2013 Silver Oak Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

The Holy Grail: Silver Oak Napa Cabernet

No two words better embody the cult of California Cabernet than Silver Oak.

A blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Saturated dark ruby color in the glass. Alluring aromatics of cassis, black raspberry, and sweet tobacco are tinged with cedar spice. Rich and mouth-filling on entry, packed with black fruit character underscored by savory herbs, graphite, and hinting at black olive notes. The finish is long and impressive, revealing hints of cigar box, crushed rock mineral, and the signature creamy vanilla-oak elegance imparted by barrels from Silver Oak’s own cooperage. This is still a baby, but already developing a silky mouthfeel. Decant it for 45 minutes prior to serving, and cellar additional bottles with confidence through 2030.

Last summer, in Oakville, at the iconic winery, we had the chance to personally thank Matt Duncan for our first-ever allocation. Matt’s grandfather co-founded Silver Oak in 1972, and Matt can tell insider stories for days. But instead of regaling us with tales, we found ourselves humbled by his appreciation for Wine Access. “We love the way you tell our story,” he told us. Since then, we’ve offered the Alexander Valley designate Cabernet. Today, however, marks a historic first for those of you who have been patient, hoping for a shot at Silver Oak’s Napa Valley Cabernet—that wait is over.

It takes a lot to impress a Duncan. They are after all one of the First Families of California wine. Matt Duncan’s grandfather, Raymond, co-founded Silver Oak with Justin Meyer in 1972, and his family assumed full control of the winery in 2001. Since then, the Duncans have run one of the country’s most successful wine brands as one of the most hands-on families in Napa.

Sitting on the patio with Matt earlier this summer at Silver Oak, with a glass of their iconic Cabernet in hand, we listed as he explained their upgrades in farming practices. The Duncans fully intend to cement Silver Oak as the standard bearer for world-class Napa Cabernet. And they’re doing it. While Matt talked, cool breezes all the way from San Pablo Bay filtered past us in Oakville, tossing tech sheets around the table.

“Normally you break down vineyard blocks on slopes and soils, or aspects, or microclimates,” Matt explained. “That’s how it begins, but our farming precision seeks a different level of nuance. We also break up our blocks based on a series of heat maps of different stresses, which we’re able to monitor by looking at data shoot by shoot from each and every vine.”

Essentially, this kind of precision farming allows Silver Oak to irrigate “only the minimum the vines need to encourage stress and deeper root systems,” as Duncan puts it. But what does all this do for the wine, we wondered. “Balanced vine health means balanced sugar curves, with maintenance of natural crisp acids, while those fruit flavors fully ripen. Is it working? You tell me,” he said. The wine in our glasses clocked in at a perfect 14.1% alcohol. Keep in mind, this is for the 2013—a historic drought year, and Robert Parker’s “greatest vintage in 37 years” for Napa Valley. At 14.1%—with ample sunshine, and hydraulic stress on the vines, that’s impressive.

Winemaker Dan Baron, who started in 1994, found his protege in Nate Weis who assumed the role of director of winemaking at Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars in 2014. That means Dan’s last solo harvest was 2013—and what a year to go out on, given Parker’s praise of the vintage. “I was actually interning during this time,” Matt told us. Every Duncan has to earn his stars and stripes—and did he ever. “I was up at 1:00 a.m.” he not-so-fondly recalls, “many days taking direction from Dan. But it was incredible.”

Incredible indeed. Silver Oak’s master winemaker passing the torch to the next master (Weis is an alum of Etude, Antinori’s Antica, and Patz & Hall, and his dad is winemaker emeritus at Groth). A legend’s last cuvée, a protege’s sacred ushering of a monumental vintage, and a Wine Access historical first? Print out this missive and read it to your friends and family in a decade when you pop open a bottle of the 2013 Silver Oak Napa Cabernet that’s been resting in your cellar ever since, and drop us a line if you think of it.