Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical, July 16, 2009

Our July tasting of Silver Oak cabernet sauvignon from the Alexander Valley offered several surprises. Many of the group felt that the Alexander Valley cabs were more consistent in style than the Napa cabs we tasted last month. Some tasters also felt the overall quality was equal to or greater than the Napa wines. As with last month, the older vintages showed better than the more recent ones. The 1991 come in first by a substantial margin, followed by the 1985 and the 1995. The complete results are shown below.

Again, a big "thank you" to Larry G. for providing three of these wines and for suggesting the verticals in the first place.

1. 1991 (WS 91, WA 92) (3 of 10 firsts/3 seconds/0 thirds/2 fourths, 23 points)
2. 1985 (WS 90, WA 92) (1/1/3/3, 16 points)
3. 1995 (WS 92, WA 94) (1/2/2/0, 14 points)
4. 2001 (WS 89, WA 90) (2/1/0/0, 11 points)
5. 1993 (WS 86, WA 90) (1/1/1/0, 9 points)
6. 1990 (WS NR, WA 91) (0/1/2/2, 9 points)
7. 1987 (WS 82, WA 89) (1/0/2/0, 8 points)
8. 1996 (WS 80, WA 92) (1/0/0/1, 5 points)
9. 1997 (WS 82, WA 89) (0/1/0/1, 4 points)
10. 1999 (WS 87, WA 89) (0/0/0/1, 1 point)
11. 2000 (WS 86, WA 88) (0/0/0/0, 0 points)