2022 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

TOR Kenward Family Wines, based in St. Helena, has built a reputation as one of Napa Valley's most consistently exciting Cabernet producers, sourcing fruit from a roster of exceptional sites across the valley's most storied appellations. The Oakville Cabernet sits at the heart of that lineup, a wine that captures why Oakville remains the benchmark appellation for Napa Cabernet. The 2022 bottling is a blend drawn from a range of outstanding sites across Oakville, fruit that delivers the balance of red, black and blue tones that defines the appellation at its best. The nose bursts with black cherries, rhubarb pie and huckleberry preserves, lifted by notes of black licorice and cinnamon that bring an exotic, spiced complexity to the wine's pure, luxurious fruit. Underlying notes of cedar, sweet baking spice and a touch of forest floor add further layers of interest. On the palate the wine is dense and full-bodied, with a chewy, unctuous texture and layers of ripe fruit framed by perfectly judged, polished tannins. A core of iron and sanguine minerality runs through the wine, giving it real grip and seriousness alongside its generosity. The finish is long, well over thirty seconds, closing with fine sweet cedar and black tea notes. This is a Cabernet that manages to be both playful and powerful, showcasing the best of what top Oakville terroir can deliver. It drinks beautifully on release, but has the structure and concentration to improve over five years or more in the cellar.