Silver Oak Cellars : Alexander Valley "Cabernet Sauvignon" 2019

A plump red, with an up-front core of black cherry and black currant preserves that’s coated with roasted vanilla and cedar. Black olive and savory notes streak the finish. For fans of the style. Drink now through 2035.

Aged in 50% new and 50% second-use American Oak from the Duncan family's The Oak cooperage in Higbee, Missouri. Matt Duncan joined me for my tasting, and he says the Petit Verdot in the blend, of which there is 0.4%, is co-fermented with the Cabernet Sauvignon, intended to bring focus to the Cabernet fruit. A compelling, brooding, muscular rendition of Cabernet from Alexander Valley with gorgeous boysenberry notes, black currants, and rose petals laced with vanillin notes and toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied with black currants, ripe blackberry and black cherry notes framed by velvety tannins laced with that irresistible vanillin note. Toasty oak spices lend a hint of sweetness, balanced by grippy acidity. Long and complex, revealing umami, garrigue, and crushed slatestone on the finish. It's a terrific wine from the Alexander Valley.

Handsome and classic for a Sonoma County cabernet, this full-bodied, approachable wine offers abundant aromas of black cherries, toasted oak and tobacco, backed by gorgeous black cherry and black olive flavors on moderate tannins. It’s 95% cabernet sauvignon. Best through 2034.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley includes tiny splashes of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot and was aged for 24 months in 50% new American oak, with the rest in second-use barrels. The 2019 is the current release, as the estate likes to hold back their wines until they are ready to drink. It offers notes of toasted oak, preserved red plum, forest floor, a hint of coconut, and vanilla. Full-bodied, it has a rounded, creamy texture with a coating feel, sweet tannins, and an oak profile that carries through the ripe finish. It will show its best over the coming several years.