- Last updated on February 1, 2023
This is our Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon review.
This is an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon red blend bottle. It’s round, velvety and offers many layers of complexity.
It’s not surprising it gets 95+ ratings from famous critics like James Suckling and Wilfred Wong.
It currently features in the Top 25 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines in California right now for the 2014 vintage.
This is a classic bottle for a special occasion as it will be memorable.
Find below our Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon review along with our food pairings recommendations, serving tips, curiosity and where you can buy it.
Let’s begin!
Our Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Review
- Brand: Silver Oak
- Grape Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
- Region: United States, California
- Tasting Notes: Ripe Red & Black fruit notes
- Glass & Serving: Bordeaux / 59-64 °F (15-18 °C) / Decant ~1hr
- Storage: Up to 10 years
- Price Range: ~$140
- Bottle Size: 750 ml
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon review: What's its color?
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine has a deep ruby color with slow-falling fat legs.
If you want to know more about how to taste wine and the lingo that goes with it, check out this article: How To Taste Wine Like a Pro in 4 Steps.
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon review: What are the flavors?
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a red blend made primarily (80%) from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
The other grapes are Merlot (15%), Petit Verdot (3%), Cabernet Franc and Malbec (1%).
On the nose, strawberry, cassis, and black cherry are the most prominent with hints of tobacco and oak.
On the palate, it’s a velvety and round full-body wine with many layers of flavors.
It starts with ripe berries and cassis and develops into nutmeg, coffee, vanilla, and cocoa.
Is Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine sweet?
No, it’s not sweet. Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine is a dry wine.
Dry wine contains less than 15 g/L.
Learn more about wine sweetness level here.
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon review: Which food pairs well with it?
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a bold wine with intense and complex flavors, as such, we recommend to pair with equally strong flavor dishes.
Classic appetizers are pasta with veal ragu, lasagna, grilled vegetables, onion, and mushroom to name some.
Meat wise you have a wide selection here from veal, beef, stew, lamb, pulled-pork burger, and poultry for example.
If you are a cheese lover our recommendations for you are hard and blue cheeses like Pecorino and Gorgonzola.
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon review: What's its alcohol content?
Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine’s alcohol content is 14.5%.
In case you wonder about alcohol content or more precisely Alcohol By Volume, i.e. ABV, measure the alcoholic strength of a drink.
There is a direct relationship between the sugar left in the wine after the alcoholic fermentation has taken place, i.e. Residual Sugar or RS, and ABV.
During alcoholic fermentation, the yeast transforms the sugar in the grape juice into alcohol.
Grapes with high residual sugar will therefore produce dry wine with a high ABV.
How many calories are in a glass of Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wine?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture [1] a 5-ounce glass will contain about 120 to 130 calories.
Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. So a wine with high ABV will have a higher calories per glass than a wine with low ABV.
Furthermore, sugar contributes to the calorie count.
A dry wine will usually have 4 calories per grams vs a sweet wine that will have around 20 calories per grams of carbs, which include sugar.
What is the Silve Oak brand?
Here is an extract from the Silver Oak website itself:
“Silver Oak began over a handshake between two friends with a bold vision: focus on one varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon, aged exclusively in American oak and worthy of cellaring for decades to come.
Ray Twomey Duncan… and Justin Meyer… co-founded Silver Oak out of a Napa Valley dairy barn in 1972…
“We have yet to make our best bottle of wine,” or the idea that our best wines are still ahead of us, is a founding philosophy that still guides us to this day. “
Conclusion
This is an outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon red blend that has been rated over 95+ by famous critics like James Suckling and Wilfred Wong.
This is a classic bottle to celebrate a special occasion as it will be memorable.
Ripe berries and cassis and develops into nutmeg, coffee, vanilla, and cocoa will complement many dishes from veggie, pasta, a large variety of red meats, and our beloved cheeses.
Try it with mushroom agnolotti, roasted vegetables, beef, or Gorgonzola cheese and it’ll be a delight. At least it was for me!
If you have never tried it, I’m not entirely sure what are you still waiting for?
Once you had it, we’d love to know your opinion, so reach out and let’s know what you think! Enjoy!
