Big Red Wine Flight for BBQ Rib Dinner

Big Red Wine Flight for BBQ Rib Dinner

Continuing our family reunion and related festivities, Linda prepared BBQ ribs and we opened a couple Big Red Blends suited for the pairing. As is our custom, we have fun with wine labels and we served two signature wines, one, Alec's signature namesake wine, and one of the 'V' wines that we commemorate to Vivanna, this one from Venge Vineyards. Also, as Alec and Viv just acquired their new puppy, this is a tribute as this label honors the late and beloved Venge family pet and vineyard dog, Labrador Retriever, Scout.  We met Scout when we toured the vineyards with patriarch, legendary winemaker Nils Venge back in the mid-nineties. 

Lewis Cellars Alec's Blend 2003 

More on Alec's Blend 2003 from my last tasting and blog post five years ago. 

Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor 2018 

This is a mainstay of our cellar that we keep on hand for such occasions. We have a half dozen vintages of this label in our cellar, drinking and cycling the oldest, replacing it as we go with the latest current release. This is the latest, most current release in which they introduced the new branding of a painted wine bottle as opposed to the more traditional and modest glued paper label. This was our first tasting of this vintage release that just appeared in distribution in Chicagoland in recent weeks and is slated for general distribution this winter. 

This wine is based on a tradition of producing a full bodied, robust, fruit filled red wine based on old-vine Zinfandel and blended with dry-farmed Petite Sirah, old-vine Charbono, and finished with mountain vineyard Syrah. 

The result is an unpretentious, generous mouthful of red wine that we recommend be opened and enjoyed immediately upon release.

The blend for this release is 63% Zinfandel, 16% Charbono, 12% Petite Sirah, and 9% Syrah; aged in 50% new American Oak and the balance in once-used tight grained French Oak for 14 Months.

Grapes were farmed and harvested from four single vineyards in Napa Valley. The Zinfandel was picked from two, old-vine (60 to 100+ years old), dry-farmed vineyard sources: Venge’s newly acquired “Signal Fire Vineyard” estate, and the Frediani Vineyard—both located in the heart of Calistoga. The Charbono is from old, dry-farmed vines (60 to 100+ years old) also planted in the Frediani Vineyard. Robbie Mondavi’s Oso Vineyard located on Howell Mountain supplies the Petite Sirah; the Syrah from  Napa’s finest, from Stagecoach Vineyard, high in the mountains of the Atlas Peak AVA.

The Winemaker notes sum it up perfectly: "The result is an unpretentious, generous mouthful of red wine that we recommend be opened and enjoyed immediately upon release.'

"This vintage has a gorgeous, concentrated assemblage of violets, anise, honeysuckle, blue herbs, and a touch of vanillin. The palate is pure richness with loads black fruits and currants, pepper spice, and an enveloping masculinity of char and tannins from the Syrah, Charbono and Petite Sirah. A seamless balance and mouth coating deliciousness lead to a wine that is quite pleasing to the senses. Cellared correctly it will age for 5 to 8 years."

Everyone loved this wine, especially with the tangy BBQ ribs. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.vengevineyards.com/ 

Finally, in follow up to our Mt Veeder Appellation tasting the other evening, another wine from a producer that we visited and tasted during that Napa Mt Veeder Wine Experience back in 2011.

Godspeed Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 

We discovered and acquired this wine at the vineyard/producer during our Napa Mt Veeder Wine Experience back in 2011. I wrote back in 2015 about this label, "This was drinking very nicely in its twelfth year and may be at its prime, not likely to improve further with more aging. This 2004 was the best showing of this label that I have had to my recollection. This is a small production label from this boutique producer. Ironically, I saw some available just this week at Total Wine in Minnesota.' 

"Dark blackish purple/garnet colored, medium-full bodied, aromatic, black berry and black raspberry fruit flavors, a bit tight and firmly structured with tones of truffle and spice with hints of cedar, tobacco and green pepper, turning to moderate tannins on the long finish."

As this has aged another five years, it has lost some of its finesse and polish. RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1106764

  https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/12/godspeed-mt-veeder-cabernet-sauvignon.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1106764

 

Venge Scout's Honor Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

Venge Scout's Honor Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

With Alec and Vivianna back from NYC for the holiday we dined at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria. We took BYOB two bottles from our cellar.

Venge Scout's Honor Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

This is one of he 'V' wines I have fun collecting and serving when (soon to be daughter-in-law) Vivianna is here.

We've been enjoying Nils (and Kirk) Venge' wines since the early 1990's when Nils was featured by Wine Spectator Magazine in a 1994 article on up and coming wine producers. One of the labels of the Venge portfolio is Scout's Honor named for the family Labrador Retriever from that era. I remember Scout walking the rows in the vineyards with Nils (shown right from our 2002 visit).

Scouts Honor is based on a tradition of producing a full bodied, delicious and enjoyable red wine that can be opened and enjoyed immediately upon release however when cellared correctly it will age for 5 to 8 years.

Scouts Honor starts is a proprietary red blend with a base of old-vine Zinfandel and builds upon that with dry-farmed Petite Sirah, old-vine Charbono, and finish with mountain vineyard Syrah. The blend in the 2013 Scout's Honor is a red blend comprised of 71% Zinfandel, 15% Petite Sirah, 10% Charbono and 4% Syrah.

We have been collecting this label since the earliest releases in the mid-nineties and hold vintages dating back to this one, the oldest in our holdings. We typically keep a half dozen vintages of this label on hand for easy, enjoyable smooth sipping with everything fare, from BBQ to beef to cheese and fruits and chocolates. 

For the 2013 release, grapes were farmed and harvested from four single vineyards in Napa Valley. The Zinfandel was picked from two, old-vine (60 to 100+ years old), vineyard sources: Venge’s newly acquired “Signal Fire Vineyard” estate, and the Frediani Vineyard—both located in the heart of Calistoga. The Charbono is from old, dry-farmed vines (60 to 100+ years old) also planted in the Frediani Vineyard. Long family friends, Joan and Will Nord, have a small vineyard named “Trio C” in Yountville and a little over 10 acres are dedicated to Petite Sirah—we love this site.  And, legendary grower, Jan Krupp, farms some of Napa’s finest Syrah on his Stagecoach Vineyard, high in the mountains of the Atlas Peak AVA to complete the blend. 

The 2013 vintage in Napa Valley was a perfect growing season.

Winemaker's notes for this release: "This vintage has a gorgeous, concentrated assemblage of aromas, with black fruits, crushed blue herbs, violets, cherry, licorice and anise. On the palate is pure richness from the old-vine Zinfandel with loads of black cherry, pepper spice, and an enveloping masculinity of char and tannins from the Syrah, Charbono and Petite Sirah. A seamless balance and mouth coating deliciousness are found throughout the palate, with an extra long finish with a touch of barrel tannin at the end."

The wine was barrel aged for 14 months in 50% new American Oak and the balance in once used tight grain French Oak. 1710 cases were produced.

This was bright garnet colored, medium-full bodied with super sweet berry fruits accented by cherry spice, pepper and notes of licorice and anise. It was a perfect complement to robust spicy pasta dishes.

RM 93 points.

My review tasting notes from this spring for this release: "This was even better than when we tasted it last year with the fruit being more balanced and settled predominating more over the other complex notes - dark inky purple colored, full bodied, bold, chewy, tongue coating, mouth puckering, concentrated, complex yet smooth, polished and balanced, delicious sweet black raspberry, blueberry and black cherry fruits with notes of violets, dark mocha, truffle, anise and spices, with an long finish that almost tastes like candy." 93 points. 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/02/venge-scouts-honor-napa-valley-red-wine.html

This release got 94 points from Wine Advocate.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1825719

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

http://www.angeliscatering.com/

Venge Scouts Honor Vieux Telegraph bbq dinner

Venge Scouts Honor, Vieux Telegraph highlight bbq rib dinner

Venge Scout's Honor Napa Valley Red Wine Zinfandel Blend 2013

We were invited to the kid's house for Friday night dinner with the grandkids. Ryan prepared rubbed smoked ribs and served this classic BBQ wine, Venge Scout's Honor Zinfandel Blend. I write in these pages often that every cellar needs some Zinfandel at hand for such an occasion and this one is as good as it gets. I brought along a vintage aged Vieux Telegraph CDP (Chateauneuf-du-Pape) for comparison.

I wrote about the 2013 vintage Venge Scouts Honor in my initial tasting blogpost last year. This is one of the best vintages ever for this label that is a tribute to their late beloved Labrador Retriever, Scout. We actually had the privilege of 'meeting' Scout when we visiting with founder/patriarch Nils Venge at the Penny Lane vineyards property back in the mid-nineties. My notes for this wine go back to the 1998 vintage.

Decades later, the wine is now made by his son Kirk Venge. In the past few vintages they have improved vineyard quality significantly with more “old - vine” plantings of the fruit source for this blend and it has taken the wine to another level resulting in a spectacular full bodied, delicious, hedonistic red wine. The complex blend takes Zinfandel into another dimension over typical Zins, that while being big fruit bombs, tend to be more single dimensional and less sophisticated.

This is a unique blend with a foundation of old-vine Zinfandel (71%), dry-farmed Petite Sirah (15%), old-vine Charbono (10%), and finishing with mountain vineyard Syrah (4%) that packs a wallop at 15.4% alcohol. Robert Parker notes that this may be the best Scout's Honor Venge Vineyards has  made. 

This was even better than when we tasted it last year with the fruit being more balanced and settled predominating more over the other complex notes - dark inky purple colored, full bodied, bold, jammy, chewy, tongue coating, mouth puckering, concentrated, complex yet smooth, polished and balanced, delicious sweet black raspberry, blueberry and black cherry fruits with notes of violets, dark mocha, truffle, anise and spices, with an long finish that almost tastes like candy. 


RM 93 points; Robert Parker gave it 94.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1825719

www.vengevineyards.com


I brought along this aged 1996 vintage CDP to compare and complement the ribs.


Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau 1996

A visit to this legendary producer was one of the highlights of our trip to Chateauneuf-du-Pape a few years ago.

This was my last bottle of this vintage for this label and its just as well as it is reaching the end of its drinking window.

Already brownish color tones with heavy bricking on the rim with a cloudiness setting in, medium bodied, the rich berry fruits and spice tones have are overtaken by a preponderance of green vegetal notes of green olive and note of barnyard earthy wet grass.

Perhaps this was a slightly tainted bottle as other Cellartracker reviews don't indicate this level of diminution as yet. It was still drinkable and a bit intriguing, not as bad as it sounds, but nearing end of life none-the-less.

RM 84 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=19309

Venge Scout's Honor Napa Red 2014

Venge Vineyards "Scout's Honor" Napa Valley Red Blend 2014

We've been fans of Nil's Venge and his wines since the eighties and now son Kirk has taken over center stage in Venge Vineyard wines. We first met Kirk up at the Rossini Ranch estate during the time that they were actually digging the caves there. This label is a tribute to Scout, their yellow Lab that used to romp through the vineyards accompanying Nils and the workers. I had the chance to meet Scout and witness this during one of visits to the Family vineyards down in central Napa Valley during one of our visits back in the nineties. I recall owning this label from as early as 1995 and have owned several of the rebranded styles of it since. 

I think Nil's was one of the first to take Zinfandel seriously as a core lead varietal in this sophisticated Blend, as if it were a Bordeaux varietal. This version is 71% Zinfandel with 16%  Petite Sirah, 7% Charbono and 6% Syrah. We hold a half dozen vintages of the label and tasted and acquired this year's at the release unveiling tasting at Vin Chicago in Naperville. I write often that every cellar needs a few bottles of Zin for hearty foods and this begs for grilled meats, hearty cheese or my favorite with big sweet Zins, barbecue!

Dark blackish purple colored, full bodied, concentrated, tongue coating thick black raspberry and more subtle blue berry fruits are accented by a layer of sweet mocha with tones of anise and spicy oak with hints of coffee and vanilla bean on a firm tannin finish.

RM 92 points.



https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2304902

http://www.vengevineyards.com/


Coming next ..

Hartford Court "Four Hearts" Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2014

Venge Vineyards "Scout's Honor" Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

Venge Vineyards "Scout's Honor" Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

We first discovered Venge wines when we met patriarch and legend Nils Venge back in the mid 1990's. He was consulting winemaker to several of Napa's emerging and established labels and was also producing several labels under the Venge Family brand, mostly Bordeaux varietals, and this proprietary blend based on Zinfandel. He also produced a Sangiovese, which was also released by Del Dotto for whom he was consulting winemaker at the time. We still hold some Venge Penny Lane Family Reserve Sangiovese 1998-2000 that we acquired at the Oakville Winery. We also still hold one remaining bottle of Scout's Honor red blend, named for the family golden lab from the 1998 release. 

Nils Venge left the family wine and spirits business in the 1960's to study viticulture at UC Davis in the early days of the emerging craft before the 'fine' wine business was established in America. In 1976 he managed to purchase 17-acres of vineyards in the Oakville District that was planted in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Nil's honed his craft as a winemaking pioneer and earned legendary status when he crafted the first California wine to receive a perfect 100 point score from emerging influential reviewer Robert Parker with the 1985 release of Groth Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet. 

With the same care, attention and creativity that Bordeaux and Bordeaux blend Meritage producers apply to Cabernet Sauvignon, Nils applied to Napa Valley Zinfandel in this blend created as a tribute to his faithful k-9 companion, Scout. Scout's Honor is a unique blend of  Zinfandel (71%), Petite Sirah (15%), Charbono (10%), and Syrah (4%). While the blend may vary from year to year, the result is a full bodied, bold expressive fruit forward wine that throttles the Zinfandel bramble fruit with breadth and depth of complementary fruit forward varietals.  

We met with Nil's and son Kirk during our Napa Wine Experience in 2002 when they were developing their Calistoga Rossini Ranch property. They partnered in the family venture as well as in the consulting winemaking business for other Napa producers. Kirk Venge took over the primary winemaking duties and oversite of the family business in 2008, the fourth generation Venge in the wine and spirits industry. Following in the footsteps of his legendary dad, Kirk has emerged as one of the emerging up and coming winemakers in Napa Valley. He has been making wines for several premier wineries including Igneous, Beau Vigne, and B-Cellars.

Venge changed up the vineyards significantly with the 2012 release of Scout's Honor, with more “old-vine” plantings providing the foundation for the blend, accented by Altas Peak mountain Syrah and Calistoga and Yountville fruits. 

The result is full bodied, forward, rich, concentrated bold wine with expressive red and black berry brambly fruits, a firm layer of charcoal/creosote that gives way to tones of sweet mocha chocolate with a dusty floral finish on the smooth balanced gripping tannins. 

RM 92 points.

This is a must wine to keep in the cellar - perfect for bar-b-q ribs!

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1825719

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

Venge Scouts Honor and Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel Blends

Ribs and Zinfandel March Madness Wine Tasting - Venge Scouts Honor and Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel Blends Against HazyBlur Shiraz

What to drink when watching March Madness b-ball? Not a dilemma here - Zinfandel with bar-b-que ribs, of course, a favorite combination. For a gourmand approach, try Zinfandel blends, a more complex wine for a more enriching wine tasting experience. The other wine that fits here is our usual favorite, South Australian Shiraz, so we compared a Hazyblur Kangaroo Island Shiraz 2004, a perfect match to the flight, brought by Bill and Beth for the occasion.

For our bracket busting dinner and tasting we opened two Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor Napa Valley Family Reserve Zinfandels - 1998 and 2001. We matched against the Venge's Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Zinfandel 2009. 

Before dinner, we paired the hearty Zins with a selection of artisan cheeses, (shown left). The cheese selection included Aged cheddar, Assiago, Blue, Manchego, a Carr Valley Winter Solstice Wisconsin Cheddar and a Parmigiana.

The 2001 Venge is another wine we purchased during our Venge Winery visit and lunch tasting with winemaker Nils Venge as part of our Napa Valley Wine Experience 2002.


Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor Napa Valley Family Reserve Zinfandel 1998

This vintage selection was showing its age - from the brownish-orange rust hue rimming the glass to the earthy leather bramble taste that may have taken over for some of the fruit. Never-the-less the medium body was full of black raspberry and black cherry fruits accented by smoke and hints of creosote. This resembles my recollection of the 1996 vintage more than the 2001 as shown below.

85% Zinfandel, 15% Charbono
14.7%alcohol.

RM 87 points, but Bill C preferred this over the 2001!

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=48135

Charbono? It is a grape variety with origins in the Savoie region of France where it is also known as Corbeau, Douce Noire, or Charbonneau. It is the second most commonly grown variety in Argentina, where it is known as Bonarda, which is not the same as the Bonarda Piemontese varietal, and is probably not related to Dolcetto of the Piedmont. Some believe that this variety is actually the Dolcetto Nero grape of Italy, or the minor French variety Charbonneau, because an Italian synonym for Dolcetto is "Dolce Nero" which translates to "sweet black," as does the French name "Douce Noire" for Charbono.


It is produced in small acreage on California’s North Coast, mainly in the Napa Valley. This grape produces very dark, acidic, red wines, with high tannin levels and wild berry aromas. Charbono rarely receives much attention, but some producers continue to grow the grape once produced by the storied Inglenook. Currently, producers such as Turley, Pacific Star, Villa Helena, August Briggs, Robert Foley, OnThEdge and Randall Grahm's Bonny Doon have extended the life of this grape. Venge uses the grape to add structure, backbone, color, complexity and character to its Zinfandel, which while big and bold might otherwise be less interesting. 
 

Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor Napa Valley Family Reserve Zinfandel 2001 

The surprise of the evening, this was a bold sweet fruit bomb. Medium to full bodied, dark ruby red color, bright full aromas and flavors of full rich ripe sweet black raspberry and ripe spicy plum with a hint of bramble, leather and smoke. It was amazingly sweet with bright forward fruit - its hard to imagine this not being at its prime right now. Surprisingly soft, smooth and easy drinking given its high 15%alcohol content. This shows Scout's Honor Zinfandel Blend at its finest, and shows reason to go get more and try other vintage releases! May be too sweet for many folks but that's why it makes a perfect complement to the bar-b-que ribs and the white cheeses.

Zinfandel 79%, Petit Syrah 14%, Charbono 7%

Alcohol 15%

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=27799

Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Dry Creek Sonoma Valley Zinfandel 2009

By far the biggest and most structured of the tasting. Firm and still a bit tight, with forward black fruits, plum, a layer of tar, licorice, smoke and notes of pepper. This needs a couple more years to unwind and open and probably has a long life ahead. We knew that going in but wanted to try it as a benchmark against the vintage selections above and also to determine if we should buy more since its currently available. While Parker loves this wine and gives it a 95 rating, I would favor the Scout's Honor if I were buying more.

The blend is 71% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Sirah and 6% Carignane.
14.5% Alcohol

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1097930

Carignane? It's origin is a Spanish varietal of grape from Cariñena, Aragon. It was later transplanted to Sardinia, where it is still made into varietal wine, Carignano, and elsewhere in Italy, France, Algeria, and much of the New World. Italian immigrants to the US brought the vine to California in the late 1890's. Through the early and mid-20th century, Carignane was one of the most widely planted grape varietal in California. Acreage has diminished from a high of 27000 acres to about 3500 today. The grape is not often used to make varietal wines but a few producers such as Ravenswood, Cline and Mayo Family Winery still make notable varietals from old vines.

Carignane was generally associated with jug wines, it is appropriately used for blending into wines to add body, color, and character however it tends to have a characteristic harshness and astringency that diminishes with age. It is one of the 22 approved Rhône varietals and can be found in the notable Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It is often blended with Cinsaut, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre, Merlot, and/or other grapes, especially in the Languedoc region of France. Ridge uses it as its best suited to add complexity, depth and character to a bold varietal such Zinfandel, which otherwise might be someone one dimensional, albeit big and flavorful.

Hazyblur South Australia Kangaroo Island Shiraz 2004

Typical dark purple color, medium to full bodied with full forward black and blue berry fruits accented by predominate black pepper and a layer of clove spice.

RM 89 points. .

Bill's notes: Garnet in color, fruit on the nose. Delicious, huge mouthfeel, lots of spice with predominant pepper notes. Also some cherry and a touch of clove. This has rounded out and become a bit more complex since my last bottle 2 years ago. A wonderful complement to summery barbecue rib and coleslaw dinner with Rick and Linda. 

WCC 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=246963