2008 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (5/5/2025)
Slightly better than the 2011 Mollydooker Carnival of Love from a few weeks ago, but only sightly. This was an oaky mess that required a tweezer to remove the splinters. But for the oak, it was probably OK, with some Cali red fruit. Once again, 84 is better than average, but that's because of Wild Irish Rose and its ilk. I have had some '70s and 80's Silver Oak that were outstanding. I do not know the history of their production, but my guess is that when they got on the "offical" steakhouse wine list, quait went down as production went up. Or perhaps this is a 30 year wine and it needs another decade for the oak to integrate. Uncle Bob says that at 10 years out, the 2003 had too much oak but was fully mature and should have been drunk then. It's American oak, which, I suppose, may be part of the problem. (83 points)
I know I’m in the minority as a wine enthusiast who loves Silver Oak, but I adore American oak - probably a product of being raised on Rioja. More splinters, please! I will happily take everyone else’s bottles.
I think if the oak hasn’t integrated enough for you at 17 years you may be out of luck.
Ah - toasty oak. In large part I like a few splinters in my Cali Cabs but I have not revisited Silver Oak in a while albeit I do have a vertical gifted to me - 6 bottles from somewhere around 08 to 13. Need to do a steak dinner with friends and go for it. Someone is bound to like it - for me it is a decent quaffer with a rib eye. It does beg the question of who uses american oak besides SO. Honestly, I don’t know? Where are the coopers on this board?
I like American Oak in Spanish Monastrell. Also in Aquilon, which is Grenache. It seems to give it a cognac-flavored component. However, I got none of that in the Silver Oak. It was not my bottle, so I have none to sell to you, but you should be able to find a lot of it among the Cali Cab haters that frequent these waters.
Ridge Monte Bello uses American oak. Although taste profiles will prefer one to another, I do think there is sometihng to how the oak (American) or otherwise is used and with what type of varietal and what type of brix etc.
I visited a North Carolina winery and tried several of their wines, all using American Oak. It’s North Carolina so environment must matter some, but they had a Nebbiolo that was undrinkable and a Tannat that was absolutely fantastic.
As for the original topic – I have never been a fan of the Alexander Valley bottling. My tastes have changed a lot and I can’t say with certainty that I still like it, but I have always thought the Napa cuvee makes a really good pairing with a Cowboy ribeye. It’s not always present, but in at least a few vintages, it has had a salty tobacco smokiness that I have really appreciated.
“Silver Oak is one of California’s most polarizing wineries – people generally love the wines or hate them. And it’s not uncommon on the internet to see people denigrating those who enjoy Silver Oak Cabs as well as the wines themselves. So what is it that provokes such strong reactions? For one thing, Silver Oak has become such an easy target among many wine geeks that it’s the one winery they feel can all bash without fear. And the thing that may well be most annoying to many of these people is that Silver Oak’s wines, made in a style that they claim to strongly dislike, continue to be so wildly successful and popular.”
Ahhh, i definitely disagree with this. At least in terms of how some of the 'earlier ’ vintages are drinking. For example, the 1980 Alexander seems to be holding up much better than the Napa. Will prob do a side/side later this year so will confirm if that’s 100% accurate
I can only speak to the late-aughts (2007) and later. Without looking at the tech sheets (I am sure someone will), I would suspect the Alexander Valley has higher acidity and perhaps that why it holds up longer. I tend to like higher acidity wines, but for my tastes, there is something in the fruit-to-tannin profile that I do not enjoy as much with a steak.
I’m sitting on 6 bottles of both NV and AV from early-mid nineties.
I will break out one or two bottles for a family event as I have relatives who think this is the pinnacle of wine drinking.
I stayed away from Silver Oak based on reputation. Sometimes in the aughts my wife and I were at the Heath Ceramics store in Marin, and for some reason they had a lot of wedding vendors showing off their wares/services. There was Silver Oak, pouring their Alexander Valley cab! Despite the oak, I rather liked it! It didn’t hurt they gave me multiple pours. Throughout the teens to the present I occasionally drink or get gifted SO, thanks to a friend’s son who works/worked for Twomey/SO. I find them good young, with no discernable change or drop-off as they get to the 10-15 year mark.
