Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Our 2007 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a profound, fruit-driven wine from a great California vintage. It has a dark ruby color with a purple edge and an inviting nose of ripe black plum, blackberry, baking spices and soy sauce. On the palate, the wine is rich and full, reminiscent of the flavors of a berry cobbler. It has a long, fruity finish with fine grained tannins, and is a testament to exquisite ripeness at moderate alcohol. With proper cellaring, this wine should give drinking pleasure through 2031.

Dave from Maryland says, "A 60' oak tree landed on my new Dodge 3500 during the height of the Hurricane [Irene] last Saturday night. The back rack of my diamond HD cover most likely saved the 3-month old truck from being totaled. As you can see there is cab damage, but once we lifted the tree, we drove the truck out. The tree was impaled 3" into the post on the top of the backrack. We will send more once we have power in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene in Southern MD.

Silver castings from waxes designed in Rhino and milled out on a Roland JWX mill. The odd lump with spikes is a "mossy" support for the ceramic mushrooms. The acorn caps are going to be set with prehnite bullet cabs and the oak leaves will be part of that setting.

The 2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon combines full body and richness with moderate alcohol. It has a garnet color and a nose of cassis liqueur, nutmeg and dark chocolate. On the palate, it has a rich, mouth-coating attack, great expression of fruit, a full-body and beautifully integrated tannins that lead to a long, spicy finish. Given proper cellaring, this wine will give drinking pleasure through 2026. Vintage Description The 2006 winter and spring were marked by heavy rains: March had the most rain days on record. Indeed the early season was quite wet and the rains extended well into April. The weather became dry and warm by late spring and bloom conditions were ideal. The early summer will be remembered for a searing 10-day heat wave in July, but August and September were mild, which coupled with normal yields led to a slow prolonged ripening. We began picking in Alexander Valley on September 12th and concluded harvest on October 17th. Blending and Aging Our 2006 Alexander Valley, a blend of wine from several different vineyards, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. We blended the vineyard lots in early 2007 and transferred the wine to 50% new and 50% once-used American oak barrels for aging. Blending prior to barreling allows us to achieve a balance of the wine's natural elements, such as fruit and tannin, before they are influenced by oak. The wine was then aged in barrel for approximately 25 months and another 15 months in bottle to harmonize its components before release.