Venge Vineyards Scout's Honor Proprietary Red 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
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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.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a lively proprietary red wine made from 63% Zinfandel, 16% Charbono, 12% Petite Sirah and 9% Syrah. From many oldvine sites, it explodes in juicy plum, jammy blackberry and cherry, all wrapped in soft tannins. The oak adds a generous and rich vanilla tone.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The Zinfandel-dominated 2018 Red Blend Scout's Honor Proprietary Red (63% Zinfandel, 16% Charbono, 12% Petite Sirah, and the rest Syrah) offers a rich, full-bodied style with loads of plum and blueberry fruits interwoven with ample cedary spice, incense, and cigar aromas and flavors. It's a pleasure-bent, undeniably delicious red to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced from 63% Zinfandel, 16% Charbono, 12% Petite Sirah and 9% Syrah, the 2018 Scout's Honor has a medium to deep garnet-purple color, delivering exuberant notes of stewed black and red cherries, dried mulberries and prunes plus wafts of tree bark, charcoal, Indian spices and balsamic. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is soft, spicy and bursting with stewed berry flavors, finishing on a fragrant earthy note.
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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.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.