Silver Oak 2014 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
When Raymond T. Duncan first visited the Napa Valley in the late 1960s, he was taken by the region’s rugged beauty. He was also wise enough to understand the potential of the fledgling wine industry. In the 1970’s, he began to buy land in both Napa and Alexander Valleys with the goal of planting vineyards. But with his home and business in Colorado and no viticulture expertise of his own, Ray approached Justin Meyer, whom he had met through mutual friends, and asked him to plant and manage the vineyards. Then working at Christian Brothers, Justin agreed with one condition: in addition to managing the vineyards, he wanted to create a winery that would forever raise the standards of California wine. The year was 1972, and Silver Oak Cellars began.
Silver Oak from time to time offers some “Library Wines” which provide a tremendous insight on how their wine develops year to year. I recommend to check out their availability, click this link “LibraryWines” to go to their site. If you find your travels to Napa, I recommend a visit to their stunning Napa winery, which was rebuilt into a new state-of-the-art facility after a 2006 fire destroyed their historic Oakville winery. Below is yours truly, and my SippingFineWine partner, posing for a picture in Silver Oak’s Library Cellar. Impressive!
Keep checking back with SippingFineWine.com as I recently made a trip to Napa during 2019 harvest, visited several wineries, tasted some great wines, and met some outstanding individuals. I’ll continue to report on my discoveries.
The 2014 Napa Cab is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot & 1% Malbec, deep Ruby red with concentrated youthful aromas of ripe black fruit with subtle nutty spice and creamy chocolate. Aged for 24 months in 85% new and 15% one-year used American oak. Winemaking is now under the direction of Nate Weis (3rd winemaker in 45 years). On the palate fresh fruit flavors of sweet plum, black cherry and dried blackberries, with bits of oak and cacao trying to peek through. Tannins are present, but just a tad persistent, reflecting its youth. The finish is long and elegant with vanilla and a slight mineral tang. This Napa offering drinks well now, on release, and should continue to develop over the next 15-20 years, but why wait, it’s perfect now! Outstanding! Tasting Sample!
Cheers!