External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.1 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 15 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by wmccone54 on 4/28/2024: Love the producer, love the wine. Visual bricking and color separation. At twelve plus years, the effects of the the cool and rainy vintage are starting to hit with full force: austere red currant, dried cherries, cooked raspberries, green tobacco leafiness, baking spices and wet forest soil. Tannin, acids and fruits are well integrated, but structural components are still in tact, and can support further cellaring. Drink through 2026. Enjoyed with a grilled ribeye, asparagus, and sautéed mushrooms. Old school style. (31 views) | | | Tasted by jlhkiss on 2/3/2024 & rated 90 points: Generally consistent with my notes 4.5 years ago, but much more accessible and evolved. Paired nicely with broiled filet and roasted garlic potatoes. Drink 2024-2028. Technical score: 89. Enjoyment score: 91. (179 views) | | | Tasted by Cabernetdreams on 12/31/2023: NYE 2023 (162 views) | | | Tasted by Zola25 on 12/31/2021 & rated 87 points: Earthy tones, with cherries and berries with a hint of vanilla. A bit skinny in the mouth. Still Tannic and would still age well. Alas, my last bottle. More expensive than it is warrants, in my opinion. (695 views) | | | Tasted by wmccone54 on 10/19/2019 & rated 92 points: Just the way I like Napa Cabs: Old School, a bit austere, lots of red currant, structured, big finish. Still developing with 5-7 years of cellar potential. Perennially always consistent. (1203 views) | | | Tasted by jlhkiss on 7/14/2019 & rated 92 points: Opened and decanted an hour ahead of grilled burgers, potato salad, and summer fixings. Dark crimson color with a purple hue. The nose brings candied cherries, cherry blossoms, pipe tobacco, cigar, dried leather, and blackberry pie. The palate is medium-full, acidic, compact, and tight, bringing cherries, raspberries, redcurrant, blackberry custard, dark plums, charred campfire wood, and candied strawberries into the tannic finish. Drink 2022-2030. Technical score: 92. Enjoyment Score: 92. (1311 views) | | | Tasted by WineCPA on 9/1/2018 & rated 90 points: Lean but not green. Shows red fruit with restraint and a hint of black olive on the finish. Very enjoyable now. Not very tannic, just enough to hold it together. (1563 views) | | | Tasted by wmccone54 on 5/20/2017 & rated 91 points: Red currant, jalapeño, sour berry, green celery, and big green herbs dominate the nose with taunt leather, leafy tobacco, spicy red berry, dried cherry, powdered cocoa, all wrapped around a chewy tannic core. Shortish finish. Very well done considering the vintage. (2307 views) | | | Tasted by wmccone54 on 8/22/2016 & rated 91 points: Given the wet and cool vintage conditions, Nils did a relatively good job with the 2011 Oakville Cabernet. His Cabs have a tendency to be austere and lean, even in the good years, so it's no surprise this starts in the decanter very earthy and a bit green and develops and reflects his signature style: spicy red currant, dried cherry, tart plum, with some green sage, crisp celery stick, mulchy cedar and chewy leafiness underscored with firm tannins. Enough acidity and structure to support 4-6 years of cellaring; however, the fruit is sparser than usual. Long finish, should work well with fatty red meat. May have som future upside potential. (2535 views) | | | Tasted by billwine5 on 1/9/2016 & rated 89 points: Big Oakville flavor for <100/btl. Licorice root and dark fruits and bacon fat and currants on palate. Great value wine for game meats. (1688 views) |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2014, IWC Issue #174
(Saddleback Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Terroir Matters - Updated (Nov 2013)
(Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Saddleback Cellars Producer website
Located in the heart of Napa Valley, Saddleback Cellars was founded by acclaimed winemaker Nils Venge. Nils got his start in Napa Valley in 1970 and has been creating award winning wines at Saddleback since 1981. He is known as the "King of Cabs" due to being the first American to receive a 100 point score from wine-critic extraordinaire Robert Parker Jr. for making a 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Saddleback sits on Money Road, a dead-end lane in Oakville, a renowned Cabernet growing A.V.A. (American Vinicultural Area). Our first love is Cabernet Sauvignon; although we make a variety of wonderful wines both from our estate vineyard in Oakville and from around the valley. Some of these include; Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Merlot and Zinfandel – and even smaller lots, made especially for our Posse Wine Club, which include: Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Charbono, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc to name of few.2011 Saddleback Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville92.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.5% Cabernet Franc from Truchard Vineyard in Carneros, Napa Valley. Aged in 65% new French oakCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Oakville |
|
