Silver Oak Cabernet - Christmas Eve

I cooked Beef Wellington for our Christmas meal and wanted a great wine. I chose our Silver Oak Cab which was yummy. It was very smooth & full-bodied, perfect for our tenderloin cooked in puff pastry. Loved the fruit and velvety tannins

Silver Oak
Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2004

a little bit about Silver Oak...
Silver Oak Cellars was founded with a dedication to produce only one wine, Cabernet Sauvignon. We have been steadfast to this commitment since 1972.

Winemaker's Notes:
The 2004 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a refined and complex wine that combines subtlety and depth. It has a dark ruby color with a deep red edge and displays aromas of fresh blackberries, violets, cola, nutmeg and licorice. In the mouth, the wine has a juicy attack and offers great expression of fruit and spice on the mid-palate. Its fruit-driven finish is long and elegant.

Two Angels Petite Sirah

Last night the kids were all gone, so we enjoyed a quiet dinner by ourselves. I pulled out Two Angels' Petite Sirah and was pleasantly surprised. It is very fruit-forward and smooth to drink. There are wonderful blueberry flavors. At first, I wondered if it was a syrah because there weren't any spicy tones. As the wine opens up, a hint of spice is evident.

Two Angels
2006 High Valley Petite Sirah
The wine exhibits a core of ripe, juicy blueberry fruit and toasty oak backed by rich silky tannins.

The label is pretty cool, designed by Jacob DeBacker in 1591. The theme of the piece is the hilarity of inebriation and the trauma of the morning after. Excessive joy must be countered by equally excessive sorrow, with penitential atonement for pleasure.

Tin Barn Vineyards

Earlier in the year I ordered some wines online. We tried one of them last night...Tin Barn Blend, mostly cabernet. It wasn't as complex as I like, but it grew on me. I think it got better the more it had time to breathe. We had a delicious chicken breast smothered with an artichoke-shrimp cream sauce.

Tin Barn is made of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. There aren't heavy tannins. I enjoyed the cabernet grape of dark berry the most.

Wine Styles in our hometown

On our way home, Steve stopped by Wine Styles. It's a cool store here in College Station, Texas. They divide the wine according to tastes, fruity, rich, bold, and so on. That means a bold merlot may be mixed with a cabernet. The store manager pointed out some wines and gave us some tastes. We settled on a Cabernet Cauvignon.

Maxwell Creek 2004
Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa

Steve & I both liked the various flavors this wine provides, making it a complex red wine. I liked the deepness of each flavor, too. When we had some the following night (tonight), I noticed a woody, piney taste that I hadn't noticed the day before.

Maxwell Creek recommends pairing this Cab with beef & barbeque.

We will definitely enjoy this wine again, especially since we can get it locally.