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Teaderman, Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

California / Napa Valley, United States 2004 (750mL)
$85.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Teaderman, Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

In a mega-famous region where words like “big,” “expensive,” and “flashy” are commonly thrown around, there’s nothing more refreshing than unearthing Teaderman’s perfectly preserved library releases. They hardly make any wine, but what they do emerge with is a master class on extremely long-aged, exquisitely crafted, elegance-over-extraction Oakville Cabernet. For decades, this small team has diligently farmed their slice of vines (where an acre can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars) right in the midst of Napa Valley's cultiest labels.


And still, theirs remains an affordable farm-to-table Cab, one that takes a painfully long time to actually hit your table. Not many wineries have the ability to re-release a 15-year-old wine and virtually nobody can do it when factoring in today’s drop-in-the-ocean production, so while finding a flawless ‘04 may be an extraordinary feat for most, that’s just the gold standard at Teaderman (their current Cabernet release is 2008!). Clearly, one of their priorities from the beginning was to hold a substantial percentage of each vintage in reserve for future release, and today’s offer, culled directly from ideal storage conditions in their “library,” is a testament to their patience and confidence. If you enjoy classic, 100% Cabernet from one of the world’s most illustrious areas, this is about as brilliant as it gets.


The Teaderman family has never made a lot of wine, so you may not have heard of their eponymous label, but they’re hardly newcomers to this storied terroir: Stan and Patty Teaderman bought their 14-acre vineyard in 1978, and for years sold Sauvignon Blanc to Robert Mondavi for his famous ‘Fumé Blanc’ bottling. As time passed, they planted more and more Cabernet Sauvignon—as any sane grower in Oakville would—and began making small amounts of wine to share with friends and family. Then came an actual label, in 2001, with the first commercial wines crafted by Silver Oak legend (and neighbor) Justin Meyer. 



To pinpoint its location more precisely, the 14-acre Teaderman vineyard is on Oakville Cross Road, directly across from Groth Vineyards (another Justin Meyer project back in the day). The Teadermans describe it as having the classical clay/loam soil structure of the Oakville valley floor, but with a streak of the alluvial gravel typically found a little higher up the slope. Before they ever thought about making a bottle of wine, the Teadermans were ‘growers’ first, and I think this mentality is reflected in the style of their wines: Tasting this ‘04 means tasting not just pure, ripe, dark-toned fruit but a savory, smoky soil component as well. Particularly now with some time in bottle, the primary fruit intensity of youth has given way to a more complex, earth-driven flavor profile.



Only 15%-20% of the vineyard’s production is reserved for Teaderman-labeled wines, which include just this Cabernet, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which they started making in 2012. The wines are vinified at a nearby custom crush facility, with production these days overseen by Stan Teaderman’s grandson, Dustin Kaiser, and winemaker Anne Vawter. All the fruit is handpicked and de-stemmed before fermentation in stainless steel vessels. It is then transferred into 100% new French oak where heaps of undisturbed aging occurs, about 24 months. It was bottled in 2007 with minimal filtration and this batch sat motionlessly for well over a dozen years. Thus, today’s library release was born.



Because it saw two years of deep rest in oak, has a hardy core of 100% Cabernet, and remained untouched in a dark, cool place for 12 years, many of you may have a hard time nailing the vintage of Teaderman’s 2004. At 15 years old, this reveals a deep, brooding core of dark ruby and, after about 30 minutes in a decanter, explodes with a dazzling array of highly perfumed crème de cassis, black raspberry, plum skin, and Morello cherry before a surge of tobacco leaf, crushed graphite, violets, green herbs, dusty earth, baking spice, sandalwood, and leather sound off. It impressively balances a full-bodied palate with finesse and focus, bringing in lifted notes of freshness that accentuate the layers of dark fruit and pulverized valley floor minerality at play. It’s always fascinating to taste a wine with this much bottle age and wager how much longer it has—based on the core of fruit and underlying structure on display, this will coast into 2030 if you stash a few bottles in your cellar. But make no mistake, Teaderman’s pitch-perfect expression of mature Napa Cabernet has entered its prime and is ready to enjoy, especially alongside a herb-crusted standing rib roast. Cheers!
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Country
United States
Region
California / Napa Valley
Sub-Region
United StatesOakville
Soil
Clay/Loam w/Gravel
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon 100%
Alcohol
14.04
OAK
100% New French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2025+
Decanting
Briefly, For Sediment
Pairing
Herb-Crusted Standing Rib Roast

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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