Hall 1873 and Oracle Napa Valley Cabernet with grilled tenderloin

Hall 1873 and Oracle Napa Valley Cabernet with grilled tenderloin 

With fellow ‘Pour Boy’ Bill, and Beth visiting from Charleston, we stay in for the evening and Linda grilled beef tenderloin , served with ceasar salad, twice baked potatoes, haricot verts and garlic bread. 

With dinner we enjoyed two ultra-premium Napa Cabernets, Miner Oracle from our Destin wine cooler, and Bill brought from his home cellar in Charleston this Hall 1873. 

Hall ”Eighteen Seventy-Three” Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Bill acquired this through his wine club allocation from one of our favorite producers of highly acclaimed Napa Cabernets, this label commemorates the founding year of their historic Napa Valley vineyard.

The property above St Helena was originally planted to grapes by Captain William Peterson back in 1873. It was further developed such that during the 1930’s and 1940’s, it produced nearly 40 percent of Napa Valley production. 

Hall has become one of the premiere Napa Valley producers of ultra-premium Cabernets. We’ve visited the magnificent Hall Rutherford estate vineyards and winery several times as featured in these blogposts - 

Hall Rutherford Winery Estate Appellation Tasting, and 

Exzellenz and aged Robert Craig Mt Veeder for holiday celebration gathering.

Craig and Katherine Hall have built an extensive estate of vineyards that now encompass more than 300 acres of classic Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. They have been innovators in adopting  cutting edge technology to yield the highest quality grapes to produce a broad portfolio of highly acclaimed wines.

This label commemorates the founding of the first winery on the historic property back in 1873 when Captain William Peterson came to Napa and established a pioneering winery on their St. Helena property. Throughout the 1930’s and 40’s, the site grew to become Napa’s most important winery, producing nearly 40% of its entire vintage. 

This Hall ”Eighteen Seventy-Three” is a blend of fruit taken mostly from sites in the eastern hillsides of Napa Valley from the mountain slopes that frame Napa Valley along the northern edge of the Vacca Mountains from Howell Mountain to the north, Rutherford where the Hall Estate is located, and Atlas Peak to the South. 

We took this an earlier vintage of this label BYOB to a wine dinner recently that was rated 98 points by Wilford Wong of Wine.com, and 95 points by Wine Enthusiast, featured in these pages in this post - Preview Night Dinner at The Belmont Naperville. 

This release was rated 93 by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 points by Vinous and 91 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes - “Deep garnet color. Complex fruit aromas of ripe blackberry, subtle warm oak and plum. On the palate, pronounced flavors of dark fruit, cocoa nib, wet stone, and baking spice are supported by firm, structured tannins and bright acidity round out the powerful finish.”

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, round forward concentrated bright expressive vibrant rich ripe blackberry and black currant fruits with expressive notes of black tea and cinnamon with notes of creme de cassis, bitter dark chocolate, tobacco and oak with expressive plush tannins and bright acidity on a huge spicy finish. 

RM 93 points

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/2602610

https://www.hallwines.com/

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/3555904

Miner Family Winery "The Oracle" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2021 

This is another wine we have fun with since our son works for Oracle, the enterprise software giant. Also, Linda’s hometown, Delphi, Indiana high school mascot and sports teams were the Oracles. 

This wine's name pays homage to founder Dave Miner and his former career as a founder of Oracle Software, and the ancient Greek concept of an oracle as a source of inspiration.

We served and wrote about this Miner Family Winery flagship “Oracle” Cabernet which was a hit last spring at a neighborhood gathering in a blogpost at that time , excerpted here. 

Miner Family Winery was founded by Dave Miner with their first vintage in 1996. Dave was born in Chicago and then lived in Southern California for a number of years, graduating from the University of California, San Diego with degree in English and American Literature. It was during this time that he became interested in wine. 

Dave was working for then upstart Oracle in software sales when his uncle Bob Miner, who happened to be one of the co-founders of Oracle, was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer and passed away prematurely in 1994 at age 52. In his final days, Bob asked Dave to help him manage the operations at the family vineyards and winery Oakville Ranch, (predecessor to Oracle Family Winery). Dave quit his sales job and joined Oakville Ranch which at the time owned the property that is now Miner Family Winery. At the time they made a limited amount of wine and operated a custom crush facility. Miner Family Wines was one of their clients. We still hold several vintage labels of Oakville Ranch in our home cellar which we have featured in this blogposts such as this one - Oakville Ranch Vineyard Napa Cabernet.

In 1999 Dave and his wife Emily (who worked at Oakville Ranch) purchased the winery and accompanying 18 acres. They were not able to plant vineyards on their steep hillsides due to the county ordinance prohibiting new vineyards on slopes greater then 20%, they opted to install solar cells instead – some 1,750 panels. Miner Family only owns 1/2 acre of vineyards; a tiny vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in front of the winery. They source premium grapes for their wines from partner growers mainly in Napa Valley. 

The Minor winery is located just above the valley floor – high enough in elevation that one has panoramic views looking over the vines to the west and the Mayacamas mountain range. 

This is the flagship of the Miner porfolio of Bordeaux and Burgundian wines, several Chardonnays and some Pinot Noirs. They also produce some Rhone style wines based on Rhone varietals, and some other varietal wines, not typically produced in Napa Valley.  These wines include Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese and Tempranillo, as well as the traditional Napa Valley Bordeaux varietals.

This flagship Oracle label is a Bordeaux blend produced from select premium Bordeaux varietals sourced from prime eastern Napa Valley hillside locations, including the renowned Stagecoach Vineyard and Volker Eisele Vineyard.

The 2021 release is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot.

It was aged 22 Months in 60% new French oak. 3,586 6-packs were produced. 

This released was rated 94 points by James Suckling and 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Winemaker Notes - Miner Family's flagship wine, a full-bodied, red blend, grants a nod toward elegance. This Bordeaux-style blend is silky, reserved and supremely balanced. Lush aromatics of raspberry and dark cherry with a hint of eucalyptus, The Oracle is decadent, but with finesse. Earthiness and layers of dried flowers and cocoa integrate harmoniously into a finely balanced marriage between tannin and acid, providing the structure that ensures, like all impeccable beauties, this wine is sure to age gracefully.

Deep garnet-purple colored, full bodied, complex and concentrated, tightly structured yet elegant, nicely balanced and polished, black raspberry, blackberry and blueberry fruits accented by notes of cassis, dark chocolate, black tea, black olive and hints of leather and lavender, with firm, fine-grained tannins, on the long fragrant finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5087056

https://minerwines.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/21Oracle.pdf

https://minerwines.com/

Neighborhood Wine Tasting and Small Bites Gathering

Neighborhood Wine Tasting and Small Bites Gathering 

Visiting, The Cove, our Destin (FL) vacation rental, we hosted our neighbors in what has become a rather regular gathering where we have great fun, food, wine and fellowship. 

Some of the revelers …

Linda prepared and set out an extensive selection of small plate offerings that included flank steak, potatoes, brussel sprouts, sourdough toast points, bacon-wrapped-figs, cheese and veggie plates, caprese pizza’s and homemade brownies and cheesecake.

Artisan cheese included aged gouda, havarti, honey infused goat cheese, and cinnamon cranberry infused goat cheese. 

We set out a selection of beverages, artisan and craft beers, popular mixed drinks, and a medley of wines, white, red and dessert …

For those that followed the ‘wine flight’, served in order, white to red to dessert, lightest to boldest and biggest we served in the following order …

The White wines flight - 

Schweiger Vineyards Sonoma Valley Uboldi Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2018

Brewer Clifton Sta Rita Hills Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023

Jermann "Where Dreams have no end ..." Bianca Venezia Giulia Chardonnay 2017

This is a fun label to serve. This whimsically named label was inspired and created by the song “Where the streets have no name” from the U2 rock group′s album “The Joshua Tree” produced in 1987. It is also the bottle that was featured in the movie “Parent Trap” during the romantic dinner at the opening scene. I wrote about this wine and producer in an earlier blogpost Jermann “Where Dreams have no end …”

This label is primarily Chardonnay with a small amount of blended white grapes from the local area of Dolegna del Collio

It was straw colored, medium bodied with what James Suckling writes eloquently about the wine .... "it offers charm and complexity, with aromas of rare elegance and refinement. Exotic hints of ripened fruit, melted butter, vanilla and pastry prevail. In the mouth it keeps all the promises made to the nose, follows through on them, and embellishes them with gentle flavours and aromatic nuances that are fresh and persistent." 

James Suckling gave the wine 95 points.

We found this straw colored, medium bodied, notes of creamy pear, apple and citrus with hints of pineapple, moderate acidity and toasty spice notes. 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3350235

The Red wines flight … 

For the red flight, we started with a traditional French Burgundy (Bourgogne). This was gifted from neighbors Chuck and Debbie during an earlier gathering, and we never got around to opening it and saved it for tonight. 

Domaine Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge Pinot Noir 2021

This is from prolific well known producer, Domaine Faiveley who produce a broad portfolio of Burgundian Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs, from this basic label to the premium Grand Cru and ultra-premium Premiere Grand Cru.  

The largest family domaine in Burgundy dates back seven generations to 1825. The sixth generation  François Faiveley manages an estate of vineyards, fractured by French inheritance laws, that today covers 120 hectares across more appellations including Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte Chalonnaise,in their entirety (monopoles) than any other domaine in Burgundy. 

Today, François has been joined by seventh generation offspring siblings, brother and sister, Ewan and Eve Faiveley. Born and bred in the Burgundian sub-appellation of Nuits-Saint-Georges, they both left the region to gain worldly experiences, then returned to work together managing the family business domaine.

Erwan Faiveley took over running the family wine domaine fifteen years ago after spending time in Dijon, then Paris, and traveling a great deal during his studies.

He is joined by his sister Eva who spent time in Barcelona, then the US, before returning to Paris where she worked in the luxury cosmetics industry, before returning to the Domaine in 2014, joining her brother Erwan.

Clive Coates M.W. (Master of Wine) writes, "Faiveley’s wines are... supremely clean and elegant: definitive examples of Pinot Noir... above all they have richness and breed, the thumbprint of a master winemaker."

This wine is vinified from grapes grown in the Domaine’s vineyards as well as selected grapes and musts from its partner grower/producers. The wines was aged 12 to 14 months in French oak barrels and stainless steel vats before bottling. 

Producer’s tasting notes - “Beautiful ruby color. This wine has pleasant, fresh, red-fruit aromas on the nose, which we also savor on the palate. It has rich and very ripe substance, with fine round tannins. It’s a very well structured and pleasant wine.”

The notable New York wine merchant Zachy’s writes: “A classic expression of Burgundy's Pinot Noir, Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2021 is a wine of exceptional quality. This wine boasts a harmonious blend of red fruit, spice, and earth, with a subtle minerality and a lingering finish.

Winemaker Notes - “Faiveley Bourgogne Pinot Noir is a beautiful ruby color. This wine has pleasant, fresh, red-fruit aromas on the nose, which we also savor on the palate. It has a rich and very ripe substance, with fine round tannins. It’s a very well structured and pleasant wine.”

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4519432

https://domaine-faiveley.com/en/#

Château La Clarière Côtes de Castillon Bordeaux 2022 

Château La Clarière 2022 is a highly awarded, rich, and full-bodied Merlot-based red blend from the Côtes de Castillon appellation in Bordeaux, created by British wine merchant and producer Tony Laithwaite. 

Since Tony Laithwaite first worked in Castillon in 1967, he has been a champion of the region. As Wine International wrote: “If it weren’t for the line dividing Castillon from Saint-Emilion, its wines would be twice the price. The hills are the same, the soil is the same, the exposure is the same.” 

“In 1980 Tony bought Château La Clarière and has been proving this point ever since, winning Golds and Trophies, and twice the coveted Paris’ Lauréat Prix d’Excellence. The team has led the field in innovation too and no expense is spared: low yields for intensity, rigorous sorting for quality, and ageing in the finest new French oak. This is the fine claret from Tony's family estate from a lovely ripe vintage.” 

It offers ripe plum, blackberry, and spice notes with 16 months of French oak aging.

With four Trophies and 80+ Golds, Château La Clarière is clear proof that Castillon wines can surpass those of next-door Grand Cru St-Émilion. From the 5-Star 2022 vintage, this is a silky claret, with bright fruit intensity and velvety depth..

This is a classic Right Bank Bordeaux Blend - 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec.

Wine Enthusiast rated this wine 90 points. 

This is from the lesser appellation Côtes de Castillon, neighbor to the more prestigious highly acclaimed St Emilion, and as written above, carried its weight, exceeding expectations, meeting high standards of its more prestigious neighbor. 

Garnet colored, medium full bodied, nicely structured and balanced black fruits are accented by lively clove spice, black tea and tobacco with soft polished acidity on the smooth finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/5037569

The next wine served was a Bordeaux that we discovered, tasted and acquired during the Bordeaux wine dinner at the local Wine World back in January, 2024. 

Château Godard Bellevue L'Etoile du Château Godard Bellevue 2019

This Bordeaux red wine is from the small lesser appellation Côtes de Bordeaux, the youngest AOC appellation in Bordeaux, created in 2009, created from the merging of four previously recognized communes, Cotes de Blaye, Cotes de Bordeaux, Cotes de Castillon, and Cotes de Francs. The appellation consists of 12,653 hectares cultivated with vines.

Amazingly, the Cotes de Bordeaux appellation produces close to 14% of all Bordeaux wine with more than 1,500 growers actively making wine. 

Over 95% of production is red wine, primarily comprised of Merlot, complemented by Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and sometimes Malbec. A small amount of white wines are also produced.

The vineyards are located on the hillsides ("côtes") on the Right Bank of the Dordogne/Garonne rivers and along the Gironde Estuary. They are characterized by clay-limestone and gravelly soils.

The region produces user-friendly, value-driven, and often "ready to drink" compared to more prestigious, heavily tannic Bordeaux wines. They generally are high QPR - Quality Price Ratio wines, due to their lesser prestige compared to the higher profile neighbors St. Emilion or Pomerol appellations, which command higher prices. The best terroirs of Cotes de Bordeaux are similar to St. Emilion or Pomerol, especially at the top estates.

The Sub-Appellations are:
Blaye – Côtes de Bordeaux: The largest, located on the right bank of the Gironde Estuary.
Cadillac – Côtes de Bordeaux: Located on the right bank of the Garonne river.
Castillon – Côtes de Bordeaux: Situated east of Saint-Émilion.
Francs – Côtes de Bordeaux: The smallest and most easterly appellation.
Sainte-Foy – Côtes de Bordeaux: The newest addition to the group.
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This limited production wine is 100% Merlot with annual production of a mere 3000 bottles. It was aged 17 months in 100% new oak barrels. 

Despite its small production and moderate price, this wine is packaged in a heavier oversized bottle.

Dark garnet colored, blackberry and black currant fruits with earthy notes, moderate tannins and medium acidity on a complex finish.

RM 88 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4918118

Miner Family Winery "The Oracle" Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend 2019 

This is another wine we have fun with since our son works for Oracle, the enterprise software giant. Also, Linda’s hometown, Delphi, Indiana high school mascot and sports teams were the Oracles. 

Miner Family Winery was founded by Dave Miner with their first vintage in 1996. Dave was born in Chicago and then lived in Southern California for a number of years, graduating from the University of California, San Diego with degree in English and American Literature. It was during this time that he became interested in wine. 

Dave was working for then upstart Oracle in software sales when his uncle Bob Miner, who happened to be one of the co-founders of Oracle, was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer and passed away prematurely in 1994 at age 52. In his final days, Bob asked Dave to help him manage the operations at the family vineyards and winery Oakville Ranch, (predecessor to Oracle Family Winery). Dave quit his sales job and joined Oakville Ranch which at the time owned the property that is now Miner Family Winery. At the time they made a limited amount of wine and operated a custom crush facility. Miner Family Wines was one of their clients. We still hold several vintage labels of Oakville Ranch in our home cellar which we have featured in this blogposts such as this one - Oakville Ranch Vineyard Napa Cabernet.

In 1999 Dave and his wife Emily (who worked at Oakville Ranch) purchased the winery and accompanying 18 acres. They were not able to plant vineyards on their steep hillsides due to the county ordinance prohibiting new vineyards on slopes greater then 20%, they opted to install solar cells instead – some 1,750 panels. Miner Family only owns 1/2 acre of vineyards; a tiny vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon planted in front of the winery. They source premium grapes for their wines from partner growers mainly in Napa Valley. 

The Minor winery is located just above the valley floor – high enough in elevation that one has panoramic views looking over the vines to the west and the Mayacamas mountain range. 

Emily died in 2011 at age 41 from lung cancer despite having never smoked. The winery now produces Emily’s Cuvée with a portion of the sales of this wine benefiting The V Foundation for Cancer Research.

Miner produce a range of Burgundian wines, several Chardonnays and some Pinot Noirs. They also produce some Rhone style wines based on Rhone varietals, and some other varietal wines, not typically produced in Napa Valley.  These wines include Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese and Tempranillo, as well as the traditional Napa Valley Bordeaux varietals.

This is the flagship Oracle label, a Bordeaux blend produced from select premium Bordeaux varietals sourced from Napa Valley. The 2019 release is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot, sourced from the legendary Stagecoach Vineyard and Volker Eisele Vineyard. 

This released was rated 96 points by The Wine Independent. 93 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator, 92 points by James Suckling.

This ultra-premium label was the WOTN - Wine of the Night for several of the folks, with the overachieving Château La Clarière being second. 

Winemaker Notes - Miner Family's flagship wine, a full-bodied, red blend, grants a nod toward elegance. This Bordeaux-style blend is silky, reserved and supremely balanced. Lush aromatics of raspberry and dark cherry with a hint of eucalyptus, The Oracle is decadent, but with finesse. Earthiness and layers of dried flowers and cocoa integrate harmoniously into a finely balanced marriage between tannin and acid, providing the structure that ensures, like all impeccable beauties, this wine is sure to age gracefully.

Deep garnet-purple colored, full bodied, complex and concentrated, tightly structure yet elegant, nicely balanced and polished, black raspberry, blackberry and blueberry fruits accented by notes of cassis, dark chocolate, black tea and hints of leather and lavender, with firm, fine-grained tannins, on the long fragrant finish.

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4255911

We finished with a couple dessert wines, a fun comparison of contrasting varietals and styles, from Austria and a French Sauterne. 

Kracher Auslese Cuvee 2009

Alois Kracher Cuvee Auslese is a sweet dessert wine from the Burgenland, Austria region, from their 50-acre estate in the town of Illmitz, Austria, in the eastern lake region along the border of Hungary. 

Alois Kracher studied chemistry and took over the property developed decades earlier by his father, in 1981. Alois became known as Austria’s premier winemaker and the European wine industry’s unofficial ambassador of sweet white wines. He died at age 49 in 2007 from cancer.  

Today the estate is run by Alois’ son Gerhard. 

Kracher produces a range of wines, all dessert style, based on Chardonnay, Welschriesling, Scheurebe, Traminer and Muskat-Ottonel grapes, all made in the sweet “trockenbeerenauslee” (TBA) style. 

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The wines are a product of the unique microclimate near Lake Neusiedl, which encourages ‘noble rot’ (botrytis cinerea) which allows the creation of the ultrasweet grapes used in producing dessert wines. Leaving the grapes to age on the vines, they become infected with Botrytis cinerea, causing them to shrivel on the vine, into raisin like berries resulting in concentrated sugars and acids.

This 2009 release is a ‘Cuvee’ or blend, composed primarily of Chardonnay, 60%, with the Austrian varietal Welschriesling, 40%. The union between Chardonnay and Welschriesling grapes, which are picked as late as possible, later than the other varietals allowing the grapes to ripen completely and take on the noble rot which results in the maximum sweetness in the grapes. 

Tea colored, full bodied, lush, complex concentrated unctuous balanced notes of sweet pear, apricot, hints of honey, and citrus.

RM 89 points

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/1106031

Château Cantegril Barsac Bordeaux 2019

This is a highly-regarded, unclassified sweet dessert wine produced by the Dubourdieu family, owners of the winery since 1924. The Dubourdieu family also owns Chateau Doisy Daene a producer of Classified Sauternes.

Chateau Cantegril has a 22 hectare plot on the chalky plateau of the Haut Barsac. It is located where once a fortified castle of the same name stood back in the Middle Ages.

Barsac dessert wines tend to provide high QPR - quality price ratios, as more modest variations of the neighboring Sauternes, which tend to be slightly sweeter and richer, and far more expensive, due to the very small yield of the late harvested grapes ‘Botrytisized’ grapes. 

It is a blend of primarily Sémillon, 65%, and Sauvignon Blanc, 35%, grapes grown in limestone-rich soils.

Fermentation takes place in barrels having separated each sorted pick of each individual plot. It is aged 12 months in french oak barrels.

Annual Production is 30 000 bottles

Golden colored, full bodied, thick unctuous, rich, sweet nutty caramel fruits, with notes of pear, white flowers, ginger and passionfruit, citrus, honey, and spice with balanced acidity.

RM 89 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wineFamily/1407573

Oracle Software Silver Oak Wine Tasting

Oracle Software features Silver Oak and Twomey Wine Tasting presented by Silver Oak/Towmey Kathleen McLeod

Strategic Alliance partner software vendor Oracle (tangentially and but remotely related to Napa wine label of same name via Robert and Dave Miner association - no association with Oracle label from Killikanoon) featured an imaginative and classy wine tasting as part of a Covid shut-in remote ISV partner briefing. 

The Oracle Live Webinar event was hosted by and featured Dave Profozich, North American ISV SVP, who presented the ISV Executive Cloud Briefing industry and program strategy and update. Oracle kindly sent us two bottles for the event, the latest release Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet 2016 and the Twomey 2018 Napa/Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc. 

After the Oracle update briefing, Dave then turned the session over to Kathleen McLeod, VP Consumer Experience for Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey, who lead a virtual tasting of the current release Silver Oak Cabernet and Twomey Sauvignon Blanc.

Kathleen has thirty years industry experience with fifteen years at Silver Oak.  She lead a tasting exposition of each wine, shared the history and philosophy of Silver Oak/Twomey and then lead a general discussion answering questions and sharing perspectives and experiences with the participants.  

The first bottle featured was the current 2018 release of Twomey Sauvignon Blanc.  I wrote more extensively about Twomey in a recent blogpost.

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/02/twomey-napa-valley-merlot-2002.html

This was an extra special event for me since son Ryan is an Oracle executive, so we attended and shared the experience together. With two of us, it afforded the opportunity to open another bottle of Silver Oak Alexander Valley to do a mini vertical comparison tasting. Ryan opened his 2016 release and I, rather than open my 2016 bottle, pulled from the cellar a 1995 vintage release of the same label. 

 As I wrote when we last opened this vintage release of this label, we hold a dozen and a half vintages of this iconic label and the Napa label, dating back to the birthyear vintages of our kids, '81, '82, '85 and '90, of which we still hold in magnums and some in other large format bottles. 

Notably, we served birthyear vintage Silver Oak Bonny's Vineyard (named after founder proprietor Ray Duncan's wife and co-founder) 1982, and other vintages of the Napa label, at Ryan's wedding from six liter large format and standard size bottles. Bonny's Vineyard was two acres of vines that surrounded the original homestead on the estate.

We also hold six liter bottles of the single vineyard designated bottling Bonny's Vineyard (shown right) for son Alec's birthyear vintage, which we'll serve at his wedding this summer. 

So it is that we know Silver Oak well and often open Silver Oak on special occasions.

Silver Oak Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

Tonight's tasting of this label was consistent with our last opening of this vintage release back in May of last year when I wrote: "Tonight's tasting of  this 1995 Alexander Valley Silver Oak Cab was showing its age as the color had taken on a slight browning on the rim and the fruits were starting to give way to some funkiness and earthy notes.'

"Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, has a garnet hue with some slight browning at the rim, the black fruits were giving way to aromas of cigar box, leather and herb flavors with hints of cherries and dark chocolate and anise."

RM 88 points - consistent with last tasting in May, 2020. 

This release orignally got 94 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 92 points from Wine Spectator.

As shown, the bottle fill level, label, foil and cork were in ideal condition, testament to the ideal provenance conditions of our cellar.

 While still holding up, this is past its prime and starting to diminish from aging and should be consumed in the next year or so, longer only for the more adventurous. 

Note this interesting perspective based on the longevity predicted for this release by pundit Robert Parker. Parker noted, "given proper cellaring, this wine can be enjoyed now through 2019".

Characterizing notes from Robert Parker, "Critics have argued that the wine does not age particularly well, but that has largely been proven a myth for some vintages. Silver Oak generally is not as long lived as Chateau Montelena, Dunn, or other Napa Cabernets with a 30-40 year aging potential, but they can have a broad window of drinkability, known to be delicious at release, and able to sustain their fruit and character for typically 15 or more years."

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2580

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/05/vintage-napa-cab-trio-mark-celebration.html

Silver Oak Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Kathleen then lead the group tasting of this current release label, she explained, Silver Oak focuses on one varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon. Each release is selected from the best lots, blended together from numerous estate and grower supplier sources, and aged for two or more years in American Oak. Typically, more is produced or available for production with the best lots selected and released under the Silver Oak brand, with the remaining portion sold off to the trade for bottling under other labels. 

Silver Oak produce two Cabernet labels, this one from Alexander Valley, and another from Napa Valley, each reflecting the profile and character of the two regions - Alexander trending towards being softer, lighter, more delicate and moderate, while Napa tends to be more bold, fruit forward and bigger with its more concentrated Napa fruits - two styles to appeal to two preferences. In a typical vintage, sixty thousand cases are produced of the Alexander, twice as much as the Napa label. 

We have visited both the Alexander Valley winery up near Healdsburg, and the Napa Valley winery and hospitality center during our many visits to the region.

Ryan brought his bottle of this vintage release that he had opened and decanted several hours before the tasting. 

The 2016 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 94.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.0% Merlot, 0.5% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.4% Malbec, and was aged for 24 months in American oak (50% new) from Silver Oak's own cooperage.

Winemaker's Notes:

Our 2016 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is ruby in color with a magenta rim. It has an enticing nose of cassis, blackberry, vanilla, sage and spearmint. Upon entry, this wine builds from potpourri and bramble to a bright pop of raspberry on the mid-palate. A juicy finish with chewy tannins and a medium length, it will provide drinking pleasure through 2042 with proper cellaring. 

This was rated 93 points by Wilfred Wong

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, bright expressive yet smooth and approachable black berry and black currant fruits with notes of cassis, herbs and hints of mint, graphite mineral and subtle oak on the lingering dusty tannin laced finish. 

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3170524

Towmey Napa Valley Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc 2019 

As I wrote in a recent blogpost, Twomey was founded in 1999 by legendary Ray Twomey Duncan, founder of the well-known known and highly regarded Silver Oak, and sons David, and Tim Duncan. David served as the managing partner and today is Chairman and CEO of both Silver Oak and Twomey having joined Silver Oak in 2002. The name Twomey, (pronounced two-me) is named after their grandmother, Ray's mother, Velma’s maiden name and is also the middle name of several family members.

This Towmey Sauvignon Blanc is sourced exclusively from four estate-owned vineyards, half from Napa Valley and 1/2 Sonoma County Russian River Valley: the Sonoma sources - 35% Merino Estate Vineyard and 15% Twomey Healdsburg Estate Vineyard: the Napa County 50% from Twomey Calistoga Estate Vineyard, 9%, and the remaining 41% from Oakville Estate Vineyard that surrounds the Silver Oak winery there. 

The is is 99% Sauvignon Blanc with 1% Sauvignon Gris.

Light butter straw colored, light body, crisp and lively acidic laced flavors of bright tropical fruit with notes of grapefruit citrus and hints of pineapple with a crisp clean finish. 

RM 90 points.

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Silver Oak Cellars Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 label