Plenty of rich-bodied California Cabernets are on the market. Why is Silver Oak in particular such a lightning rod among oenophiles?

THERE ARE MANY wines that are much beloved—and a few that are notoriously reviled. Silver Oak Cellars Cabernet happens to be both. It's incredibly popular, especially among patrons of American steakhouses. It's also a running joke among certain oenophiles who regard it as the choice of vinous rubes.

I first experienced this peculiar dichotomy a dozen years ago at the late Veritas restaurant in New York. I'd spent the better part of a week following the Veritas wine team—Tim Kopec, Eric Zillier and Joshua Nadel—around...