I Remember You, Silver Oak

I love music. It has the happy ability to bring back memories. Like that song Dynamite by Taio Cruz. It was always playing at a local indoor playground, and it reminds me of my kids running in terror from a giant Elmo character. Happy memories! Smell definitely has that ability as well. Don't take my word for it. Just ask rock star astrophysicist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson. He talks about it in his series Cosmos:A Spacetime Odyssey. I was going to insert a clip of him talking about smell and memory but the internet literally made that clip into a fart joke. Ah, the internet.

Why am I on about music and lilacs? Wine has this super power as well. A long time ago, before I discovered the awesome power of a nice California Cabernet, I was in a monogamous wine relationship with Burgundy (if I am being honest, there was a little Bordeaux on the side). I was at a holiday gathering with family and friends and someone had the audacity to open a bottle of California wine. How could they?! The nerve of some people. Even more shocking was that I tried it...and liked it! [Cue shocked gasps from the audience] The deep red color, the feel of the tannins, the smell of earth and leather. It was nice.

It has been a long time since I had a glass of Silver Oak. My Father had a couple of bottles in his cellar, and knowing that I am a fan, he generously gifted 2 of them. I could say that I cracked open a bottle, but it would be more accurate to say that I cracked open the cork. I am not usually such a klutz opening a bottle of wine, but I had a moment of panic when only 3/4 of the cork came out. I noticed the cork was a bit soft. There was nothing alarming about the look or smell of it, so I proceeded. I guess I don't know my own strength! It was one of those moments that I really wished I was more of a wine gadget collector. There is a great tool for exactly this situation, and of course I don't have it. I am not an avid cork collector and don't drink as many older wines as I would wish, so I don't have one of those two pronged cork pullers (photo courtesy of enogeeks.com*). So I did the next best thing, said a prayer to the god of wine corks, put the corkscrew back into the remaining piece of cork, and pulled. Thankfully the wine cork gods were in a good mood, and the rest came out. I am doubtful that you will see that clumsy maneuver from a sommelier!

Corkscrew drama aside, this was a nice bottle. Like Neil DeGrasse Tyson in a field of lilacs (not the fart joke one, the real one), I was flooded with memories of the last time I had Silver Oak. It smelled like family, it smelled drinking wine with my Dad. Cue single tear like in the movies. Seriously though, 1999 Silver Oak from Alexander Valley (CA) was as good as I remembered. It has a great nose of berries (maybe blackberries), leather and wood (bark). It is full bodied with tannins, leather, earth, licorice and subtle fruit. The flavors linger, which is nice. While more dilute on the finish than a great Bordeaux or Burgundy, it was still lingering. This wine still has plenty of cellar life left in it, and will probably continue to age well. I will be hanging onto the second bottle for a while.

For all you California Cabernet lovers, I would definitely recommend this bottle (to drink now, or to hang onto). And who knows, maybe it will trigger cheesy memories for you too!