Cabernet Sauvignon, 2020. Oberon

If you've made wine for 45 years, as Oberon winemaker, Tony Coltrin has, you become quite familiar with the grape, the soil and the climate. Tony was born in Napa Valley and few people know its micro climates and intricacies as he does. He knows when a blend works and he knows when it doesn't.

Oberon sources grapes from the prime appellations of Napa including Rutherford, St. Helena and Oak Knoll. Rutherford and St. Helena are warmer. The wines are sturdier, darker and more tannic. Oak Knoll is cooler, which produces more elegant and refined flavors. If your goal is balance, as Tony's is, you want all those elements in your wine. It would be very difficult, if not impossible to get them all from one vineyard.

This is why the blending process is so important, yet the least discussed. All wines are blends. They may be the same grape from different areas, but that doesn't mean they taste the same. Our selection is almost all Cabernet Sauvignon with a splash of Petite Verdot. The different areas are what gives this Cabernet Sauvignon complexity. Patience is a critical attribute for a winemaker. They go through all the grueling work of harvesting, fermenting and aging, yet aren't sure what they have until two years after the harvest.

In this case we have 45 years of experience to rely on. The result is a wine of silky texture, balance and myriad flavors from cherry and cassis to coffee, dark chocolate and vanilla to sing with a wild mushroom risotto or a rare fillet.

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