I'm going to make a bold statement -- Kirk Venge's 2022 Silencieux Cabernet is perhaps my favorite vintage he's ever made.
Possessing the style, richness, and polish I typically associate with $100+ Napa Cabs, it flows out of the glass with full-bodied and rich notes of sweet cassis, dark berry preserves, mocha, vanilla, and espresso roast coffee.
While the '22 has not been reviewed by any critics, I find it comparable to the wonderful 2015 Silencieux Cabernet Sauvignon. Jeb Dunnuck rated that one 95 points, calling it "upfront, frontend loaded, seamless, and already impossible to resist." That's an apt description of the '15, and the '22 offers up a similar, ready-to-drink personality.
Kirk Venge is a larger-than-life character who was born in Rutherford, in the heart of the Napa Valley. Kirk's dad Nils (aka the "King of Cab") was one of the Valley's original all-star winemakers, and he's credited with crafting the first "Robert Parker-100-point Napa Cab." All I can say is the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and Kirk makes delicious, opulent, and decadent Cabs that balance ripeness and structure with ease.
Venge's 2022 Silencieux Cabernet Sauvignon is put together with grapes from valley floor sites throughout the Napa Valley, primarily Rutherford, Oakville, and Calistoga. Fermented with native yeasts and aged for 18 months in French oak (60% new), you will be hard pressed to find a 100% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that delivers on quality-to-dollar ratios the way that this one does.
It's just so forward and pleasure-bent already, and that's what I love about it. Get your big glasses out for this one because this wine deserves it. It pours deep and opaque, and the aromas and flavors are unmistakably Napa. What's most impressive though is the wine's fine-grained texture....that's fancy talk for "smooth." There's no hard edges or bite here, but it also doesn't drink sweet or syrupy.
I know it's August, but it's cooled off, and fall is just around the corner. Trust me, this wine will come in handy on those evenings when red wine tastes best.
Josh Spurling
Owner/Operator/Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville
