Friday night was date night.  As always or nearly so, it included a restaurant; we're foodies you know.  We decided on Cypress Grille in Boerne ( a personal favorite).  

I haven't ordered off the menu there in over a year.  The specials are that good.  The last four visits, it's been seafood for me, but this night I was feeling meat of the reddish variety.  Angie even joked, "You know it's going to be seafood."  She left me no choice, but to call ahead and find out.  I got Chef Paul.  "What's the special tonight?"  "Smoked tenderloin" was the answer.  "We've had it going for eight hours," he added.  I think I started to drool a little.  Luckily, it's not a video phone.

So, I immediately started thinking about a wine to go with smoke.  Sure, a big Cab would probably work, but which big Cab. I did a quick Googling, but didn't come up with a name that I thought would be on the Cypress Grille wine list.  We would just have to play it by ear or nose, so to speak.

I've mentioned before that I have an upper limit on the price I will pay for wine at a restaurant.  We exceeded that number just a little as Angie and I came up with a solution pretty much simultaneously, Silver Oak.  I went with the 2005 Alexander Valley.  I know that the flagship wine is the Napa one, but I lean more toward the little sister as it's 100% Cabernet Sauvignon; no blending with other grapes here.

Silver Oak wines are released about four years after harvest. The 2005 Alexander Valley bottle sitting on our table was released in August of last year.  Silver Oak wines usually spend around two years in oak and another year plus in the bottle.  You can cellar them for years, but they are also ready to drink on release.  By the way, the oak is American not French.  American oak flavors are a little more intense, but was a great match for the smoky meat.  

The meal was outstanding!  Along with the tenderloin there was a tasty Amberjack fillet wrapped in zucchini ribbons, all sitting on a bed of scalloped potatoes with some sliced smoky portobellos on the side.  The Silver Oak was a little overpowering with the fish (Angie was correct again, there was some fish in the special), but it was not the star.  The combo was very interesting with enough different flavors and textures that all melded into each other.  

On the way home, we stopped off at the club house (Wine 101) and bragged about the great meal.  And yes, maybe we had just one more glass of wine (a nice Pinot) to cap off a great date night...