Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon Reviews

Solid, winey Cab with a textbook core of red and black currant paste framed with singed cedar and alder notes and scored with tobacco and warm earth notes on the finish, giving it a bit of an old school feel. Best from 2021 through 2032. 141 cases made. — JM

Aged 20 months in 44% new French oak, the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville District Collection sings of minted cassis, crushed black plums and black cherries with an incense and exotic spice undercurrent. The palate is medium to full-bodied with loads of spices in the mouth and a velvety frame, finishing with layers of mint and spices. 214 cases produced.

Features a mix of loamy earth, cedary oak, vivid dark berry and mocha flavors and firm tannins. A solid effort, best served by short-term cellaring. Drink now through 2029. 

The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection Oakville comes from the east side of the appellation and is a fresh, pretty, perfumed wine. Blueberries, cassis, violets, incense and a kiss of graphite all give way to a medium to full-bodied, complex, silky red ideal for drinking over the coming 10-15 years.

Sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville District Collection leaps from the glass with intense plum preserves and exotic spices notes with eucalypt, chocolate box and cedar notions. Full-bodied, rich, opulent and decadent in the mouth with grainy tannins, it finishes lively and long.

Soft, lush and round, this wine has a dense backbone of oak and tannin and moderate acidity. Cherry cola and vanilla flavors ride along seamlessly to a toasty finish.

Boisset has a much more limited production group of wines under what he calls his District Collection Series. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon District Collection Oakville showcases this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the eastern side of the Oakville corridor. Bottled unfined and unfiltered after spending 19 months in 53% new French oak, the wine has an opaque purple color, a big sweet kiss of Christmas fruitcake, cedar wood, unsmoked cigar tobacco, blackcurrants, licorice and graphite. It exhibits outstanding intensity, impressive purity and a long, full-bodied finish. Drink it over the next 15-20 years.

Offers a broad, rich array of dense flavors, centered on blackberry, licorice and oak. The tannins extend the flavors and offer more dimensions, drifting into smoke and mocha details. Best from 2018 through 2028.
–JL
 

Editors' Choice                                                                                                            
Another of the producer’s 100% varietal wines designed to showcase a specific Napa Valley appellation, this one shines in juicy black licorice and dark cherry. Expansive on the palate, it’s bright and minerality-driven, with a flourish of coconut and vanilla on the finish.  — V.B. 

A plush and generous red, exhibiting a supple mix of red and dark fruit, licorice and spice, with toasty oak nuances and fine-grained tannins. This is most impressive on the finish, where the pure juiciness of the fruit persists.  –JL

This offers depth and richness, with a range of flavors, including mocha, dried herb and berry, crushed rock and savory underbrush. Finishes with extracted, chewy tannins. Drink now through 2022.

There are only 120 cases of the 2012 Oakville District Collection (100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Clones 4 and 337). A very good effort, it offers spicy, underbrush, red and blackcurrant, and toasty oak notes. Drink it over the next 7-8 years. - Robert Parker