Revisiting the 2000 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Recently my wife and I went over to our friends’ house. You know, the friends with half my wine in their basement? Anyway, we went over to catch up after a couple of months had blown by…funny how that happens.
The first stop for me was the wine cellar. It was funny because, as I entered the cellar, I let out a big sigh. My friend chuckled and said, “Home again, eh?” Definitely.
We put away his bottles of 2005 DuMOL and we added a few bottes of 2004 Clearwater Creek to our burgeoning “community” section of the cellar racks. And then we got down to the serious business of selecting a wine for the evening. Actually, this serious business took about eight seconds: We both acknowledged that we wanted a wine with a little more age to it. It just so happens that my friend bought a case of 2000 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon a while back (over a year ago, actually). We honed in on that wine immediately and pulled a bottle from the rack.
June 2006 was the last time we drank a 2000 Silver Oak Napa Valley release. The 2000 vintage is actually still available from the winery; this link shows the price as $110, along with their official tasting notes. When we drank this wine before, I had the following comments about it:
- Solid, tannic wine that is also smooth…almost too smooth, as it tastes so refined that it vanishes from your palate quickly. Lots of fruit aroma and essence, particularly blueberry.
Two thing stand out to me from those notes: The wine was smooth but perhaps a little lacking in the flavor profile, and the blend had not yet become integrated in the bottle, so to speak (the blueberry was too pronounced). Also, we drank the wine with a good dinner.
This time, we had already eaten dinner. We cracked open the bottle and decanted the wine for about 20 minutes, which was all it needed (there was a trace of kirsch on the nose at first, but that blew off quickly as the wine aerated). Here are my detailed notes:
- Aroma: An array of lovely fruit, including black plum, black raspberry, blackberry, a touch of blueberry, and some red cherry (particularly right after pouring); also some smoky, burnt sugar and coffee/dark chocolate essence in the background. Quite complex and inviting. Really lovely.
- Flavor: As smooth as any wine I have had, a velvet pillow of supple tannins and vibrant black fruit perfectly integrated with a hint of oaky vanilla. Wow. The oak is extremely mild in this wine, almost non-existent by now. Somehow rich and smooth at the same time, which is impressive to me as you are not overpowered by the flavor.
- General impression: Incredibly good. I was very lucky to try this wine again, and I was blown away! It’s drinking perfectly now. I wanted a whole lot more. Quite good without food, but surely would be better with a nice steak.
Clearly this wine has evolved over the past year. The flavors are better integrated, the body is there, the bouquet is so nice…what a good wine! At $80/bottle minimum online and $110/bottle factory direct, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility for most wine connoisseurs. But I am glad my friend had the foresight to buy a case a couple of years ago. This Silver Oak has made a believer out of me!