Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville is made from 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it comes barreling out with upfront notes of stewed black cherries, dried herbs and prunes, plus wafts of fallen leaves and cedar. The medium- to full-bodied palate delivers a lively line and lightly chewy tannins to frame the stewed black fruit flavors, finishing on an herbal note. – Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, notes of fresh blackberries, boysenberry preserves, and cassis jump from the glass, followed by hints of bay leaves and pencil shavings. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers tightly knit blackberry flavors with a firm grainy texture and bold freshness, finishing with a minty lift. – Lisa Perrotti-Brown

This big red tastes interesting and delicious all the way through. A nice blend of red and black fruits, black olives and oak toast on the nose, then vivid dark cherries, star anise and cocoa on the palate. Firm, fine-grained tannins frame the complex fruit and spice flavors. Drink now or hold. – Jim Gordon, Executive Editor

Aromas of blackberries, blueberries, cassis, bay leaves, pencil shavings and mocha. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins and fresh acidity, showing dark plums, blackcurrants, cloves and earth. Balanced, refined and deep with a long, savory finish. Drink or hold.

This complex, suave and handsomely oaky wine offers balsam, cedar, cocoa and tobacco leaf aromas, then full black cherries, blackcurrants and milk chocolate on the palate. Moderate tannins add to a soothing mouthfeel. Drink now or hold. – Jim Gordon, Executive Editor

Based on 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville offers darker berries, leather, candied violets, and some spicy, chocolaty nuances. It’s medium to full-bodied, nicely textured, and balanced, with ripe tannins. It’s solid today and should keep through 2034, although I wouldn’t push the aging curve. Drink 2025-2034.

This sophisticated, firm-textured and full-bodied wine is destined to keep improving with age. Beautiful oak spices like cinnamon, toast and spearmint meet full-fledged black cherry, blackcurrant and cocoa flavors on a velvety, supportive bed of tannins. Best from 2028.

A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Miner Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep garnet-purple color. It tears out of the glass with rambunctious scents of redcurrant jelly, black raspberries, and crushed blackberries, followed by hints of dried Provence herbs, iron ore and aniseed. The full-bodied palate delivers bright, vivacious red and black fruit flavors, with a firm, grainy texture and bags of freshness, finishing with a skip in its step. – Lisa Perrotti-Brown

Fresh and open in feel, with red currant and black cherry notes mixed with light savory, cedar and mesquite accents. Offers a nice tug of loam at the very end. -James Molesworth

Perhaps a victim of expectations—inevitably elevated by seeing the Oakville AVA on the label and knowing the superb siting of the winery along Silverado Trail—Miner’s 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville is a pretty, aromatic effort, marked by attractive scents of cherries, mint, cedar and creosote…- Joe Czerwinski

Polished nose of ripe blackcurrants, cloves, praline and mint chocolate. Full-bodied with firm, sleek tannins and fresh acidity. Compact. Just the right amount of chocolate at the end. Give it some time to open.

A pretty nose of rose hips, lavender, blueberries, plums, currants, herbs and vanilla. Medium body with fine-grained tannins. Bright and juicy with vivid acidity. Excellent freshness.

Lively, with a mix of red and black currant and boysenberry notes liberally laced with floral, sassafras and dried anise notes. Sanguine and cedar hints check in on the finish. Best from 2022 through 2032.

This drips with cool cassis, raspberry and plum puree flavors, showing hints of mesquite and sassafras. A touch of underbrush infuses the finish, with notes of dark licorice and gently mulled fruit. Drink now through 2029. 298 cases made. — JM

Miner Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 Oakville

Aromas of brandied cherries dipped into melted dark chocolate are informed by the slightest suggestion of spearmint at the edges, which turn to a more savory palate than expected. There is a meaty note to the brambly berries, rosemary, purple plums, pluots, and kumquat pithiness that makes this seem particularly well-suited for the cellar. Open it now with a meaty meal, or hold it for another decade: The future is bright for this under -$100 bottling. – Brian Freedman

This has a relatively fresh feel, with red currant and cherry paste flavors, lifted by light floral and mineral aspects, all running through a bramble-tinged finish. Friendly enough to be approachable now, but there’s no rush. Drink now through 2026. – J.M.

Containing 6% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-black colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville is scented of black cherries, warm plums and black and red currants with chocolate mint, tobacco and thyme. The medium-bodied palate is elegant, firm and grainy with tons of freshness and crunchy fruit, finishing long. – Lisa Perrotti-Brown

“We expect a certain degree of toughness from ambitious young Cabernets, and this one certainly complies, but do not be put off by its unruly ways for there is a very good measure of deep and defined, ripe-currant fruit at its core and plenty of peppery, toasted-herb accents along with a not-so-small dose of sweet oak. Its structural bones stick out at the finish even as its fruit stays the course, and, if five years of waiting will make a good wine better, ten might do it even more.”

“Very dense, featuring a strong loamy earth presence that imparts a pebbly quality. A good bet to gain with time, but this may always be on the rustic side. Best from 2014 through 2024. 700 cases made.” -JL

“Even more tannic and backward than its companion from the Stagecoach Vineyard, this brawny young wine still has a strong sense of dark fruit at its core and shows an inkling of layering yet to come. It is, however, quite rugged now and far too coarse for drinking with anything on tonight’s menu, so please put it away in the cellar’s far reaches, and let it rest for eight to ten years.”

“A gritty, grainy style with dried-out fruit, loamy earth and tobacco flavors. Drink now through 2018. 844 cases made.” -JL

“Attractive, concentrated nose, polished and modern, cassis and mocha. Weighty, dense, flavorful palate, intense fruit backed by integrated velvety tannins. Long and quite delicious. Drink from 2010.”

“Led in the nose by a nicely composed mix of cassis, creamy oak and light notes of briar, this fleshy, firmly built youngster keys on lively, medium-deep fruit in the mouth and shows a nice spark of brightness throughout. It is not overly tannic but requires a bit of age nonetheless and has the look of a wine that will reach its best some four or five years hence.”

“Both better filled and somewhat tougher in style than its partner from the Stagecoach Vineyard, Miner’s Oakville bottling scores big points for its very evident depth and its decidedly generous fruit. It firms up at the end and runs up against lots of gruff tannins, yet its abundant, oak-enriched fruit never wavers and is easy to spot all the way to the end. At least three to five years need to pass before this one even begins to fulfill its considerable promise.”

“This Cabernet begins and ends with scents of dark chocolate, while the middle fills with bosky cherry flavor as it opens with air. The tannin has cool, with mineral inflections that balance the sweet fruit.”

“Medium-dark ruby; attractive intense, spicy raspberry and black cherry fruit aroma with a hint of mint… plummy, sweet black cherry fruit flavors with good depth and overtones of vanilla; medium full tannin; lingering aftertaste.”

“Dusty black cherry aromas with hints of coconut and white pepper. Soft cherry fruit entry with drying mineral flavors and charred oak notes. Balanced, well-integrated tannins join ripe fruit and toasted oak in the lengthy close.”

“Big rich intense, thick, concentrated, textured, cherry and dark currant flavors; well balanced and structured for bottle aging… Very highly recommended.”

“Miner’s big, very outgoing Cabernet places its emphasis on ripeness and rich oak, but beneath its immediate sweetness, it shows a solid measure of persistent black currant fruit. If presently roughed up by both tannin and evident heat at the finish, it finds plenty of fruit powering through at the end, and it has all of the depth and essential extract it needs to age comfortably for a half-dozen years.”

“Spicy, oaky nose, good balance of black cherry fruit and oak. Rick, plump, concentrated, sumptuous fruit, chocolaty finish. 5-10 years.”

“Herb, eucalyptus, red/black cherry; sweet red fruit, baking spice, cedar; weighty, good density yet bright; long persistent with sweet red fruit, great density and harmony, cellar it.”

“This shows refinement and care in its making, particularly in the rich scents of expressive oak. The fruit is super ripe, with flavors of blackberries and baked cherries, a peppercorn edge to the tannins placing it with a steak.”

“Focusing first on smells of ripe currants and adding in suggestions of rich loam and hints of woodsy spice, this attractive wine… Its supple, mouth filling impressions make for a wine that some will enjoy in the here and now, yet it has what it takes to grow over time, and our recommendation is to let it alone until 2010 or later.”

“Attractive, forward, spicy, herbal, cedary, complex, black cherry and blueberry aroma with notes of green olive, mocha, and tobacco… rich, plush, highly extracted, very ripe, black cherry fruit flavors with an appealing, velvety mouth feel; well-balanced and structured. Approachable now through deserving of another five years of bottle aging. Shows distinctive varietal character. Very highly recommended.”

“A motherlode of cassis, coffee and spice flavors.”

“A great success that showcases its origins in the rich, sweet tannins that support the well-ripened fruit. Blackcurrants, cassis, white chocolate and oaky vanilla falvors drink extraordinarily deep and long, in this soft wine. It’s almost a dessert, except it’s dry.” – S.H.

“Rich, plummy, cassis, and very ripe, sweet red berry fruit flavors with overtones of creamy oak. Well structured, full tannin, lingering aftertaste. Shows very accessible fruit. Very highly recommended.”

“Dave and Emily Miner stole the main show in our tasting, with this rich and structured Cabernet. Lean, briary red fruit and coffee aromas are balanced with tannins and oak for a great model of a Napa Cab. Their hillside winery on the east side of the valley also gets our vote for an excellent place to visit.”

Exceptional Value – “This wine proved to be a conundrum for tasters. They felt it was so very good now, but could see an even brighter future for this deep, ruby red stunner… Robust fruits and tannins flooded their palates and left a lingering finish of bright, ripe fruit and solid but not overpowering tannins…”

“From its deep, blackcurrant fruit to its suggestions of olives and fresh loamy earth, this very impressive effort is nothing short of classic Cabernet in all its respects. It is nicely extracted with no hint of excess, and its wonderfully rich oak is always subservient to its unstinting fruit. Its finely spun tannins provide the right bit of structural spine, and, behind its immediate flush of richness and fruit, it shows itself to be a most serious wine that is sure to get better and better with time…”

“Vanilla, roasted coffee and mint. Vanilla and coffee beans, some chocolate. Quite soft tannins with roundness and soft body. Good length. Drink up to 2015.”

“A fleshy wine, with smooth cherry, plum and blackberry fruit that’s supple and engaging, turning elegant and graceful. Drink now through 2008. 2,000 cases made.” –JL

“Magnificent… A bouquet of black cherry and black currant is punctuated by scents of cumin, sweet white oak, licorice and a curious but pleasing Port-like nuances. Soft, velvety-smooth texture supports magnificent flavors of black cherry and black currant with threads of licorice and mint laced through the core.”

“Plenty to admire in this ripe, supple, harmonious wine. A core of ripe plum, black cherry, blackberry and spicy, cedary nuances combine to give complexity and charm. Fine-grained yet chalky tannins on the finish make it approachable now. Best from 2004 through 2012. 1,008 cases made.” –JL

“Beautifully defined fruit flavors, with layers of rip, rich currant, black cherry, plum and wild berry. Shows a remarkable measure of finesse and harmony for its size, with pretty floral and minty aromas. Best from 2003 through 2012.”