2013 Screaming Eagle, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville

The grand vin 2013 Screaming Eagle is pure perfection in a glass and has everything you could want from a wine. Possessing a Château Margaux-like perfume of crème de cassis, sandalwood, dried flowers/violets, and graphite, it’s full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, ultra-pure, and incredibly elegant, all of which is very much in the style of this iconic estate. There are plenty of tannins on the finish so this will ideally be given another 3-4 years of bottle age, but it should keep for 25-30 years. This small estate located off the Silverado Trail in Oakville produced two reds: A Merlot dominated Second Flight release, and the grand vin Screaming Eagle which is always close to 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc. While it’s easy to think all iconic wines are huge, opulent and over the top, nothing could be further from the truth at this estate and while these are all powerful, concentrated wines, it’s their understated elegance, purity and finesse-driven style that’s the hallmark. Prices are in the absurd stratosphere, but these are incredible, compelling, singular wines.

Dark cassis, graphite and rich soil tones marry in a bouquet of notable purity, introducing a polished, rich and sophisticatedly savoury wine, impressive for its complexity, completeness and elegance. Nick Gislason, one of Napa Valley's most thoughful and compelling personalities, may well be crafting the most successful wines Screaming Eagle has ever produced. Interestingly, this address is now one of the earliest to harvest in all of Oakville.

The 2013 Screaming Eagle remains a very young wine. Dark, brooding and quite potent, the 2013 possesses tremendous depth backed by equally serious tannins. Blackberry, graphite, lavender, mocha and dried herbs are some of the many nuances that gradually open in the glass. In most years, Screaming Eagle has a Lafite-like purity of fruit. The 2013 has plenty of that, but the tannin profile and somber feel remind me more of wines like Montrose or an imposing vintage of Mouton, like the 1986. Readers lucky enough to own the 2013 are in for a real treat, but I would not think of touching a bottle anytime soon, as it remains an infant. Two recent bottles were nothing short of spectacular.

The 2013 Screaming Eagle flagship wine is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc. As one might expect, the purity of the cassis, which is always a hallmark of this estate and wine, is well-displayed in this beauty. Dense purple in color, it offers up some floral notes intermixed with damp earth, blackcurrant jam, blackberry and hints of licorice and incense. This reminds me somewhat of the 2010 Screaming Eagle. Full-bodied, rich, but perfectly balanced, it’s another terrific example of this iconic estate. It should drink well for 30 or more years.