Wines

96 points Decanter
The 2019 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet shows a deep, ruby colour. It is a beautifully compact wine that delivers complex and nuanced aromas of Bing cherry and black raspberry with tobacco, currant leaf, and cedarwood laced with dried sage. Focused and linear on the medium to full-bodied palate, showing expressive dark berry character and exotic oak spices with a firm backbone of fine-grained structured tannins. Cool raspberry, cherry, and blackberry fruit are perfectly represented, and the lengthy finish is crisp, lively, and energetic. No doubt, this is one to cellar. Exhaustive oak seasoning experiments led by winemaker Nate Weis resulted in the discovery that the American oak they age Silver Oak in when seasoned for 24 months and toasted for 90 minutes, marks the point at which the oak imparts more vanillin character and delivers better tannin integration. By contrast, the 2018 vintage was aged in American oak, seasoned for 16 months and toasted for 60 minutes. Weis explains that their experiments showed that underseasoned American oak imparts a dill character, while overseasoning results in coconutty notes, but finding a sweet spot delivers that vanillian quality winemakers look for in French oak. Taste the 2018 and 2019s side by side if you can, and note the subtle differences and shift to a more savoury profile in the 2019 vintage, with a very precise integration of oak tannin. It will be exciting to follow their progression in the cellar and see how subsequent vintages shape up in healthy and challenging harvest years.

Tasting Notes:
SIMI Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is dark garnet in color with a ruby edge. Toasty oak frames and adds depth to fruit aromas of dark bramble and dried blueberry, leading into intriguing notes of exotic spices and roasted coffee. Lifted aromas of juniper and subtle violet add generosity, layers, and aromatic complexity to this wine. Black fruit dominates the entry with blackberry and dark plum, followed by black licorice, cocoa, and dried herb, with a spicy, lifted mid-palate. A bit of peppery cassis leads the finish with some dried herb notes and supple yet firm tannins.

90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 3% Petite Sirah, 1% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc

Food Pairing:
Our Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon is elegant, juicy, and incredibly food-friendly and it’s not difficult to pair with foods. It will bring out the best in grilled steaks with roasted mushrooms, Moroccan spiced lamb, and braised duck breast with carrot puree.

The generous, sun-kissed wines of Spoken West over deliver on quality and value.
Spoken West was built on the premise of producing delicious wines from California that embody the beauty of the West Coast. Produced by Jamey Whetstone who is no stranger when it comes to producing top notch California wines. Jamey moved to Napa Valley from his home in South Carolina to manage Mustards Grill in 1996. Simply captivated by the community, lifestyle, and culture of wine country, he found himself quickly growing roots. By 1998, he had begun his winemaking education at Turley Wine Cellars where he would remain in his apprenticeship until 2005. During that time, he spent a summer sabbatical working for the Seysses family at Domaine Dujac in Morey-Saint-Denis and laid the groundwork for Whetstone Wine Cellars, which he founded in 2002.

All vineyards are certified sustainable. Grapes are hand harvested and fermented in stainless steel tanks. Aged for 11 months in a combination of tank, and French, oak barrels (10% new)

Winery Notes:
"A classic Cabernet Sauvignon that shows off rich color, layered aromatics and good structure. The wine is smooth and vibrant with cassis, dark cherry and black olive aromas preceding rich fruit flavors of dark plum and cherry preserves followed by a note of roasted coffee bean.
Blend: An excellent companion to aged blue cheese, braised or grilled beef, and roast pork with fruit "

93 points Wine Enthusiast
Generous flavors of boysenberry, plum, spiced cocoa and vanilla bean are carried on a structure of succulent tannins and persistent, mouthwatering acidity that invites another sip. This wine includes hints of Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Merlot to enhance aromatic freshness

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is exuberant and expressive, with a bounty of wild bramble berry fruits alongside lifted floral notes of lavender and violet. There are also warmer spiced notes of Crème brûlée, allspice and black pepper, a nod from the seamless oak integration. On the palate, juicy cassis, black currant and blackberry are supported by hints of delicate red rose, brown butter and bittersweet chocolate, giving this Cabernet a rich depth and complexity. Cocoa-powdery tannins provide a pleasurable mouth coating texture, all enfolding into a lengthy mouthwatering finish. Very approachable and pleasing upon release, this wine is sure to impress and pair well alongside many culinary dishes.

We sourced our grapes from vineyards throughout Napa Valley, collecting fruit from several locations to show the diversity and depth of this world-renowned wine region. A portion of the wine comes from Rutherford, where the famous Rutherford Dust gives distinctive notes of cocoa powder, juicy fruit and complex tannins. The mountain vineyards provide rich aromatics, briary intensity and a bright pop of boysenberry. The northern Napa Valley floor vineyards complement the profile, providing rich texture and luscious tannins. - Winemaker's notes

New - 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from The Prisoner Wine Co.

This wine is as black in color as the darkest night! It displays notes of black currants, black cherries, and plums with a hint of vanilla and a waft of pepper. The full-bodied mouthfeel is accompanied with a chewy finish.

The House Cabernet Sauvignon Batch #18 was crafted with minimal interference in both the vineyards and the cellar. Traditional winemaking includes extended skin maceration, aerating pump-overs and nearly 2 years of French Oak aging.

Winemaker Notes:
"Our William Hill Estate North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon has a rich palate of dark fruit flavors, with subtle hints of caramel and cocoa. The Sonoma and Napa fruit gave this wine its ripe blackberry and black cherry flavors, while the grapes from Lake and Mendocino brought tremendous structure and presence to the blend. This Cabernet, which was blended with a touch of Merlot to round out the mouthfeel, will reveal more complex layers with time in the bottle."