a lingering perfume of singed alder at the very end. Best from 2020 through 2032.
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Silver Oak was started in 1972 with a simple driving philosophy - to focus production on only one varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon. What's more, they resolved to create a wine with a style all its own: not another hard, tannic red wine requiring years of aging to enjoy, but a wine of fully developed flavors and a velvety soft texture on the day it is released for sale.
Silver Oak produces Cabernet Sauvignon from two appellations. Their Napa Valley derives its fruit from both owned and contracted vineyards, and is produced entirely at their Oakville winery. Beginning in 1994, small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot have been included in their Napa blend to add complexity and softness.
Silver Oak also produces stellar Cabernet from their Alexander Valley vineyards. A critical reason for the success of this wine, and every wine they make, has always been that they create the final blend before aging it in American oak barrels and then bottles. Over the course of four-and-a-half years, the wine’s flavors, aromas, and textures have an opportunity to meld with one another and the wood’s delicate qualities to create the kind of graceful cohesion found only in the world's most elegant wines.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.