Big and bold, with sweet and spicy fruit flavours and a dark blackberry and chocolate nose, this wine has a long tannic finish. It’s likable and modern in style, not as sweet as in the past, and with less new oak aging, a definite plus. The long slow growing season resulted in wines that are concentrated and structured. This seems a return to the old style under Justin Meyer.

Showing a dark, nearly opaque purple/black core. This is classic Silver Oak, with a ripe, fruit-driven nose that exhibits a solid core of macerated blackberry and cherry that is accented by a captivating perfume of vanilla, wood spice and licorice. On entry this shows tons of dark ripe fruit but maintains a distinct sense of freshness and balance with excellent underlying structure. The firm tannins give lift to the ample fruit and there’s just enough acidity keep this precise and driven through the finish. The release does a fabulous job of maintaining a balance between pleasure-bent, hedonistic side of Napa with a decidedly old-school, savory edge that has marked the style of Silver Oak for so many years.