2013 Fiancetto Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

The Great American Oak Debate

It was master winemaker Paul Draper at Ridge Vineyard who first became enamored of the intensity and rusticity of air-dried American oak. To this day, Draper’s majestic Cabernet Sauvignon “Monte Bello” remains one of our most distinctive reds, at least in some part due to Draper’s trailblazing protocol in the barrel room.

Silver Oak was founded in 1972 by Ray Duncan and Justin Meyer. The winery’s first Cabernet Sauvignons bore a North Coast appellation, as fruit was sourced from both the Napa and Sonoma sides of the Oakville Grade. It wouldn’t be until 1979 that Silver Oak produced its first Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Corporate America would never be the same.

If you have piled up a multi-vintage collection of Silver Oak in your cellar, or if you simply buy a bottle every time you sit down at Ruth’s Chris, The Palm, or Morton’s, you know all about both the extraordinary richness and what we call “the sweet sappiness” of these lavish Cabernets. The concentration comes from the meticulous farming on the Oakville Cross Road. That signature sappiness, in our view, stems from the use of American cooperage.

Particularly in the last 10-15 years, as the use of American oak has become more widely accepted, there’s been lots of discussion, as well as heated debate, about the merits of domestic cooperage. Detractors claim that the “coconut sappiness” is overbearing, masking fruit purity. Others suggest that Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a subject of power and opulence, and that the added sweetness is just icing on the cake.

We asked the brilliant young winemaker, Ry Richards, to weigh in on the debate as we tasted his blockbuster 2013 Fiancetto Cabernet Sauvignon up on Pritchard Hill. Richards provided a more measured and nuanced perspective. In warm years, where heat spikes often lead to more Port-like flavors, Richards prefers the subtlety of French barrels. But in cooler vintages like 2013 — Robert Parker’s “Greatest in 37 Years” — where the risk of dehydration and desiccation is mitigated, he sides with Ridge and Silver Oak, as is evidenced by this latest release from Fiancetto.

The 2013 Fiancetto Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is comprised of two lots on the east side of the valley, just off the Silverado Trail. Opaque purple. Extravagant aromas of blackberry and mountain blueberry, complicated by prominent notes of cedar and coconut. Rich, dense, and polished, perfectly silken in texture, filled with sappy blackberry preserves and sweet crème de cassis, finishing with plenty of tannic muscle, sufficient to keep the extraordinary opulence of the vintage in check. Drink now-2025.

As compared to $60. $24 today on WineAccess. 60% off … as the Great American Oak Debate rages on.