2021 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 750 ml

Silver Oak is timeless. Always indulgent, always a perfect snapshot of Napa Valley, it’s a wine that has driven American interest in fine wine since the 1970s. Silver Oak has been on top for 50+ years now, and given their unfailing quality, it can appear as though they’re on cruise control. But that impeccable quality comes from a restless desire to improve.

The team’s replanting regimen stretches a quarter-century into the future, and in 2015 they acquired their own cooperage in Higbee, Missouri. That means every drop of Silver Oak Cabernet is aged in an American oak barrel that’s been in their control since it was raw lumber.

Time in those barrels matters, too. Since Silver Oak is dedicated to making wines that are drinkable on release, they hold back their wines much longer than is the norm in Napa Valley. The Cabernets spend two winters in their American oak barrels—that cold cellar time is crucial for gentle oak extraction—then several years in bottle before release. That’s why, while most Napa wineries are putting out their 2023 Cabs, Silver Oak is releasing their ‘21.  

This is a timeless expression of the Cabernet that, for so many, defines the Napa Valley style. Opening with classic aromas of black fruit and cherry, it’s layered with cedar, sweet tobacco, and warm baking spice. The palate is polished and generous, with ripe black fruit and notes of cocoa, vanilla, and graphite building through the midpalate, carrying into a long, silky finish. As always, this Cab drinks beautifully young but is built—and guaranteed by the winery—to age gracefully.

Born of one of Napa Valley’s great vintages this century, the 2021 is everything you want Silver Oak to be. Layered with complex aromas, rich on the palate, structured for the long haul but drinking beautifully on release, it’s a wine that reminds us how the winery earned its status as one of the best—and why they’ve never given it up. Hard to pass up on this wine, let alone when it’s a 98-pointer.