Venge Vineyards, Family Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, 2018

Overview of the Wine
The Venge (ven-ghee) family has farmed vitis vinifera varieties in Napa Valley for nearly half a century. It is a journey that began when Knud Venge emigrated from Denmark to the United States in the early 1900’s. Knud's son, Per Venge, found his passion in the wine and spirits industry and started Vencom Imports, focusing on the importation of Western European fine wines and spirits. It was Per's son, Nils Venge, who left the family business in the 1960's with a vision to study viticulture at UC Davis and establish the family name as an icon in the winegrowing community.

The family's viticultural roots flourished in 1976 with the purchase of a 17-acre vineyard in the Oakville District that was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This fortunate development cast the family among the winemaking pioneers of Napa Valley.

Nils' and Dianna Venge's son, Kirk Venge, gravitated to winemaking at an early age. He proved to be as talented a winemaker as his father, making wines in his own style, with a vision to build on the family legacy. In 2008, Kirk achieved his lifelong dream and acquired full ownership of Venge Vineyards. Today, Kirk continues the Napa Valley heritage, focusing on select vineyard sites that produce fruit worthy of bearing the Venge family name.

Grape / Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon

Origin
Napa Valley, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes 
This wine features beautiful dark red and purple hue that clings to the glass. The aromatics are plush and highly perfumed with ripe black cherries, clove, cinnamon, blackberries and currants. The palate is full and expansive. There is no pocket of the mouth unfilled or escaping this wine’s sumptuous composition. The flavors captured in this Cabernet wash over the front and through to the back of the palate for over two minutes past the initial impressions.

96 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon explodes with crème de cassis, baked plums and Black Forest cake scents, plus hints of candied violets, clove oil, cedar and unsmoked cigars. Big, full-bodied and richly fruited, the palate has a firm and grainy frame to support the generous black fruits and spicy accents, finishing very long.

96 Points - Wine Enthusiast
This is sultry, silky and sophisticated, with impressively integrated layers of cedar, clove and sage over a wealth of rich red fruit. It shows generous oak and a tannic grip that should keep it lively in the bottle for many years. Best after 2028.

Product size: 750ml