Review: 2023 Oleandri La Scala and Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

Oleandri is a boutique Napa-based wine label that was new to me, but which I hope will become a regularly featured winery on Drinkhacker. With a heavy focus on Cabernet and Cab-heavy blends, these are big, opulent wines designed for special occasions, collecting, and potentially long-term cellaring.

Let’s dig in to two 2023 releases from the operation.

2023 Oleandri La Scala Red Wine Napa Valley – A Cabernet Sauvignon-heavy blend (67%) complemented by 20% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4.5% Petite Sirah, and 0.5% Petit Verdot. Those additions take an already aggressive wine and make things even darker and denser, offering ink-black opacity and depth, immediately evoking currants tempered with chocolate, fresh vanilla bean, and some gravelly tannins. Earthy but not funky in the slightest, it’s a soulful wine that, with air time, leans into brighter cherry notes, complete with a touch of tempering acidity, and a soothing vanilla finish. Delightful. A / $80

2023 Oleandri Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford – A dense (but not too dense) and chocolatey delight, this is an iconic example of Napa Cabernet made with some measure of restraint. In lieu of overt currant and blackberry notes, the wine showcases a more restrained plum-forward character alongside notes of fresh violets, with milk chocolate lingering on the finish and fading into notes of cafe au lait. This is a young cabernet that is ready to drink today, its tannins already well-mellowed and silky, adding a bit of body to the basket of fruit and flowers on display. A- / $200

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