November 1, 2022 - Just fantastic. There just aren’t many California cabs that could age 30 years and wow you like this. As mentioned by another, not clear this bottle is even made like this anymore. If you can find it, treat yourself and open today. Sadly only one bottle left in my cellar.
October 23, 2022 - Was Coravined in 2021/3. Still great
April 26, 2022 - Tasted at 15C (~60F). Aerated into decanting vessel.
Appearance:
The Silver Oak cab makes quite an impression with an irresistibly deep, tawny color. This wine is definitely 30, and the first thing she tells you: she's not here to play around.
Nose:
Pronounced primary notes of black fruit, smoke, tar, wet leaves, and black cherry leaves you gasping for a breath in the best possible way as she elegantly flirts with secondary aromas of tobacco, black truffle, and mushroom. Right as you begin to believe that you've found the depths of her aromatic complexity, she gently and quietly caresses your senses with a tertiary aroma of sweet musk.
Palate:
Lusciously full bodied and dry with low acidity, medium alcohol, and (due to her age) low tannins. Good gracious is the flavor intense. Primary notes of blackberry, mushroom, tobacco, and blackcurrant leave you tongue tied and begging for more; a feeling that she delivers in spades as she kisses you with secondary flavors of smoke, leather, and vanilla. Just as everything else about this silver tongued devil, her complexity comes out in the tertiary notes of burnt caramel and black coffee. Her finish is long, but somehow it just isn't enough, and you find yourself anxiously reaching for the next sip.
Overall, the time I've spent tasting this wine makes me understand just how good an aged wine can be when kept in the proper conditions. She is poised, elegant, robust, and unapologetic. My only regret is that I don't have another bottle of this wine, though that is likely a good thing, seeing as she is definitely at her peak. Anyone tasting this wine after 2022 would certainly find that she has declined in elegance and charm. Drink right now.
December 5, 2021 - Vinetasters: Brown Bag (Skokie, IL): Served double blind. Black cherry and sweet fruit that seems to evoke Napa, but American oak and a more-than-typical amount of acidity drew me away from Napa. The American oak led me to my old mainstay of American cabernet, and I guessed Ridge Montebello, but from the same time period. The fruit here is very clean and still in very good shape; an impressive wine (and my first Silver Oak, though I was told that the modern incarnations are nothing like this).
November 28, 2021 - Blackcurrant, menthol, sandalwood, coffee. Beautifully developed. Fruit still very alive. Oak evident, but perfectly integrated. Captivating. On a long, delicious plateau. (94 Excellent wine)
July 3, 2021 - May not be everyone's cup of tea, but we enjoyed it. Cork was very crumbly, however.
June 14, 2019 - What a great wine! Nose even had some mint to it. Unreal!
September 23, 2018 - Soft tannins and nice fruit. A real pleasure. An hour decant is just right. Wonderful stuff.
July 13, 2018 - Drinking better than expected. Fruit still prominent with soft tannins. Better to drink sooner rather than later but still wonderful now.
June 14, 2018 - Past it’s prime but still beautiful on the pallet with fruit and soft tannins. Decanted and let open for an hour before enjoying and noticed a beautiful maturing as the evening wore on!