Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
(Napa Valley, California) - [DM 98] [JS 97]

About the Winery:
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.) 

Ratings & Reviews

98 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"Silver Oak’s 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet might well be one of the finest wines they’ve produced. Compact and beautifully poised, it marries generosity of fruit with a firm structural frame and focused aromatics. A panoply of blackberry and warm spice—smoked paprika, cinnamon, tobacco—lifts from the glass, interwoven with black truffle and loamy earth. Full-bodied, with a solid foundation of lengthy tannins buttressing the wine, it’s carried by a firm spine of juicy acidity. Rich oak spices are balanced by graphite minerality, a potpourri of dried flowers, and a chalky-earth finish that lingers. This is undoubtedly set to be one of Silver Oak’s longest-lived wines: ripe and generous enough to enjoy young, yet built on a sturdy foundation that will reward long-term cellaring. 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Malbec are blended before barreling down for 24 months in American oak, of which 85% was new, 15% was once-used, and aged 20 additional months in bottle before release. (Drink between 2025-2050) - Jonathan Cristaldi  (Dec 2025)

97 Points - James Suckling:
"Great concentration and gorgeous fruit flavors lead the way in this firmly textured wine from an especially good year. Red and black cherries, black tea and dried blueberries on the palate, backed by rather tight tannins that will need time to soften for ideal drinking. Still firm and lip-smacking in the finish, echoing more dark fruit. Best from 2030."  (Apr 2025)