On Mar 29, 6:45*am, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> I had dinner at a local steakhouse last night and we opened a bottle
> of 2002 Twomey Merlot. *IIRC, Twomey is a Silver Oak affiliate and I
> was a bit skeptical but the wine was actually pretty good. *The use of
> French oak is a big difference between Twomey and Silver Oak. *The
> wine had a very spicy, peppery nose and was full of cassis notes.
> Medium on the palate, still spicy, plenty of blackberry and a touch of
> briar on the finish. *More of an old school Merlot. *"B+/A-"

Silver Oak should read as all oak on its label. Twomey has let the oak
get away in far too many of its wines much like its playing partner.
This actually sounds better than most of their wines in that regard.