Big Red Wines for Christmas & Birthday Celebration

Big Red Wines for Christmas Lights Tour and Birthday Celebration Gathering 

Alec and Vivianna hosted a gala second birthday celebration for daughter/grand-daughter Millie, that included for the second year, a bus tour of neighborhood Christmas holiday decoration light displays. 

Highlights of the Napeville Christmas Lights tour including the “Believe” house and the Taylor Swift Tribute display. 

The gathering provided an opportunity to share a broad selection of festive food and wines. 

Alec served a flight of whites and reds ….

Alec served a favorite label, Venge Vineyards Scout’s Honor from a large format magnum, paired with another Venge, Stagecoach Vineyard Shiraz, that I brought from our home cellar. 

We have fun with the Venge branded portfolio of wines with their prominent “V” on the label, in regards to daughter-in-law Vivianna! 

Venge Vineyards Napa Valley Scout’s Honor Red Blend 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.

This is unique Red Blend is always a crowd pleaser! 

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/ 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3525137

I took from our home cellar another Venge “V” wine - a favorite label that we all enjoyed together last month as part of another family celebration that was featured in this blogpost, Venge Stagecoach Vineyard Lot 1-4 Shiraz, which is excerpted here.

Venge Napa Valley Stagecoach Vineyard Lot 1-4 Shiraz 2015

As we did when we visited our newest grand-daughter, Ryleigh, home from the hospital/delivery, and took from our cellar this big bold ‘sipping’ wine to enjoy with artisan cheeses, for the occasion. Shown below, proud grand-mothers and the new grand-baby.

We took one of our Venge Vineyards wines, with their signature “V” branding, that we have fun with daughter-in-law Viviana, now able to drink again after her maternity abstention. 

Venge Vineyards up in Calistoga, Napa Valley, is owned by Kirk Venge, son of legendary Nils Venge, whose family emigrated from Denmark four generations ago. Originally in wine and spirits importing, the family became winemakers in the 1960s, when Nils studied viticulture at the University of California at Davis. By the 1970s Nils was producing wine in the Oakville district of Napa Valley. He started Saddleback Cellars and became one of the valley’s leading winemakers. 

We visited Nils at Saddleback and at other wineries, several times during the nineties. One of our more memorable days, featured in this blogpost, Visit to Venge Vineyards and Nils Venge, we toured Saddleback, then lunched together at Tre Vigne in St Helena, then we drove up to Calistoga to meet Kirk at the new Rossini Ranch location where they were digging wine caves. 

The old Rossini Winery in Bell Canyon, had a historic stone building that dated back to 1891. The Venge’s purchased this property in the mid 1990s and completely restored this old ‘ghost’ winery which had sat vacant from prohibition until their purchase. 

They produced their wines there until they sold the winery in 2008 to the Foley Wine Group, (although they kept the rights to the Venge brand and name). Nils sold that property to vintner William Foley and it is now home to Merus Vineyards. 

After selling the Rossini property, Kirk acquired their Calistoga property including the Bone Ash Vineyards, as well as taking over the Venge Vineyards brand from Nils. They built a new winery that was completed two years later. In the fall of 2020, the winery survived a very close encounter with flames from the Glass Fire burning right onto the property and almost up to the winery itself. 

Venge wines are popular and highly allocated, the most premium labels exclusively to their wine club, appropriately titled “In Venge Veritas” and now is called the Wine Guild; it is limited to 1,000 members and is at capacity, subject to a waiting list. 

We hold numerous Venge labels spanning a dozen vintages, including a few dating back to the early days when Nil’s was still principle. We acquired a mixed case of several vintages, from 2013 through 2017, of this limited release label at auction. 

This vineyard and Lot specific designated label is sourced from the notably Stagecoach Vineyard that sits high in the Vaca range on the east side of Nape Valley, high above Oakville and St Helena, about eight miles up Soda Canyon Road sitting about 1,800 feet above the valley floor. This was considered some of the last frontier of the Napa Valley – a wilder, more rugged country, fragrant with wild herbs and dotted with rare native plants.

The Stagecoach site rugged terrain first made history when gentleman bandit Charles Earl Bowles, known as Black Bart, robbed the daily stagecoach that travelled over the hill from St. Helena to Monticello. The hills were planted to vinis vinifera (wine grape vines) by early German settlers in the late 1800’s. They were abandoned during Prohibition and the remote ground lay fallow until 1995 when Dr. Jan Krupp purchased the 1,100+ acres that stretches from the southern edge of Pritchard Hill overlooking Oakville to the westernmost regions of the Atlas Peak Appellation. 

Today, nearly 600 acres of the vast site are planted to various varieties, most notably stagecoach is Cabernet-focused however Syrah is planted in the highest elevations. Venge has a long-term contract on the I-4 Block, that sits on the highest peak of the vineyard, adjacent Pritchard Hill. It is considered one of the most ideal areas for growing mountain Syrah.

The property was acquired in 2016 by the E. & J. Gallo Winery. Today the 600+ acres of Stagecoach vineyard planted to vines, is the largest contiguous vineyard in the Napa Valley. The 1,300+ acres of rocky, volcanic terroir extends from the south-eastern of Pritchard Hill area overlooking Oakville and Yountville to the westernmost regions of the Atlas Peak appellation.

Over 80 Wineries source grapes from Stagecoach Vineyard, with over 30 wineries featuring the Stagecoach name on their labels, and over 25 produce vineyard designated labels specifying the  Stagecoach Vineyard. 

View Regional Map of Stagecoach VIneyard site, from the vineyard owner.

Venge Napa Valley, Atlas Peak, Stagecoach Vineyard “Block I-4” Syrah 2015

We hold a half dozen vintages of the Venge Single Vineyard designated labels. This particular vintage is from the year that the new parents, Alec and Vivianna first met. 

This single vineyard, select block designated label is 100% Syrah from the iconic vineyard high up in the Vaca range near Atlas Peak. 

Winemakers notes for this label - “Goodness, this is pure, volcanic mountain Syrah at its finest! This wine 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 for over a decade. Limited production runs make this single-vineyard Syrah all the more precious”. 

This was produced according to the “Method, Pellenc Destemmed Via Gravity to Open Top Fermenters, 5-Day Whole Berry Cold Soak, Slow Cellar Temp Fermentation Over 19 Days On Skins, 100% Carbonic Native Primary and Secondary Fermentation, Free Run and Press Fractions Combined to Build Structure and Durability”.

This was aged in 100% French Oak, 60% New Francois Frères, then bottled Unfiltered

Typical annual production for this label is about 400 Cases

Various releases of this label were rated 95 points by The Wine Independent and 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 93 from The Wine Enthusiast and 92 from Wine Spectator. Wine Advocate gave the 2011 release 96 points, while the 2010 got 94 points from The Wine Enthusiast.

This was dark inky purple colored, full bodied, rich, dense concentrated, super sweet ripe black berry and plum and blue fruits, with notes of cassis, bacon fat, clove spice, cigar box and tobacco leaf on the full round tannin lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3223878

https://www.stagecoachvineyard.com/map/index.php

https://x.com/vengevineyards   @VengeVineyards

View Regional Map of Stagecoach VIneyard site, from the vineyard owner. 

Gia-Mia Carry-out with duo of Big Reds

Gia-Mia Carry-out with medley of red wines 

We visited kids and new grandbaby and took carry out dinner from Gia-Mia Restaurant (Naperville). 

For wine pairing with the hearty zesty Italian fare I brought from our home cellar a robust red wine from Venge Vineyards. I’ve written regularly in these pages the fun we have with this label and their prominent “V” branding, a signature brand for our daughter-in-law Vivianna. 

Tonight, we took Venge Scout’s Honor, their unique big red Zinfandel based blend. As part of proper cellar inventory management, I took the oldest vintage release of this label from the half dozen vintages we hold and maintain for such occasions. We wrote about the producer and this label as part of previous tastings of this label from earlier vintages in these blogposts -  

Venge Vineyard "Scout's Honor" Napa Valley Red Blend 2017

Venge Vineyard "Scout's Honor" Napa Red 2015.

Venge Vineyards Scouts Honor Red Blend 2018

First produced in 1996, this wine is dedicated in memory of the Venge family beloved, yellow Labrador Retriever, Scout. Rescued in 1989 from the Napa County Animal Adoption Center, he welcomed visitors to the winery for seven years. I recall the vineyard dog Scout from our earliest visits to the winery and estate vineyards. 

This unique Zinfandel-dominated Proprietary Red Blend is 63% Zinfandel, 16% Charbono, 12% Petite Sirah, and the remaining 9% Syrah. 

This is sourced from many old vine vineyard sites across Napa Valley and Sonoma County, that are managed by families who have been farming for over 100 years and who own and work the vineyards themselves.

The Vineyard sources included: 

    Signal Fire Vineyard, Venge’s Calistoga Estate, Napa Valley (Old Vines | 70+ Years)

    Frediani Vineyards, Calistoga, Napa Valley (Old Vines | 100+ Years)

    Luvisi Vineyard, Calistoga, Napa Valley (Old Vines | 100+ Years)

    Moss Creek Vineyard, Capell Valley, Napa Valley (Old Vines | 50+ Years)

    Korte Ranch Vineyard, Saint Helena, Napa Valley (Old Vines |70+ Years)

    Monte Rosso Vineyard, Moon Mountain, Sonoma County (Old Vines |100+ Years)

    Grist Vineyard, Bradford Mountain, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County (Old Vines | 50+ Years),

    Kick Ranch Vineyard, Rincon Valley, Fountain Grove, Sonoma County

The unique dual AVA (Napa Valley plus Sonoma County) listing of this wine allows Venge to continue to produce a high-quality red blend in volume from year to year. Napa Valley, old-vine vineyards are becoming very scarce commodities as they are being replanted to Bordeaux varieties or purchased by competing interests. 

So, Venge have ended up including Sonoma County fruit sources from their sister winery, in Russian River Valley, where delicious, old-vine crops are abundant and contribute complexity and expressive, concentrated flavors in the resulting wine.  

Note it is labeled ‘Napa Valley’ which means the majority, more than 75%, to be precise, of the contents are sourced from Napa Valley. 

Winemaker Notes - “The small, individual lots of fruit were destemmed into a combination of stainless steel tanks and open top fermenters, where whole-berry fermentation took place for an average of 20 days. The wine was barrel aged for 14 months in 50% new American Oak and the balance in once used tight grain French Oak. No conventional pumps were used in the making of this wine. Only diaphragm air pumps, forced air pressure movement, or bulldogging, and transfers by gravity were employed to preserve the pure fruit integrity in the wine.”

This release was rated 92 points (and ‘Editors’ Choice’) by Wine Enthusiast, and Jeb Dunnuck, and 91 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Consistent with earlier tasting (s) …  Deep garnet-purple color, full-bodied, rich, forward, bright vibrant expressive ripe plum, jammy blackberry and cherry fruits with cedar, spice, cigar box and earthy balsamic notes with vanilla and oak turning to soft tannins on the round finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3525137

http://www.vengevineyards.com/

@VengeVineyards 

Alec then pulled from his cellar this rare limited release big red Napa Cabernet. 

Scarlet Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

I have the 2013 release of this label in our cellar which I wrote about in this blogpost back in 2016, McGah Family Vineyards Scarlet (excerpted below), so I was eager to try another release from this producer. 

McGah Family Vineyards Scarlet

We first discovered this McGah Family Vineyards Scarlet when it was a highlight of a Vin Chicago Naperville Weekly Wine Tasting where we tasted and acquired an earlier release of this wine.

Vin Chicago is a City (Chicago) wine merchant who back in 2016, had a Naperville and some other suburban locations (since closed), who would host a weekly wine tasting at their local store (s). They regularly featured premium and ultra-premium wines such as this one. While the store only had one case of this premium McGah Family Vineyards Scarlett, yet, they still opened it for tasting from which I acquired the last remaining couple of bottles. That 2013 release was awarded 95 points by Wine Advocate. 

Having loved that release, I was excited and eager to try this more recent release of this limited production boutique label. Alec acquired this as an after market auction purchase. 

McGah Family Vineyards "Scarlett" Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

The McGah Family own and operated 64 acres of vineyards in the storied Rutherford appellation on the east side of the central valley near Silverado Trail, where the proprietors reside to this day. 

For four generations, the McGah Family have sold fruit to other producers, and also produce Scarlett Wines under this rebranded label which was named after the producer/founder's daughter. 

The McGah Family were most notably known for co-founding the Bay Area Oakland Raiders NFL team.  Sherratt Reicher was grandson of E.J. McGah, former Boston Red Sox player and second generation Oakland Raiders owner. 

Following a sports career as defensive assistant and scout for the Raiders, he formed the Hudson Companies in 2002 that included Scarlett Wines and McGah Family Vineyards in its portfolio. The McGah family maintained its ownership in the Raiders until 2005. 

Scarlett "McGah Family Vineyards" Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 

This is estate sourced, 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot. It was barrel aged in 85% new French oak consisting of Darnajou, Taransaud, Marcel Cadet, Remond, Trueil, and Sylvain barrels.

Winemaker notes - “The 2018 McGah Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is a brooding, complex, and beautiful Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon that can only be made in this storied appellation. The uplifting aromatics showcase multiple layers of black cassis, red fruits, and earthy components known for this terroir. The mid palate is perfectly balanced with abundant blue, red and black fruits, followed by a full-bodied mouthfeel that hovers across the spectrum of the palate. Perfectly integrated structure and polished tannins lead to a detailed and long finish that carries the signature Rutherford dust component that our wines are known for. A blend from five of our Cabernet Sauvignon blocks on the estate, this wine showcases the unparalleled terroir of the McGah Vineyard. Allow 2-3 years for the tannins and fruit to come together or enjoy it in its prime 5-10 years out.” - Mike Smith, Winemaker

This 2018 release was rated 93 points by International Wine Review and Jeb Dunnuck, 

Dark inky, blackish purple colored, full bodied, dense rich and concentrated yet smooth and polished, complex core of sweet black raspberry and black currant fruits accented by cassis, mocha, graphite, touch of vanilla and sweet spicy oak with smooth polished tannins and mouthfeel on the lingering finish.  

RM 94 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3286306

http://www.scarlettwines.com/

Mother’s Day Eve Dinner - BYOB @ Entourage DG

Saturday afternoon Mother’s Day Eve Dinner - BYOB @ Entourage DG

For a pre-mother’s eve day dinner, we had an early afternoon dinner at Entourage Restaurant, Downers Grove, our newest favorite eatery in the western (Chicago) suburbs. We’ve featured Entourage and some of our favorite dishes several times in these pages in recent months, as shown in some of the links below - 

Spectacular dining experience at Entourage Restaurant Downers Grove

Lunch/Dinner Redux at Entourage DG

Plumpjack Reserve Napa Chardonnay at Entourage Restaurant Naperville

Signorello Hope’s Chardonnay BYOB at Entourage DG

Prior to our main course, we enjoyed the Roasted Beets and Whipped Goat Cheese Salad - Arugula, B aby Gem with Spicy Pecans, Fennel, Hot Honey and Grapefruit Citrus Vinaigrette. This was delicious - a wonderful pairing of flavors

We have a growing number of favorite go-to entrees as we discover more fabulous feature offerings on their menu. This day, I tried another one of their signature dishes and it was equally fabulous, as my other fave’s. 

I had the Orange Basil Salmon - Orange Glazed with Parmesan Risotto, Shishito, Entourage signature Charred Peppers, and Orange Basil Butter Sauce. It was out of this world - as good as any Salmon dish I’ve had, ever! 

Linda chose for her entree the lunch version of one of her favorite dinner dishes, the Shrimp variant of the Lobster + Shrimp Rigatoni with Tomato, Spinach, Charred Jalapeño with Lemon White Wine and Parmesan Cream with Roasted Garlic Toast.

Like our similar outing a couple weeks ago, I brought two wines for pairing, a red and a white, from which to choose based on our entree selections. With our seafood we opened, BYOB from our home cellar, a wonderful flavorful Napa Chardonnay. 

Hudson Vineyards Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2018

This is from the legendary Hudson Ranch vineyards in Carneros, down at the bottom of the Mayacamas Mountain range that separates Napa Valley from Sonoma Valley. Like the legendary ToKalon Vineyard up in Rutherford, this is the source of many notable labels from classic ranked producers. It might be a stretch, but to that point, Hudson Ranch Vineyard is to Chardonnay what ToKalon Vineyard is to Cabernet Sauvignon - source to many premier producers’ labels. 

I love Hudson Ranch wines, that represent some of my most memorable tastings. I wrote about Hudson Ranch Carneros Vineyard Chardonnay in earlier blogposts - Hudson Chardonnay at Oceana NYC, having had it this popular New York City restaurant, and again featuring another premium Chardonnay - Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignons flight and Carneros Chardonnay, and at another fabulous wine dinner - Pour Boys Wine Dinner at Del Ray Beach Wine Kitchen.

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I also featured Hudson Ranch Vineyard Syrah in other blogposts, at another classic Chicago restaurant - Cherry Circle Room dinner features super wine flight, and at home - Kongsgaard Hudson Ranch Vineyard Syrah 2002.

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Hudson Ranch Carneros has ideal terroir for Chardonnay, ideal well drained soil and a micro-climate with ample sunshine with warm days, and cool nights from the fog and cool breezes from nearby San Pablo Bay.

Hudson Chardonnay is found in bottlings from ultra-premium producers Albert, Kongsgard, Kistler and Ramey to name a few - some of the top rated Napa Chardonnay’s to be found anywhere. Beyond growing wine grapes for the most respected winemakers in Napa and Sonoma, they also provide fruit for more than 30 wineries from the 2,000-acre contiguous property, 

Notably, only 200 acres of the 2,000 are under vines in vineyard blocks planted with twenty different varietals, each carefully matched to the block based on its specific terroir and that varietal’s growing characteristics. In addition to 90 acres of the primary grape varietal Chardonnay, Lee Hudson working with vineyard manager Andres Ureña also cultivates 30 acres of Merlot, 27 of Syrah, 12 of Cabernet Franc, 9 Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 Grenache, 26 Sauvignon Blanc, 4 Friulano, 25 Ribolla Gialla and one of Arneis.

One of these, the Old Master block, Hudson Ranch’s most prized vineyard is more like two different vineyards, with two distinct soil types. It was determined Merlot thrives on the Huichica formation soil, rich in alluvial, bay and river deposits, and Cabernet Franc loves the well-drained, rocky Sonoma volcanic soils that spread across the other half of the block. 

One of those famous producers writes, “What attracts us to this vineyard is the rich history of Lee Hudson being one of the preeminent and pioneering chardonnay growers in the new world. The vineyard is planted in southern Napa where the rolling hills form a micro-valley of their own. These vines are graced by both the Napa heat as well as cool ocean-born breezes from the San Francisco bay.”

Hudson Ranch is the dream and passion of proprietor Lee Hudson who transformed the land into the highly esteemed vineyard it is today. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Lee received his B.S. in Horticulture at the University of Arizona. He then worked with the esteemed Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac, in Morey St. Denis, Burgundy where he was learned how great grapes from hallowed vineyard sites produce world class, fine wines. Lee returned to the States to continue his graduate studies in viticulture and enology at University of California at Davis, where many of his classmates are now his clients. Lee searched for property from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, before deciding on the Carneros property in Napa Valley, founding Hudson Vineyards in 1981.

Co- Owner, wife Cristina Salas-Porras Hudson had a distinguished twenty-five year career in food and wine, hospitality, and design, working alongside Alice Waters of Chez Panisse. Then she spent ten years consulting for Hermes, Slow Food International, Steve Jobs, and Rockfield Japan. She now works with Lee, at Hudson Ranch and Vineyards overseeing their Napa Valley-based business, Hudson Greens & Goods. 

Also a native Texan, from El Paso, Cristina received her BA in East Asian Studies from Middlebury College in Vermont, and a graduate degree in Japanese from Keio University in Japan. She helped to open the renowned Park Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo, and the art-driven Bardessono Hotel in Yountville, California, as well as co-founding O Olive Oil Company. 

The 2,000-acre Hudson Ranch is one of the most celebrated properties in Carneros. After decades of selling their fruit to other wineries, Hudson began making their own wines in 2004. 

The Hudson Winemaker is Andrew Holve, who most recently served as Head Winemaker for Newton Vineyards. After earning a master’s degree in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis he gained experience at Ridge, MacRostie, and Patz & Hall.

Andrew works closely with the legendary John Kongsgaard, Hudson’s founding winemaker and current consulting winemaker. 

This 2018 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard is the estate grown label produced, bottled and marketed by the proprietor/grower sourced from some of the best sections of the larger vineyard, some of the original most established and acclaimed blocks that were planted in the 1980s. 

This release was rated  98 Points by FMW. 

Winemaker Notes: “The 2022 Chardonnay showcases a combination of 4 distinct blocks from the Hudson Estate planted to Heritage Shot Wente clone. We hand-select barrels from each site to create a Chardonnay that fully expresses the elegant and balanced style of Hudson Vineyards. The wine is rich with bright acidity and mouthwatering notes of citrus, stone fruit, and brioche.” 

Golden colored, medium to full bodied, bright, rich full round flavors of lemon citrus and stone fruits, hints of apricot and pear accented by notes of brioche with vibrant acidity on the mineral laced finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?3509983

https://hudsonranch.com/

https://entouragerestaurant.com/downers-grove/

Beau Vigne Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

Beau Vigne Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

Sean and Michelle dined with us and they grilled ribeye steaks at our house, served with grilled cauliflower.

I pulled from the cellar this Napa Valley Big Red Blend for a delicious pairing. 

Beau Vigne Napa Valley Red Blend 2013

As part of proper cellar, inventory management I pulled the oldest of the range of vintages we hold of this label. We’ve had two other vintages of this label, one several years older from 2018, and one recently acquired just released bottle from the 2022 vintage. These were featured in these pages in this recent post of the later release - Beau Vigne Reserve Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2022, and an earlier post on the older vintage, excerpted below.

Beau Vigne Reserve Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2022

Watching “The Sticky” series on Netflix, we had some of the leftover delicious beef tenderloin in avocado sandwiches. I opened this premium Napa Red Blend from a just received shipment that we were eager to try. This is another Big Red from another emerging interesting Napa producer who produces a wide portfolio of wines from estate and contract growers and purchased lot sources.

If the pedigree of the winemaker says anything, then Beau Vigne is in a distinguished class with 100-point winemaker Julien Fayard (Lafite Rothschild, Smith Haut Lafitte, Melka, Quintessa, Realm, Covert Estate), and where Dave Phinney was the founding winemaker! Note also, the collaboration with Philippe Melka, and contribution of another of our fav’s, winemaker Kirk Venge. 

I featured Beau Vigne in detail in a more extensive blogpost last summer - Beau Vigne Napa Valley Proprietary Red, and several other blogposts such as the one’s below.

The producer writes - “Our Napa Valley winery is devoted exclusively to making influential luxury Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Sauvignon Blends. Taking inspiration from our founding winemaker Dave Phinney who sought out to make red wines that would compete with the greatest wines of the world. This tradition was enhanced by the addition of winemaker Kirk Venge in 2008 through 2018/19 who obtained a perfect 100 Points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Present-day winemaking is now in the hands of Julien Fayard who hails from the legendary first growth Château Lafite-Rothschild and Atelier Melka before becoming the brilliant up and coming new winemaker in Napa Valley.”

Beau Vigne was taken over by Charles Bartlett when he purchased the brand in 2019 with the intent to carry on the dream created by Ed and Trish Snider, whom he has known for many years. Charles has worked in Napa since the late 1970s and has built a successful wine trading company, working with many of the top names in the mountain AVAs. 

Bartlettl hired Julien Fayard to establish and oversee modern practices in the vineyard and in the cellar. The release of beau Vigne CULT Cabernet Sauvignon, beacme one of Napa Valley’s most acclaimed labels with year-over-year 93 to 98 points from critics. Beau Vigne continues the tradition of hand-harvested grapes planted and grown on Atlas Peak, the Pritchard Hill region and other viticultural areas of Napa Valley including Howell Mountain, Oakville and Rutherford.

We featured our tastings from the Beau Vigne portfolio in these recent blogposts:  

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/10/beau-vigne-reserve-proprietary-red-wine.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/10/beau-vigne-proprietary-red-byob-at.html

Beau Vigne Reserve Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2022

This is a most recent limited release label from the BV collection such that even the CellarTracker inventory of a million labels and collection of several million tasting notes, doesn’t yet have any mentions! 

Unlike an earlier release of the same label back in 2013, this release doesn’t list the blend and is therefore presumed to be 100% Cabernet Sauvignon? 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2023/07/beau-vigne-napa-valley-proprietary-red.html

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, rich round ripe black berry and black currant fruits with spicy acidity, hints of graphite, bittersweet dark chocolate, cassis and black tea on a full lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5207604

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=5207604

https://www.beauvigne.com/

From an earlier posting - Saturday, October 22, 2022 - Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Wine.

Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Wine 2013

This producer first caught my attention when buddy Bob brought it to our Pour Boys OTBN - "Open-That-Bottle-Night" 2022 in Charleston and I pegged it as WOTN - Wine of the Night, my personal favorite. Bob picked up the bottle at his local Total Wine beverage superstore in Boca Raton Town Center. I saw the label when there and also at the new Total Wine in Indy. 

So, when son Ryan got their wine club promotional mailing and shared it I was eager to pick up a mixed case of their Signature Series Bordeaux varietals including this aged vintage release from their library close-out. My shipment just arrived and I was eager to try this. It did not disappoint. 

Beau Vigne (pronounced bo-veenya), was founded by Ed and Trish Snider with their first vintage release in 2002. Translated from French it means beautiful vineyard in French.

Ed’s family has a long history in Napa Valley dating back to his Swiss Italian grandfather Martin Garzoli who arrived in Napa in 1913. He grew up on a ranch in Carneros and worked on farms in Napa and Sonoma. Martin made his own wines at home in the evenings. His son John Garzoli played for the San Francisco 49ers in 1955 and went on to coach football at St. Helena High School in the center of Napa Valley where children of many vintners attended school. A number of Ed’s former students are now in the wine industry.

In 2018, they sold Beau Vigne to Don Dady and Jason Kyle from Arizona. Jason was a former NFL football player, a long snapper for five different teams including the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to his wine interests, Jason is co-owner of Press Coffee Roasters with locations in Arizona.  Partner Dady is co-founder of Annexus, a financial company in Scottsdale and also owns Seven Apart Winery in Napa Valley just north of the city of Napa. 

Beau Vigne sourced fruit for their estate wines from their 10 acre Stags Ridge Vineyard at the top of Soda Canyon Road on the slopes of Atlas Peak at about 1650 feet elevation. The site was planted to 8 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and an acre each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Ed sold the vineyard and it is now a part of Seven Apart Winery’s estate. Beau Vigne continues to source grapes from there and other premium vineyards in Napa Valley. 

Since 2019, Beau Vigne has partnered with Appellation Trading Company to distribute Beau Vigne as part of their portfolio of brands. 

Over the years, Beau Vigne has been crafted by several highly regarded Napa Valley winemakers. Their founding winemaker was Dave Phinney who went on to develop several successful brands, most notably, Orin Swift Cellars and the Prisoner portfolio of wines. One of our favorite winemakers, Kirk Venge of Venge Vineyards has also crafted Beau Vigne wines. Today the winemaker is Julien Fayard.

Originally from France, Julien began his career as a winemaker producing quality rosé at his family’s winery in Provence. He worked at legendary Chateaux Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite in Bordeaux before relocating to Napa Valley where he was Philippe Melka’s director of winemaking for a few years before setting out on his own.

Julien earned his Master in Agri-Business from ESA France and his Master in Winemaking from Toulouse France. In 2011, he received his MBA from UC Davis. 

Recently, Beau Vigne became part of a select collection of vintners represented at Vintner’s Collective, the city of Napa’s oldest collective tasting room. They showcase wines from an elite group of premier Napa Valley producers who do not have their own tasting rooms. Select bottlings and vintages of Beau Vigne are available for tasting and purchased there. 

Beau Vigne bottles wines under three different brands; the Legacy Series, the Signature Series and the Discovery Series. 

Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2013

This 2013 is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc. The producer cited it amongst the best wines Beau Vigne had made to date. That says a lot since Robert Parker awarded the 2013 Beau Vigne "Cult" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 96 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. He also awarded the Beau Vigne Reserve Cabernet from this vintage a stellar perfect 100 points.

Winemaker notes: "When tasted, it was still locked and loaded. Dense and dark, with notes of soil incense, violets, black cherry and black raspberry elements are also still present. The wine is full-bodied, opulent, with great vigor and delineation. This is a sensational example what happens after nine years in the bottle."

The Beau Vigne Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from this vintage, the same fruit that forms the foundation for this blend, was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker. 

Parker wrote about that wine: "Profound, with a stunning aromatic display of blue and black fruits, charcoal, graphite, and spring flowers. The wine has a flawless entry and mouthfeel, with a full-bodied density, opulence and an incredible finish of close to a minute." 

He also awarded the 2013 Beau Vigne "Cult" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 96 points inRobert Parker's Wine Advocate . That wine too contains the same Cabernet Sauvignon as in this blend. That blend contained 98:2% while this one is 70:30. Parker wrote of that wine: "Similarly styled is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Cult, which is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. The biggest cuvée of any of these wines, the color is blackish/purple as a moonless night. It offers fabulous fruit and incredible density and richness, with lots of camphor, blackberry and cassis fruit, hints of espresso bean and chocolate as well as some background oak. This is a big, full-throttle, savory style of wine that should age effortlessly for 20-25+ years (RP)."

Tonight, this was delicious, showing even better than previous tastings, benefiting from a couple more years of cellaring/aging, allowing the flavors to integrate more and settle together gracefully It was an ideal pairing with the grilled ribeye beefsteaks.

As a blend of the same fruit as those wines, it has a similar profile. Dark blackish purple colored, full bodied, dense, rich concentrated black fruits accented by a layer of camphor that initially may be a bit unnerving to some, with notes of cassis, expresso and dark bitter mocha with some graphite and oak on the full lingering finish. 

RM 93 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2010086

www.beauvigne.com

Bravante Vineyards Trio Howell Mtn Red

 Bravante Vineyards Trio Napa Valley Howell Mountain Red Blend 2018

During the gala family celebration gathering and dinner, featured in this blogspot - Family dinner features latest Bordeaux Releases, limited production No-Cal labels, Alec served this premium Napa Howell Red Blend that he acquired from one of his on-line sources. 

According to the producer’s website Bravante Vineyards is a family owned and operated small production winery dating back to its founding in 1996 by George & Nancy Bravante. They produce small-batch estate sourced wines comprised of Bordeaux varietals, striving to showcase the unique terroir of their estate, high up the front (west side face) of Howell Mountain that produces “full-bodied yet balanced Bordeaux- style” wines.

The estate and vineyards sit on Howell Mountain, one of Napa’s oldest and most prestigious growing regions. Located from 1,400 – 2300 ft above the town of St. Helena, the mountain has incredibly unique geographic characteristics that make its wineries so famous. Some of its key characteristics including sitting above the fog (which reaches up from the valley floor to about 1200 feet. That is the demarcation point between the Napa Valley appellation below, and the Howell Mountain appellation above. 

Beginning at 1,400 feet in elevation and rising to 2,300 feet above sea level, Howell Mountain vineyards sit above the fog line receiving abundant sunshine with warm days and cool nights in the summer allow for the slow maturation of fruit in the vineyard. The growing season allows the fruit to develop complex flavors and structured tannins for which Howell Mountain is famous.

The well-draining soils of volcanic ash and gravelly loam work in conjunction with the unique climate of Howell Mountain to produce structured wines with great aging potential.

On the 20 acres estate of undeveloped land on Howell Mountain, they planted the Bravante Estate Stone Ridge Vineyard in early 1998 with Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. 

The Stone Ridge Vineyard is a 20-acre parcel, and is the site of the winery and caves, sitting roughly 1,680 feet above sea level on a volcanic bench cut by nature. There, seven acres are planted in four blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, two blocks of Cabernet Franc and one block of Merlot. The deep and rocky soils produce clusters of small berries and wines that are deeply intense with complex flavors.

They acquired another small vineyard down the road and slightly up the mountain in 2000. There they planted the Black Oak Vineyard on a rocky hillside to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Sauvignon Blanc. The unique character of this site adds intense minerality and complexity to the wines.

After making wine off-site for a few years, continually nurturing the vines and fine tuning and improving their wines, they set out to build their own estate winery in 2005. By the 2009 harvest, they completed construction and permitting and gained the coveted status of being 100% estate grown, produced and bottled.

They strive to produce “quality over quantity”, applying the best vineyard practices, growing wine grapes with minimal intervention, seeking to express the best qualities of the unique terroir of Howell Mountain. They also practice minimal intervention in their winemaking and in the cellar, where they age the wines two years in the barrel and additional time in bottle.

Bravante’s winemaker is Taylor Shoptaw. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he studied viticulture and enology in New Zealand,  spending past nine years traveling between hemispheres working for notable winemakers. He then worked as an assistant winemaker in the Finger Lakes AVA, and production supervisor in the Alexander Valley. 

Taylor is advised by Phillip Corallo-Titus, Consulting Winemaker. As the winemaker for Pritchard Hill’s iconic Chappellet Vineyard for over 30 years, Phillip established renown as a master at crafting mountain wines and has become known as one of Napa’s best winemakers. Drawn to the Bravante Vineyard’s unique Howell Mountain terroir, he started consulting for Bravante in 2017.

This Bravante TRIO 2018 is a blend of 100% Estate grown Howell Mountain Bordeaux varietals, although the actual composition is not specified or published. It is bottled in a premium oversized overweighted painted glass bottle. 

They refer to their ‘Bordeaux-Style’ wines which is a bit in-precise or non-specific given there are no less than fifty-seven Bordeaux appellations, (as compared with seventeen in Napa) each with a distinctive style based on different designated blends.

Seven hundred and ten cases were produced. 

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied with black currant and black berry fruits with Howell Mountain signature spice and dusty graphite and subdued tannins on the moderate finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3815285

https://www.bravantevineyards.com/

Pio Cesare Barolo Nebbiolo with Italian Pasta

Pio Cesare Barolo Nebbiolo with Italian Pasta 

Following our dinner outing at Angeli’s Italian Restaurant, we enjoyed our pasta leftovers and opened a middle aged Italian Barolo wine for an Italian varietal / cuisine pairing. 

Pio Cesare Barolo 2018

Five generations of the Pio family have followed one another in succession producing Pio Cesare’s wines for 135 years in its ancient cellars in the center of the town of Alba.

Founded in 1881 by Cesare Pio, a successful entrepreneur he was inspired to produce a small and select quantity of wines from the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco for himself, his family, friends, and customers.

In 1940, Giuseppe Pio’s only child, Rosy, married Giuseppe Boffa, a young and well-known engineer from Alba, who managed a large company in Milan at the time. When Italy began to struggle during the Second World War, Giuseppe Boffa left his job in Milan to dedicate himself to the Pio Cesare winery.

Through his efforts, the Pio Cesare brand gained fame and prominence both domestically and internationally, becoming one of the most respected names among Italian wine producers, with a special focus on its renowned Barolo.

Rosy and Giuseppe Boffa named their youngest son Pio, in honor of his great-grandfather’s surname. Pio Boffa, the fourth generation, leads and directs the company today. In the early 1990’s Pio Boffa asked his cousin Augusto to join him in the company. 

In 2000, Pio’s sister’s son, Cesare Benvenuto, became the fifth generation, joined recently by Pio Boffa’s daughter, Federica Rosy, in working at Pio Cesare, representing the future of the Family.

Today, family members travel around the world, to more than 50 countries promoting Pio Cesare wines.

Pio Cesare own 170 acres of vineyards on prime hillside exposures located in multiple different communes of the Barolo and Barbaresco appellations.

As is customary with Barolo wines, this is 100% Nebbiolo, estate grown sourced from family-owned vineyards in Serralunga d’Alba (Ornato, La Serra and Briccolina), Grinzane Cavour (Gustava and Garretti), La Morra (Roncaglie), Novello (Ravera) and, since the 2015 vintage, their recently acquired vineyard in Monforte (Mosconi). 

The new selection 'Pio' from Pio Cesare is a blend of the different MGAs of the estate. This is the classic “formula” used by the ancient Barolo Families to produce a wines that embraces and combines each of the unique characteristics of the different vineyards and terroirs of the Barolo area.

The wine is aged in large French oak “botti” for about 30 months; and a small amount in barriques as well.

Distributor notes - A classic style Barolo. Excellent structure, harmony and elegance. Soft tannins and balanced fruit. Approachable, but with a very long ageing potential. Barolo is a great wine, which should not be described as a “basic” or “regular” Barolo, simply because it does not have any additional indication on the label.

Winemaker Notes - “A classic style Barolo. Excellent structure, harmony and elegance. Soft tannins and balanced fruit. Approachable, but with a very long ageing potential. Barolo is a great wine, which should not be described as a “basic” or “regular” Barolo, simply because it does not have any additional indication on the label.”

This was rated 94 points by James Suckling, 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 91 points by Decanter and Wine Enthusiast. 

We found this a bit disappointing with the subdued fruit overtaken by non-fruit flavors, especially given its ultra-premium price. 

Dark garnet colored with a slight brownish/grey hue, medium bodied, spicy red cherry and plum fruits with notes of earthy tobacco and leather with hints creosote, truffle and camphor. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?4217182

https://www.piocesare.it/en/vini/barolo/