TN: 1995 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley

  • 1995 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (4/19/2024)
    From my late father’s cellar, this had been carefully stored since release, and was still vibrant and full bodied. What hit me was a clear aroma/taste of bittersweet chocolate covered cherry. It was unmistakable. The oak added a touch of vanilla, but the chocolate and cherry was always front and center. Tannins were downright gentle, so no reason to think this is going to get better, but it was sure good tonight. Another instance where the Alexander Valley bottling overperforms.
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Nice. That’s a special treat.

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Indeed. Makes me a lot more interested to grab some of the other Silver Oak bottles.

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Nice and birth year wine for me.

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You’re killing me, I was 28 by then.

My ex-brother-in-law (who turned me onto really nice wine) was picking up Silver Oak - both Alexander Valley and “Bonnie’s” Vineyard back in the 80s and I recall having really liked some of those bottles. Did your father pick up in of that “Bonnie’s” before they stopped that separate bottling?

This is pretty encouraging. I have three or four of these from release buried in a friend’s cellar. I had a bottle quite a few years ago that seemed partly oxidized, so I had more or less written them off. Sounds like it may have just been a bad cork.

Only a couple and of course he drank those!

This cork, while it looked perfect, was rather spongy and almost too easy to remove. I was not expecting the results I got.

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