Posted from CellarTracker
I can remember the reserves during the early 90s. Fantastic stuff.
Just happened to have a lone holdout. Served with grilled prime ribeyes.
The cork was in great shape and the wine was remarkably fresh. Still some oak showing (mostly on the nose) but then it wouldn’t be a legit steakhouse wine. Very refreshing and surprisingly lively currants, red and purple plums. Fine balance, brightness and length. Integrated finish and the tannins, it seemed properly balanced to me. There’s tobacco and aged saddle leather playing a minor part. Not even a suggestion of heat: 13.2% abv. So pleasantly youthful…I would’ve guessed 10 - 15 years and not 29 in a blind tasting. 2 nights of enjoyment. Another reminder of a lost era (tasty, affordable, restrained, ageworthy, low alcohol Napa Cab).
RT
I liked their wines a lot in the 1990s vintages. They weren’t flashy or powerhouses, but nice, pretty wines at reasonable prices. They also have (or at least had) that gorgeous tasting patio at the winery.
Has anyone had these wines from more recent years? I walk past them sometimes and wonder if they’re worth a revisit.
The Disney people bought the See Ranch–not to be confused with the Sea Ranch. This was the source for many of Charles Krug Vintage Select wines. Jack Stuart made the wines from the beginning and retired maybe fifteen years ago. I don’t think the wines are that expensive so probably worth a shot. I have not visited in years.
As the independent viticulturist of their vineyards I’m impressed with the longevity of the staff at Silverado and their consistency. Excellent group of folks! Jon Emmerich is the winemaker now; he started working at Silverado 31 years ago. His associate winemaker has worked with him basically the whole time, too.
I trained in Napa on mountain sites with pH’s approaching 4 and Brix coming in at +28. I have vinted Cab Franc at 32 Brix for Checkerboard (pretty amazing it can be done, frankly). The Cab at Silverado’s vineyards may come in at ~23.5 Brix with more acidity than I have seen in Cab elsewhere (except maybe Mt Veeder AVA). Not bruisers.
The See Clone of Cabernet has been put through the Foundation Plant Services, cleaned up, and propagated. We use it extensively on the ranch.
They also get to play in the vineyard a bit more than most newcomers since they have owned a few amazing sites for a long time (read: low property tax). On top of the 100 acre See ranch Mel mentioned, they have a 100 acre Coombsville vineyard (awesome Merlot), an 80 acre vineyard in Yountville, a 40 acre Soda Canyon vineyard (where I have planted an acre of Kerner and Melon de Bourgogne), a 30 yo Chardonnay vineyard in north Napa Carneros, and one in Sonoma Carneros. I’m trying to convince them we should plant Gruner Veltliner out at their Sonoma vineyard (fingers crossed).