Yeah, “trash” was an interesting choice of words. I guess that’s why some people are getting worked up. It’s no secret, though, that many people dislike Silver Oak. I do too, and I don’t like the Napa any more than I like the Alexander Valley, having had them side by side multiple times. Obviously the wines have many fans and sell very well, so I think they’re doing something right.
I do wonder if the people saying popularity is directly correlated to quality would say the same thing about Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, or most popular music.
This thread got me to pull out a '15 SO AV last night with house guests. I haven’t had much cab over the years. American oak and tannic iodine were my impressions. My guests enjoyed it much more. I know some of the SO folks, but I’m obviously not a cabernet guy.
Wow man. Never thought something written with such little regard for precision or nuance would be taken as a reasoned critique.
It was meant to be a light-hearted laugh that so many far less expensive wines were preferred by experienced tasters…2 whom love Cali cabs (one who likes overripe oak monsters imho
If you search the forum, people use the word trash to describe wines they do not like all the time. How is this different??
Should I say I really dislike this wine and poured it away? How is that any better? Do we have a standard now?? So people need up read some of the things they’ve written before.
It’s not libel to say something is bad and that you hate it… Hence the slang term of “trash”. It’s an opinion, you can can choose to have a different one.
While I appreciate the sentiment expressed, everyone is welcome to share their own opinions and views. I’ve (by extension, things I’ve been a part of have) been called much worse.
We all get to decide where we plant our flags professionally and personally. If you’ve got a thin skin, I don’t recommend taking a job where a big part of it is overseeing winemaking and grapegrowing for Silver Oak. We’re a lightning rod and polarizing, I get it. Not the first time I’ve heard it or read it, and certainly won’t be the last.
Casey, your “care package” case just got a few more bottles of Cabernet added to it.
It’s a wine tasting that we did blind… Everyone writes how they feel about the wine in this forum. I’ve seen way worse things posted by some of you and many others. Again, maybe the uproar is due to slang used by different age groups and style of writing/communication, which causes friction.
Also, just because Dan and I think a wine tasted nasty has no bearing on anything, since we are in the minority. If I’m them, I would rather continue to make what a lot of people love and laugh all the way to the bank.
At the end of the day, Silver Oak has an amazing operation and are amazing at making that style of Cabernet. Plus, they have a fun vineyard with great customer service. I’ve recommended it to friends who I know would love that style and even bought some as a gift. Shit, I enjoy and buy their Twomey wines (don’t anyone tell Dan). Maybe I’ll go back to liking that style of Cabernet at some point as well, but it’s not remotely thing right now.
This guy has way too much class. Gotta kick him off the boards. Also, how dare he make wine that some people really dig and want to pay money for? All winemakers must make wine “they would like to drink” so that they can dictate their tastes to the people who buy it.
I don’t have that much experience with SO from after around 1992, but for the wines from the 80’s up until then, my opinion was roughly the opposite. Both bottlings were very good young (provided you like the style), but over time I usually preferred how the AV aged. To me the Napa didn’t become as interesting, though it generally retained more fruit.
I had a funny experience while I was buying the 1986s from a store in Colorado. There was a guy there who just couldn’t understand why I would buy the AV at the same price as the Napa (which was the way it was at the time). I explained that I had drunk both bottlings from 1984 and 1985, enjoyed both, and was interested in seeing how they evolved. He was still baffled and started reciting Parker points. In the long run I went back and forth on which of those two wines I liked better, but I never saw the separation that Parker did.
Kind of you to say re: class. You obviously don’t know me that well…ask Todd.
I love drinking Silver Oak. I love drinking Twomey, Timeless Napa Valley, and OVID, too (all kissing cousins under the Duncan family’s eye). I also love drinking about a zillion other wines. There’s plenty of room for us all. Vive la difference!
here’s a lineup from a couple of years ago with a 2003 AV SO. There were plenty of wine lovers in the group but not many wine geeks. No complaints about any, though the Maiden either wasn’t quite ready or could have used a lot more air.
I’m 37. The uproar isn’t due to your ‘hip’ writing style it is because you obviously slammed Silver Oak as a popular punching bag thinking it would make you look cool or that you know your wines. You don’t. It didn’t endear you to anyone but make your ‘blind’ tasting come off as worthless attention grabbing.
The vintages are not even shared or all the wines involved before you proclaim Silver Oak having badly lost blind and basically being bottled junk.
Strong opinions are fine. You’re confusing strong opinions with stupid ones though.
Nearly every trip to Napa we stop at the Oakville tasting room, as we rarely get up to AV, and it just opened a few years ago, just prior to Covid, if I recall. We’re headed back there in July and, of course, plan to meet up with Nate Weis while there. Jen and Nate have a mutual respect for one another
Definitely when we plan to visit Sonoma (next on the CA wine list, for sure, as I still have to take her to Oregon!) we’ll hit up that room, as I really would like to see it.
As for the wine, it’s certainly not my favorite (as I love dirty, poopy Bordeaux and crisp, popping mountain Cab fruit), but it’s still enjoyable. I don’t mind American oak at all, which is what many can’t stand about Silver Oak. I find it well made, and one of these days would love to try one with age on it.
When we were first exploring wine after moving to the Bay area, we would sometimes go to the Napa tasting room, but more to the old Alexander Valley location, which was very quaint and welcoming. It was great hospitality, they always took good care of our kids with something to drink.
Silver Oak gets the short end of the stick here, I think undeservedly. It’s berserkers, wine geeks and snobs, so not a big surprise that SO is a bit of a punching bag, but in my mind they are one of the quality anchors of Napa Valley. The wines have a signature, you expect that from a larger production house catering to its customer segment, but they are quality wines, especially for the level of production, with a lot more balance than some other big names (can you say Ca*mus?). Give me Silver Oak, a legit mainstream Napa wine, over the factory wine disneylands like Prisoner or Hall.
I’ve had many older SOs from the 70s and 80s, they retain their American oak signature, but age very nicely in my experience.
