Showing posts with label Venge Vineyards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Venge Vineyards. Show all posts

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Venge and Beau Vigne wines with intimate family dinner

Venge and Beau Vigne wines with intimate family dinner - Venge Napa Syrah with Vodka Cream Sauce Pasta

We were invited to son Alec's and Vivianna's house for dinner to watch IU Hoosier Big Ten Basketball. Alec prepared a delicious vodka cream sauce with penne pasta, baked bread and a delightful Cesar Salad. 


Prior to dinner, Alec opened a nice Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay for sipping with some artisan cheese and with the salad course. He served a delectable Saint Andre Triple Cream cheese from Murray's Cheese that was an ideal pairing with the Chardonnay.

 I've written in these pages the irony that Murray's Cheese is now available locally from our Mariano's Grocery Store. We used to shop at Murray's Cheese Shop and dine at Murray's Cheese and Wine Bar on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village in New York with Alec and Viv when they lived in Manhatten. After they moved to Chicago, Murray's was sold to Kroger who had also acquired the Mariano's Grocery chain.

Beau Vigne Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay 2021

Both Alec and we have collected several labels of Napa Valley wines from this producer Beau Vigne. This is the first time I have seen or tasted any of their white wines including this Reserve Chardonnay. 

 Winemaker's notes - "2021 Reserve Chardonnay -this is Napa Valley after all- and while you might expect today’s offering  to resemble the classic weighty, juicy, oaky versions, you are absolutely correct. We feel this 2021 ranks as one of the most pleasant Reserve Chardonnay's we've produced to date."

The Vineyard runs along a northern stretch of Carneros soils that are thin and rocky. As a result, these old vines struggle to produce even the most modest of crops.  

Tasting Notes: Fresh almond, apple turnover with hints of rose and lavender honey. The concentrated mouthfeel is draped in white stone fruits. The wine showcases our commitment to minimal intervention winemaking.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4510075

https://shop.beauvigne.com/product/2021-Reserve-Chardonnay

For pairing with dinner, I took a Venge Vineyards Napa Valley Syrah

I've written often in these pages about the fun we have with the "V" collection of wines from Venge Vineyards with our daughter-in-law Vivianna. 

Venge Vineyards Napa Valley Stagecoach Vineyard Block 1-4 Syrah 2015

This is produced by Kirk Venge, son of legendary Nils’ and Dianna Venge, who was exposed to winemaking at an early age and has proven to be as talented a winemaker as his father.

In 2008, Kirk stepped into Nil's shoes and acquired full ownership of Venge Vineyards in 2008. To this day, Kirk continues the Napa Valley heritage, focusing on select vineyard sites that produce fruit worthy of bearing the Venge family name. 

We visited Nil's at the Penny Lane Venge Family Vineyard and Winery down in central Napa Valley, and then went up and met Kirk at his new estate near Calistoga back in 2002 as chronicled in this blogpost - Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils and Kirk Venge.

Since then, we've acquired many Venge labels from his various brands that extend beyond the Venge name.

This is from the legendary Stagecoach Vineyard, which according to the producer, "Stagecoach is one of the Napa Valley’s largest and leading mountain vineyards located near the Atlas Peak AVA at an elevation of around 1,700 feet above sea level. The soil is very rocky and topography very steep. Temperatures are warm in the midday and cold at night. This diurnal effect makes for a balance of vibrant acidity and fruit structure that is concentrated and focuessed. “Block I-4” is referenced in this bottling because of its very high elevation relative to the rest of the Stagecoach Vineyard."  

"Stagecoach Vineyard continues to produce Syrah of unparalleled quality. The Syrahs from that mountain vineyard really shine from the steep, rocky terroir of the location."

The 2017 vintage possesses a bold, deep, dark color that opens the door to an array of black fruit aromatics. Cassis, blackberry, warm toasted bread and French Oak vanillin all fill the glass with purpose. While still young and in development, the palate shows superior promise with minerals, tongue swirling acidity, cherry and black plum.  The tannins are firm and support the back palate for several moments beyond the initial taste. If cellared correctly, this wine will continue to improve through 2029.

The wine was managed under the Venge barrel program of 100% French oak with 60% entirely new Francois Frères from the tight grained Voges forest in both medium and heavy toast. Bottled unfiltered.

This was the latest tasting of another vintage of a mini-vertical collection of this limited release label I picked up at auction, and it was by far the best so far. 

This was awarded 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and 92 points by Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator.

This is the style and profile of wine we most enjoy - Linda's absolute favorite, big, thick, chewy full throttle full fruit Syrah.

Dark inky purple garnet colored, full bodied, powerful concentrated chewy unctuous textured black and blue fruits with a layer of vanilla and spice with notes of what Robert Parker's Wine Advocate calls "Chinese five spice, hoisin and cardamom over a core of plum preserves, violets and blackberry pie with a waft of earth", with firm, big but polished fine-grained tannins on a tongue coated long finish.

RM 94 Points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3223878

https://www.vengevineyards.com/

 

Sunday, July 17, 2022

Venge Vineyards Napa Valley Brown Ranch Carneros Chardonnay 2019

Venge Vineyards Napa Valley Brown Ranch Carneros Chardonnay 2019 

This is one of our favorite chardonnays in our cellar right now, produced by Kirk Venge, son of Napa historic and legendary winemaker, Nils Venge. We met Kirk during a visit to Venge Vineyards back in 2005. He has since taken over the family business and developed his own portfolio and brands sourced from several properties across Napa and Sonoma Counties. 

I wrote in more detail about Kirk in a post "Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge" back in 2021.

I also wrote about how the Venge (as well as Viader) label (s) has become a fun signature label for the family, commemorating daughter-in-law Vivianna, and fun with the V (Viader) labels, in earlier posts.

This single vineyard designated label is from the 30 acre Brown Ranch (formerly associated with Saintsbury Winery and formerly a cattle grazing ranch taking its name from the former owner, Nadine Brown). The vineyard is bordered by two well known storied vineyards, HdV’s Hyde Vineyard and Beaulieu’s Vineyard No.9 on Old Sonoma Road. 

Sitting down in the Los Carneros region at the bottom of Napa Valley where it converges with the bottom of Sonoma Valley, near the confluence of San Pablo Bay. The cool and often foggy climate effects of the Bay allows for a slow growing season and optimal ripening. This climate aids in the balancing of acidity and lifting tropical aromas in the fruit and the resulting finished wine.

The property was purchased in 2012 by the Renterias when many of the twenty nine acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines were afflicted with a fungi disease, Eutypa (otherwise known as the Dead-arm Dieback) causing trunks or arms of the vines to essentially rot and die. Rather than pulling all of these vines out, their vineyard management team decided to keep the rootstock, cut off the trunk just above the soil and allow a bud from the varietal to grow, training it into a new trunk and then trellising it when it became of size. The Brown Ranch’s hillside alluvial soils, with Dijon Clone 76 set atop pre-existing rootstock, make a Chardonnay that is worthy of producing under the Venge name.

Notably, we've been long time fans of a Australian McLaren Vale Valley Shiraz from leading producer d'Arenberg called "Dead Arm", produced from fruit from vines that were similarly afflicted decades ago. The resulting vines with but one arm, (lacking their dead arm), produce rich and concentrated fruit for big bold rich wines. We've collected the Dead Arm label Shiraz dating back to the mid-nineties and still hold nearly a decade of vintages.

Similarly, this Brown's Ranch chardonnay produced from uniquely afflicted vines is rich, full, round and forward yet stylish and balanced.

Winemakers notes: "A light, pale straw presence in the glass with a bouquet of fresh orange citrus, toasted pine nuts, mild allspice, rocky flints, and toasted oak. Crisp, savory pineapple, sweet delicious apple, savory stone fruit, and ripe pear lead into mouthwatering deliciousness."
 
The Dijon Clones are modern strains of Chardonnay carefully isolated from grapevine nursery blocks in France. These strains are selected for their incredible ability to produce the best of what the varietal has to offer and therefore have become quite popular with cool climate growers today.  The vines were carefully hand harvested and delivered cool to the winery.

The wine is produced according to a Burgundian practice of winemaking wherein the grapes are traditionally whole cluster pressed and allowed to cold settle prior to filling once used French Oak barrels. Venge says their 'light handed usage of new French Oak, keeping it to an average of 45% of their Chardonnay, with gentle stirring of the lees in the early stages of ageing, further develops refined richness and length of body, while keeping the wine clean and fresh'. The wine is aged for 15 months. 65% native malolactic fermentation to build complexity and body, without compromising the structural integrity of the wine.

Bottled unfiltered, 395 cases were produced.

Golden straw colored, medium full bodied, rich, round flavorful apple and pear fruits with layers of notes of caramel crème brûlée, mineral and citrus with spicy oak on the finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3884491

https://www.vengevineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/VengeVineyards

@VengeVineyards 


Friday, February 18, 2022

Gala Family Celebration Dinner at Angelis Italian

 Gala Family Celebration Dinner at Angelis Italian - Naperville

The family successfully pulled off a surprise birthday party for wife/mom/grandmother Linda for her deca-milestone year. We gathered in the private dining room at Angeli's Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria (Naperville, IL). We ordered a broad array of appetizers, our favorite dinner entrees from the menu and daily specials, followed by celebratory birthday cake, accompanied by our special BYOB wines. 


All our kids and their kids were able to attend, including a surprise pop-in visit from Alec and Vivianna, only hours after release from the hospital, with less than 48 hour old, just arrived, daughter, grand-daughter, Marylin - named after her grandmothers Mary-Lisa and Linda. This was everyone's first encounter meeting her and the first time hearing her name as this was announced as part of her introduction at the gathering. All this further amplified the excitement and special circumstances of the occasion.

To accompany the dinner I brought BYOB, from our wine cellar a magnum of champagne and two reds - Del Dotto Napa Cabernet and a Venge Vineyards Sangiovese. 

Piper Heidseick Brut Champagne (Magnum) 

There's nothing like Champagne served from a large format magnum bottle - especially for special occasions. This bottle is even more festive with its red holiday packaging.  We acquired several cases of these commemorative bottles upon release last year and have had fun serving them at weddings, holidays and special family occasions such as tonight. 

 

Venge Vineyards Sangiovese Family Reserve Penny Lane Vineyard 2010

I pulled this bottle for its traditional Italian Sangiovese varietal composition to accompany our Italian cuisine dinner.  This is from Venge Vineyards, one of the earliest growers and producers of this varietal based wine from Napa Valley sources. Nils Venge has long been a pioneer and thought-leader in Napa Valley.

The Venge (ven-ghee) family has farmed vitis vinifera varieties in Napa Valley for nearly half a century dating back to Knud Venge who emigrated from Denmark to the US in the early 1900’s. Knud's son, Per Venge, was passionate about wine and spirits and imported Western European fine wines and spirits. Per's son, Nils Venge started in the family business in the 1960's before leaving to study viticulture at UC Davis and then went on become an icon in the Northern California winegrowing community.

Venge family viticultural took root in Napa Valley in 1976 with the purchase of a 17-acre vineyard in the Oakville District that was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. 
 
We've met Nils and Dianna Venge on numerous occasions at Napa events and visiting the Venge Vineyards in Oakville during the nineties. We first met their son, Kirk Venge, who engaged in winemaking from an early age while they were developing the Rossini Ranch Vineyards, Winery and caves up in Calistoga.  
 

Nils' and Dianna Venge's son, Kirk Venge, engaged in winemaking at an early age and has emerged as a talented winemaker like his father.

I've written often in these pages how we have fun with this label with the prominent "V" in the branding, for special dinners with daughter-in-law Vivianna, such as tonight. 

This is 90% Sangiovese and 10% Charbono from the Venge estate Penny Lane vineyard in Oakville. 
 
Dark inky colored, full bodied, rich concentrated extracted fruit, aromatic,almost intense black cherry and black raspberry with notes of tobacco leaf, tea and hints of tar on a smooth silky tannin laced finish. This was and ideal accompaniment to our zesty Italian pasta!

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/12/venge-napa-valley-oakville-penny-lane.html

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1351252 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1351287

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/VengeVineyards

@VengeVineyards 

Del Dotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (Magnum)

We've been collecting Del Dotto Family Wine for over twenty-five years, since their inaugural release of this Napa Cabernet in 1993. The Del Dotto brand, holdings, portfolio and presence have grown substantially over those years, yet they still maintain their focus on small production, premium wines. 

Over that time Dave Del Dotto has acquired vineyards in some of the best American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) including Rutherford, Oakville, St. Helena, Howell Mountain, and Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast. The portfolio and brand has grown proportionally as well. 

Today Del Dotto produce wines based on cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, sangiovese and sauvignon blanc from their Napa Valley vineyards, as well as pinot noir, chardonnay and limited amounts of syrah, sauvignon blanc, sparkling grenache and mourvedre from their Cinghiale (wild boar) Vineyard in the King Ridge region of the Sonoma Coast.

We still hold nearly two decades of Del Dotto wines dating back to that 1993 inaugural vintage release. 

Over the years we've held Del Dotto wine dinners with Dave and Yolanda such as our Napa Wine Experience back in 1999, and attended numerous Del Dotto hosted special events. More recently, our Pour Boys wine group did the Del Dotto Napa Valley Cave Tour and Barrel Tasting at the magnificent St Helena estate winery and caves. And, our Del Dotto Piazza DELICACIES Food and Wine Experience at the then new Piazza Del Dotto estate and winery (and now caves) was one of the memorable highlights of our Napa Wine Experience in 2018. 

Our collection of Del Dotto family wines remains one of the largest holdings in our cellar with both vertical and horizontal collections of favorite labels. Hence it was only fitting for a special occasion family dinner that I took a Del Dotto estate label, in magnum - especially since it was held at our local Italian trattoria. 

Our   -https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/08/del-dotto-napa-valley-cave-tour-barrel_12.html

Its hard to believe that with published tasting notes of no less than sixty-five different labels and vintage releases - and countless iterations thereof, I have not tasted, or published a tasting note or blogpost of this particular label vintage release. 

At twenty years, the fill level, label, foil and cork were all essentially perfect - indications of the aging environment in our cellar as we acquired this bottle upon release. This is probably at the peak of its drinking character and profile and not likely to improve with any further aging, but showed no sign of diminution whatsoever.

This vintage release was awarded 92-94 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright vibrant ripe concentrated blackberry and black currant fruits with notes of earthy leather, tobacco, hints of spice and cassis with moderate tangy acidity and tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 92 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1158239

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=84270

https://www.deldottovineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/DelDottoWine

@DelDottoWine

Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Cuvée Brut Limited Edition Red Magnum Bottles NV

The Winemaker Notes for this release: "The Brut NV represents the epitome of the Piper-Heidsieck
style: a classic, well-structured, and fruit forward champagne.

Piper-Heidsieck carefully selects fruit from more than 100 of Champagne’s crus to blend the Brut NV. This adds great complexity and dimension to the wine and allows the bold Piper-Heidsieck style to shine through.

A majority blend of Pinot Noir provides structure to the composition while Pinot Meunier expands the wine with its brilliant fruit expression and fleshiness and Chardonnay bring elegant tones and acidity. The precious reserve wines create a consistent flavor profile year after year.'


"This Champagne teases and allures us with its festive, light-drenched, pale gold shimmer and joyful display of neat, lively bubbles. Notes of almond and fresh hazelnut accompany the precise ascent of its bubbles. It is lively, subtle and light, leaving a deliciously incisive sensation of smoothness, marked by the pureness of fresh pear and apple and a delicate hint of citrus fruits. A harmonious mixture of bright, crunchy pomelo, blonde grapes and juicy white fruits creates the delightfully surprising sensation of lightness embraced by the structure and depth from the Pinot Noir; all beautifully balanced."

This release achieved Critical Acclaim having been awarded WS 92 points by Wine Spectator, 91 points by Jeb Dunnuck and 90 points each by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast.

White-golden straw colored, balanced, fruity, fresh and elegant, medium-bodied, stimulatingly fresh and well-structured blend with gorgeous fruit and a clean, persistent finish, a mineral edge and final fruitiness, beautifully textured with a solid mid-palate, good density, and a clean, crisp finish.

RM 90 points

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2651727

Friday, December 24, 2021

Venge Brown Ranch Chardonnay

Venge Brown Ranch Chardonnay - Christmas Eve Dinner Perfect Wine Food Pairing with Lobster Medallions bisque

For Christmas eve dinner, Linda prepared a delicious lobster bisque soup with medallions of lobster. I pulled from the cellar this Venge Napa Carneros Chardonnay for an accompaniment. We were joined by Alec and Vivianna for an intimate dinner.

The name Venge has been synonymous with Napa Valley wines for as long as I have been of drinking age since the '70's, but the Venge family wine affiliation actually goes back much earlier, to when Knud Venge emigrated from Denmark to the United States in the early 1900’s. Knud's son, Per Venge, entered in the wine and spirits business and started Vencom Imports, focusing on importing Western European wines and spirits. Per's son, Nils Venge, started in, then left the family business in the 1960's to study viticulture at UC Davis and set the family name in the California winegrowing community.

The Venge family planted viticultural roots in 1976 with the purchase of a 17-acre estate in the Oakville District that was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, establishing them among the winemaking pioneers of Napa Valley.

Buddy, AJ with Nils and Kirk Venge
We met Nils and Dianna Venge on numerous occasions at Napa events and visiting the Venge Vineyards in Oakville during the nineties. We first met their son, Kirk Venge, who engaged in winemaking from an early age while they were developing the Rossini Ranch Vineyards, Winery and caves up in Calistoga. We visited Nils at the Penny Lane Family Reserve Vineyard in Oakville, then drove up to meet Kirk at the Rossini Ranch site in the eastern foothills of Palisade Mountain near Calistoga back in 2002. 

Kirk took over Venge Vineyards in 2008 and has established himself as a talented winemaker making wines in his own style. Kirk has continued the Napa Valley heritage crafting wines from select vineyard sites across Napa and Sonoma Counties worthy of bearing the Venge family name.

We've been collecting Venge wines since their earliest days. We now have fun collecting them with their notable "V" branding to enjoy with our daughter-in-law, Vivianna, as her 'signature' wines. 

Venge Vineyards Brown Ranch Vineyard Los Carneros Napa Valley Chardonnay 2018 

This is a single vineyard designated label sourced from the 30 acre Brown Ranch Vineyard in Carneros, named for the previous cattle rancher owner Nadine Brown. The vineyard is bordered by HdV’s Hyde Vineyard and Beaulieu’s Vineyard No.9 on Old Sonoma Road in the Carneros district, straddling the rolling hills in the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the nearby San Pablo Bay, combined with the abundant midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing elegant wines that combine power and finesse, with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.

The property, formerly associated with Saintsbury Winery, was purchased in 2012 by the Renterias.

The property was planted with twenty nine acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay but most of
the vines were afflicted with Eutypa, a fungi disease also known as the Dead-arm Dieback, which causes trunks or arms of the vines to essentially rot and die. Like the famous Dead-Arm Shiraz label from McLaren Vale, Australia, rather than pulling the vines out, the vineyard managers kept the rootstock, cut off the trunk just above the soil and nurtured a bud to grow into a new trunk. Like the Dead-Arm label, focusing all the mature rootstock energy into one vine branch resulted in rich, full, concentrated fruits. 

The Brown Ranch’s hillside alluvial soils, with Dijon Clone 76 set into the pre-existing rootstock, produces this rich full round Chardonnay, worthy of the iconic Venge name.

Winemaker's notes: The Dijon Clones are modern strains of Chardonnay carefully isolated from grapevine nursery blocks in France. These strains are selected for their incredible ability to produce the best of what the varietal has to offer and therefore have become quite popular with cool climate growers today. The cool and often foggy climate of the Brown Ranch Vineyard, located in central Carneros, Napa, allows for a slow growing season and optimal ripening. This climate aids in the balancing of acidity and lifting tropical aromas in the fruit and thus, in the finished wine. The vines were carefully hand harvested and delivered cool to the winery.
 
Winemaker's Notes: "This wine is stylish and freshly balanced, featuring a light, pale straw presence in the glass with a bouquet of fresh orange citrus, toasted pine nuts, mild allspice, rocky flints, and toasted oak. Crisp, savory pineapple, sweet delicious apple, savory stone fruit, and ripe pear lead into mouthwatering deliciousness.

The grapes are blended into used French Oak barrels according to a Burgundian style of winemaking, light handed on the usage of new French Oak keeping it to an average of 45%.

495 Cases were Produced

This release was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast and Jeb Dunnuck and 92 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Golden lemon colored, medium to full-bodied, full, round, concentrated, complex opulent fruits with a layer almost bordering on butterscotch, accented by notes of baking spice, hints of lemon, grapefruit, ginger and a touch of peach and almond nut cream, with bright acidity, depth and balance on a full long finish. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3517412

https://www.vengevineyards.com/

@VengeVineyards 



Saturday, June 19, 2021

Venge Vineyards Brown Ranch Vineyard and St Michelle Columbia Valley Chardonnay

Venge Vineyards Brown Ranch Vineyard and Chateau St Michelle Columbia Valley Chardonnay

As part of a gala family reunion dinner, the ladies opted for white wine rather than the flight of Napa Valley Reds that we served with the beef tenderloin dinner. I pulled from the cell this Venge Brown Ranch Vineyard Napa Chardonnay. From Venge Vineyards, with its conspicuous "V" logo and branding, we have fun with this label serving it with our daughter-in-law Vivianna. 

 We also served a Chateau St Michelle Washington State Chardonnay. This is another brand and label we have fun serving with our two daughter-in-laws, Michelle. 

Venge Vineyards Brown Ranch Vineyard Los Carneros Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017

Readers of these pages know we've been fans of Venge wines for decades and have featured them many times including highlights of visits to the Venge Family estate in Rutherford during our Napa Wine Experience 2002, and visit to the Venge Vineyards, Rossini Ranch up near Calistoga. 

Of course, legendary winemaker Nils Venge is known for Napa Cabernet. As son Kirk has taken over the reigns of Venge Vineyards, the portfolio has expanded and now includes several Chardonnays from Sonoma County as well as this one from Los Carneros. This Venge offering is from the Brown Ranch Vineyard in the Napa Los Carneros AVA District off of Old Sonoma Road, down at the bottom of Napa Valley where the foothills of the Mayacamas Range reach down to the flatlands just above San Pablo Bay. The area is ideally suited for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with the cool breezes wafting in from the bay.

We acquired several bottles of this label a while back and I liked it a lot, such that when we went back and bought more, we also acquired the follow on 2018 vintage release.  I wrote about this wine in an earlier blogpost at that time back in April 2019. 

This was golden straw colored, medium full bodied with big round mouthfeel, bright notes of green apple, tones of pear and citrus with subtle highlights of rich creamy caramel and light butterscotch, honeysuckle and floral, round acidity on the tangy finish.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3211986

 Chateau St Michelle Washington State Columbia Valley Chardonnay 2018

We also opened this Chateau St Michelle Chardonnay. Chateau St Michelle are one of the largest producers of white wine (Riesling) in the world. They are Washington State's oldest winery dating back to 1912, and have  been fundamental in the development of wine production in the State and the Columbia Valley. 

We visited their spectacular Chateau with its unique craftsman-style architecture and the 105 wooded acre estate complete with amphitheatre for summer concerts during our Seattle Wine and Dine - Washington State Wines Tasting in Woodinville, Woodinville Wine Experience in 2018. 

Chateau St Michelle has an extensive, broad portfolio of wines from their Columbia Valley regional wines to appellation specific, single vineyard designated specific, premium, ultra premium and a broad selection of specialty bottlings. Celebrating more than 50 years of winemaking. Since then, we have combined Old World winemaking 

Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the few premium wineries in the world with two state-of-the-art wineries, one for red and one for white. The whites are made at the Chateau in Woodinville, WA, while the reds are made at the Canoe Ridge Estate winery in Eastern Washington.

This Chardonnay is from their Columbia Valley Collection of entry level mass produced brand of varietal wines sourced from the Columbia Valley where Chateau Ste. Michelle owns 3,500 acres in the Columbia Valley American Viticulture Area (AVA). The distinctive wine region is separated from Seattle's rainy, marine climate by the Cascade Mountains that collect the rain. The resulting terroir of the arid dry valley basin in the center of the state has limited annual rainfall of but 6-8 inches. Summer daytime temperatures hover in the mid-80's under sunny skies; cool nighttime temperatures in the fall protect the grapes' natural acidity and provide perfect conditions for ripening. The resulting grapes can be managed by vineyard managers through irrigation to develop intense aromas and flavors and distinctive character Washington state wines. 

At a fraction of the price of the Venge Chardonnay above, this provides a high QPR, quality price ratio such that we keep this on hand for everyday easy drinking and casual sipping. 

Linda likes this wine a lot and often prefers it to the more complex, fuller bodied, heavier Venge character and tasting profile. 

I first wrote about this release back last winter when I wrote about its "Good QPR in this easy drinking casual sipper." I gave it 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3528771

https://www.ste-michelle.com/

@SteMichelle

 

Beautiful! Aromas of pear, golden apple and pineapple along with a hint of honey and oaky spice. Full bodied and smooth on the palate with vibrant ripe fruit, and more warm oak and spice notes. Enjoy with scallops or other rich seafood dishes.


From the Columbia Valley, Washington wine region, Chateau Ste. Michelle 2018 Chardonnay is fantastic value under $20. Both the Chateau Ste Michelle itself, and vineyards, date back to 1912 Wine grapes for this 100% Chard were sourced from select sites throughout the Valley, with 6 months sur-lie ageing in a mix a of both French & American oak barrels. Buttery on the nose with fresh pear, vanilla and toasty toffee aromas, full-bodied and smooth on the palate with ripe orchard and tropical fruit with buttery caramel on the finish. Enjoy with a roasted chicken. - Community Wine Reviews

 

Monday, March 29, 2021

Venge Vineyard "Scout's Honor" Napa Red 2015

Venge Vineyard "Scout's Honor" Napa Valley Red Blend 2015

Son Alec and daughter-in-law Viviana arrived from Florida as part of their circuitous relocation from New York City to Chicago. As part of our welcome to them we opened this bold expressive casual sipper, one of our "V" wines, those featuring the letter 'V' on their labels or in their branding, as a tribute to Viviana, that we have fun with in our collecting and serving. 

As I have written often in these pages, 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. I remember Scout walking the rows in the vineyards with Nils during a visit to the Rutherford Penny Lane estate back in the nineties (shown right from our 2002 visit).

This wine was initially meant to be a fun sipper for the Venge tasting room, yet it became — and remains — one of the most popular wines of the Venge portfolio which has now grown to nineteen labels. 

 Scout's 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.

Scout's Honor starts as a unique proprietary red blend anchored by 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 for 2015 70% Zinfandel, 14% Charbono, 9% Petite Sirah and 7% Syrah.

We have been collecting this label since the earliest releases in the mid-nineties and hold a half dozen vintages. We typically keep a half dozen vintages of this label on hand for easy, enjoyable smooth sipping with everyday fare, great with BBQ, burgers, pizza to hearty cheese, beef, fruits and chocolates.
I was surprised when I went to write up this tasting note that this was my first recorded tasting of this vintage.

Nil's has stepped down into retirement and winemaker and production duties are now with son Kirk who has raised the bar taking this label to new heights in recent years, earning 93 or 94 points from Wine Advocate for vintages 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

 Wine buddy Andy and I visited Kirk and Nils up at the Calistoga estate and the Signal Fire Vineyard back in 2002 (shown right).  

From a branding perspective, this may be the last year you see this packaging with a paper label as the 2018 release went to a more upscale painted on glass bottle label marking, moving to a more premium positioning for this label. It remains to be seen what happens to the price point. It is already priced at the high end of the Zinfandel range, but well worth it with its sophistication and complexity and quality of the blend. 

2015 Venge "Scout's Honor" Napa Valley Red Blend

This release got
94 points from Jeb Dunnuck and 93 points from
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

 Winery notes: "The base starts with old-vine Zinfandel from Venge's Signal Fire Vineyard in Calistoga (where some of those vines have been producing for over 100 years!) and build upon that with dry-farmed Petite Sirah, old-vine Charbono, and finish with mountain-vineyard Syrah from the Stagecoach Vineyard. The result is an unpretentious red wine that will satisfy time and time again. This vintage has a gorgeous, concentrated assemblage of aromas of stone fruits, crushed blue herbs, violets, cherry, anise, and a touch of honeysuckle. On the palate is pure richness from the old-vine Zinfandel with loads of super-ripe blackberry, 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."

Deep garnet-purple colored, full bodied, rich, bold expressive dense, forward, especially ripe black berry and black currant fruits, this is another fruit bomb that is almost a bit over the top with its super ripe fruits' opulence, almost bordering on raisin notes with a bit of burnt coffee and tobacco notes turning to anise and dark bitter mocha with hints of cedar and pepper on the long moderate tannin laced finish. 

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2390574

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

@VengeVineyards 

 

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge

Visit to Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery, Penny Lane Vineyard and Rossini Ranch with Nils and Kirk Venge

A Unwindwine memorable retrospective. Back in 2002, wine buddy AJ and I visited Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery down at the northern edge of the Oakville appellation south of St Helena and met with legendary winemaker Nils Venge

Nils in Penny Lane Vineyard

After meeting and touring the winery and Penny Lane Vineyard there in Oakville, we took wine maker Nils Venge to lunch at Tra Vigne, our favorite Napa Valley dining site of that era. Dining in the adjacent outside garden with the fountain and the oversize monstrous granite dining table was a highlight of many visits to Napa Valley. 

Upon arrival at Tra Vigne, as if we needed another legend sighting/meeting, we ran into Margaret Mondavi.

Nils Venge and Margaret Mondavi

 At lunch with Nils at Tra Vigna, we dined on the terrace with the garden in the background amidst the blissful sound of the fountain. 
Tasting Venge Reserve wines with Nils Venge

 Over lunch, we tasted Venge Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 and the Venge Penny Lane Vineyard Family Reserve Sangiovese 2000. Nils was the first winemaker grower producer in Napa Valley to plant Sangiovese varietals and craft Sangiovese wines. 

After lunch, we drove up to the new Venge venture, Rossini Ranch, in Calistoga. There we met Kirk Venge who was stepping into and following the footsteps of father Nils. 


At the time they were deep into the development of the Rossini Ranch property digging the caves at the site. 

Nils, Kirk, & AJ in front of new cave
being dug at Rossini Ranch
 
Kirk was born in 1976 and raised in Rutherford, Napa Valley into a wine family and lifestyle. He earned his degree in Viticulture and Eonology at the prestigious University of California, Davis, graduating in 1998, and quickly set his sights on buying the Venge winery from his family. From this foothold he set out across the Mayacamas divide and set roots in Sonoma. 
 
Today, Kirk has acquired the namesake brand and business of Venge Vineyards upon Nil's retirement. He has succeeded in establishing himself as a leading winemaker, grower producer in Napa and has expanded his reach into Sonoma. His wines have earned high praise and he has vastly expanded the Venge portfolio and consults with many top brands in Napa as well as Sonoma County.  
 
In addition to his namesake vineyard and winery, Venge Vineyards, Kirk also founded Croix Estate in Sonoma County. In the spring of 2009, Kirk introduced the name "Croix" and a rough idea for property and an eventual winery in Sonoma. He released the inaugural vintage of Croix Estate in 2012 and opening of a new winery in 2018. From the Russian River site, Kirk focuses on estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but also produces a Zinfandel from the nine acre vineyard that dates back to 1904, and a GSM comprised of the Rhone varietals Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre.  

 
Kirk also serves as consulting winemaker for several other producers including BCellars, Renteria, Promise Wines, Hunnicut, Trespass Vineyards, 11:11 Winery, Jax, and Macaulley Vineyards.

Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge

Visit to Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery, Penny Lane Vineyard and Rossini Ranch 

A Unwindwine memorable retrospective. Back in 2002, wine buddy AJ and I visited Venge Vineyards Saddleback Winery down at the northern edge of the Oakville appellation south of St Helena and met with legendary winemaker Nils Venge

Nils in Penny Lane Vineyard

After meeting and touring the winery and Penny Lane Vineyard there in Oakville, we took wine maker Nils Venge to lunch at Tra Vigne, our favorite Napa Valley dining site of that era. Dining in the adjacent outside garden with the fountain and the oversize monstrous granite dining table was a highlight of many visits to Napa Valley. 

Upon arrival at Tra Vigne, as if we needed another legend sighting/meeting, we ran into Margaret Mondavi.

Nils Venge and Margaret Mondavi

 At lunch with Nils at Tra Vigna, we dined on the terrace with the garden in the background amidst the blissful sound of the fountain. 

Tasting Venge Reserve wines with Nils Venge
 
Over lunch, we tasted Venge Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 and the Venge Penny Lane Vineyard Family Reserve Sangiovese 2000. Nils was the first winemaker grower producer in Napa Valley to plant Sangiovese varietals and craft Sangiovese wines.

After lunch, we drove up to the new Venge venture, Rossini Ranch, in Calistoga. There we met Kirk Venge who was stepping into and following the footsteps of father Nils. At the time they were deep into the development of the Rossini Ranch property and were in the midst of digging the caves at the site.

Today, Kirk has taken over managing the operations upon Nil's retirement. He has succeeded in establishing himself as a leading winemaker, grower producer in Napa. His wines have earned high praise and he has vastly expanded the Venge portfolio and consults with many top brands in Napa as well as Sonoma County.


At the time they were deep into the development of the Rossini Ranch property digging the caves at the site. 

Nils, Kirk, & AJ in front of new cave
being dug at Rossini Ranch







L to R above - Nils in Penny Lane Vineyard, Nils and Kirk Venge at new Rossini Ranch Vineyard; Nils, Kirk, & AJ in front of new cave being dug at Rossini Ranch; Nils in winery, and with AJ at Penny Lane, Nils and Margaret Mondavi at Tra Vigne.

Friday, February 19, 2021

Venge Scouts Honor Trio

Venge Scouts Honor Trio - Big Red Blend Replay

Following our opening a Venge Scouts Honor for a Big Red easy sipping wine with cheeses and snacks the other night, we had another friend over for more of the same. The girls finished off the remains of the bottle from the other night to much fanfare, so I trolled the cellar and found this aged vintage release of the label. 

I was discussing the new label branding for this label, that I fear with the new upgraded packaging, coupled with the long run of high marks, will portend an increase in price ahead. Many times over the years we've seen a favorite label gain notoriety for a big year or a string of big years resulting for a big run-up in the price. This is understandable and acceptable when it rewards the producer for work well done. Too often it is exploited by the producer who raises the price precipitously above the price point for the label, taking it to another level, leaving the budget conscious fan base behind as the price enters a new strata. I won't name names but many readers will know one or more examples. 

Never-the-less, upscale premium packaging with painted labels is now the norm for Venge Vineyards labels, from the traditional legacy Napa bottlings to the newer Sonoma Russian River Valley releases under the Venge Vineyards brand, and the new Kirk Venge venture Croix Estate wines from the Russian River estate and winery.  

From our label library archive, here are more earlier branding labels of Scout's Honor, the 2001 vintage featuring the water color art library label. 

 

The premium upscale packaging of the new era Venge Vineyards and Croix Estate branding with painted bottles. 

Back to Scout's Honor, interestingly, in light of the above comments on pricing, Cellartracker records indicated the price for this vintage release was about 50% of the current selling price for this wine, albeit twenty years later.

Lo and behold, I found a vintage release with the old previous packaging label, from the 1998 vintage, certainly time to drink. 

Here shown are the three generations of labels for this wine, the original water color label that was part of a collection of colorful paintings for each label in the portfolio, the recent era label, and the latest release painted bottle for the 2019 release. 

Venge Vineyards "Scout's Honor" Napa Valley Red Blend 1998

According to my tasting notes, I last tasted this label release back in 2012 when I wrote, "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. Resembles the 1996 more than the 2001 release of this wine."

Amazingly, nine years later, tonight's tasting experience was the same as that earlier one, as if this wine was stuck in time at the point it was back in 2012. Still holding its own, at that point, but time to drink up. Notably, this is our last bottle of aged vintage release. 

The blend for this release was 85% Zinfandel and 15% Charbono. 

In that earlier earlier release tasting note back in 2012, I wrote about the Charbono varietal grape.

At twenty-two years, the fill level, label, cork and foil were in ideal condition.

 Upon opening this had a funky barnyard nose, which as expected did burn off after forty-five minutes to an hour. 

Never-the-less, the tasting profile was remarkably consistent with that earlier note, this vintage selection was showing its age - with a bit of that brownish-orange rust hue rimming the glass, and the same  earthy leather bramble taste that may have taken over for some of the fruit. It resembled the same medium body with black raspberry and black cherry fruits accented by smoke and hints of creosote and some earthy leather. 

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1198470

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

@VengeVineyards  

The  Venge Vineyards Label Library Archive is on my winesite label library pages featuring a selection of the Venge libary of water color labels from the nineties.



Venge Penny Lane Vineyard Family Reserve 2000 Sangiovese label