The 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley is performing far better after a year of bottle age. This dark ruby/purple-colored, seductive wine offers blazingly intense aromas of cigar box, smoky oak, and jammy black currants with a hint of Provencal herbs. Ripe and full-bodied, with low acidity, and a fleshy, succulent texture, it is a wine to drink over the next 14-15 years.Silver Oak wines are supple, explosively fruity, and deliver copious quantities of glycerin, extract, and richness wrapped in generous quantities of American oak. Critics have argued that the wine does not age particularly well, but that has largely been proven a myth. I doubt it will last as long as Chateau Montelena, Dunn, or other Napa Cabernets with a 30-40 year aging potential, but these wines have a broad window of drinkability, being delicious at release, and able to sustain their fruit and character for 15 or more years.Release date 8/99.Tel. (707) 857-3562; Fax (707) 857-3135