August 22 2007
Maybe there’s a better or more valid U.S. wine success story than Silver Oak, but I’m hard pressed to say who might match or get the best of the folks in Oakville for incredible sustained success AND cachet. Veritable legends in application and reputation—two facets that seldom ever collide in reality.
On the cusp of the opening of their new tasting room and shortly after the release of their ’03 Alexander Valley Cabernet, the Silver Oak Midas touch seemingly continues unabated.
Silver Oak is the equivalent of Peyton Manning having a Super Bowl MVP season every year for the last 15 years to 20 years.
The crux of this post is based on speculation, however. So anybody with fangs readying to make a comment, just simply note that speculation supported by anecdotal evidence, word of mouth and the fact that Silver Oak is available in all 50 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico underpins the notion that they have production of 50K cases or more.
What’s the big deal, you say? The wines are good, but they aren’t sublime, nor are they on the level of a Screaming Eagle or a Harlan Estate’, right? The ratings are decent, but they aren’t breaking 95 anymore and sometimes they hover in the mid to high 80s—great, but nothing spectacular particularly when the Czar of Wine Ratings, Robert Parker, is bestowing 90 points plus to value imports from Chile and elsewhere—wines that can be purchased for $15 or less.
The big deal, of course, is that 50K cases for wines that are completely allocated and have a retail price point of around $65, and have annual, well-attended release parties, are generally well-reviewed by the major consumer mags and have a luxury, cult cachet with stark raving fans is something worth taking note of.
Did I mention that speculation indicates they do 50K + cases a year in sales with all of the wine being allocated? Did I mention that they have star raving fans, even if the wines are serviceably reviewed, but not chartbusters?
That’s damn close to printing money.
I think the psychology of people that follow and stay in the jetstream of Silver Oak releases is a marketer’s dream. It’s Silver Oak, after all … the legend-making is incredible.
I’ve personally enjoyed Silver Oak on just one occasion—an expense account dinner at MIX at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas last spring—I’m thankful for the customer who didn’t care that it was $180 a bottle on the wine list and we had a party of 15 requiring four bottles, to start. Who knows why he selected it, but Silver Oak is annually one of the 10 most popular on-premise wines according to Wine & Spirits magazine. I really enjoyed the wine, even if I didn’t think it was a tremendous food wine.
I’m in Napa this week for business and looking forward to a visit to Silver Oak this weekend. I, fortunately, didn’t have to pick up the tab when I first tasted Silver Oak at the restaurant, but I will pony up the $10 tasting fee this weekend … it is, um, well, Silver Oak after all.
For addt’l reading, see this article from the Fall of ’06 in the San Francisco Chronicle (excerpted below).
The team: Owner Ray Duncan, originally an oil baron from Colorado, started the winery in 1972 in partnership with winemaker Justin Meyer. In 1994, Meyer chose Daniel Baron, then general manager at Dominus Estate in Yountville, to succeed him as winemaker; Baron’s still the man with the purple hands at harvest time. In 2000, Duncan bought out Meyer’s interest for nearly $120 million.
The wines: Silver Oak makes only two wines, Cabernet Sauvignons from Alexander Valley ($60) and Napa Valley ($100). The $10 fee gets you a taste of both. I preferred the elegant 2002 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
The experience: It’s for connoisseurs, or those who want to be. With only two wines to taste, and no distractions, you’re expected to focus on what’s in your glass. All questions and comments are taken seriously. When I told the staffer I preferred the Alexander Valley wine and joked that I had cheap tastes, she gave reasons why the Napa wine costs more, including pricier silk-screened labels and a higher percentage of purchased (as opposed to estate-grown) grapes. When asked if Silver Oak was harvesting yet, the staffer pulled out a refractometer and explained testing for sugar level. The $10 tasting fee seems steep, but you do get a nice souvenir glass, and all the information you can consume.
Bonus points for anybody that can tell me why the 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, released in February of this year, should provide drinking pleasure until 2028 according the winery. But, the 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon released just a couple of weeks ago, the first Saturday of August, should provide drinking pleasure until 2026, so sayeth the winery. Why the discrepancy in the ‘Best by Date?’
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