2023 Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Most Napa wineries buy fruit. Silverado doesn't. The 2023 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is pulled entirely from their own vineyards — two distinct estate sites operating in completely different corners of the valley, each producing something the other simply cannot.

The Silverado Vineyard in Stags Leap District is home to the Disney-Silverado Heritage Clone, a field selection of Cabernet Sauvignon first planted in 1968 that UC Davis later certified as one of only three Heritage-designated Cabernets in California — and the only one from Stags Leap. That vineyard delivers the district's signature: precise acid structure and fine-grained tannins. Mt. George Vineyard in Coombsville occupies volcanic soils that have been growing grapes since the 1880s, adding dark fruit concentration and the structural depth that only cool volcanic sites produce.

Winemaker Alison Rodriguez blends the two across all five classic Bordeaux varieties — 81% Cabernet Sauvignon anchored by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec — into a wine that earned 93 points from James Suckling and Gold at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in the 2023 vintage.

The nose opens with black currant, dark chocolate, and graphite — classic Stags Leap aromatics on a full-bodied frame with fine-grained tannins and a long, polished finish.

Pour it alongside a ribeye tonight or set it aside for five or more years in a cool, dark place. This is an estate-grown Napa Cabernet with the pedigree to reward both decisions equally well.