Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Mention California Cabernet and Silver Oak is sure to come to mind. Founded in 1972 on a handshake between friends Ray Duncan and Justin Meyer, Silver Oak has become a benchmark for polished, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon. Their Alexander Valley Cabernet is the cuvée that started it all in 1977. Forward, generous and irresistibly drinkable, it remains the winery’s most popular cuvée and played a seminal role in establishing Alexander Valley as a serious source of world-class Cabernet.

96/100 - The wine is beautifully layered and highly fragrant, with remarkable precision and focus in this vintage. Medium- to full-bodied, it integrates the hallmark Silver Oak American spice character through cedarwood aromatics, elegant whispers of vanilla bean, and nuances of fresh fennel (from more refined American oak barrels crafted after precision trials of both seasoning and toasting from the American oak cooperage they own in Higbee, Missouri). Supple dark-cherry and blackberry fruit are framed by graphite minerality, violets and clove, building in richness and complexity across the palate. Suave and silken, the dark-berry fruit is wrapped in a tapestry of velvety tannins, gliding to a focused finish of brown baking spices and crisp, clean acidity. - Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter