If you liked the 2018 vintage of this one, the 2019 is quite similar. There's that classic combination of opulence, style, and polish that this wine always offers, and I've had more than a couple customers say they think this is the best vintage of this wine they've ever had.
2019 Venge Silencieux Cabernet Sauvignon
Kills Caymus, destroys Duckhorn, and slays Silver Oak!
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I've stocked every vintage of this wine back to 2010, and it is a wine that is always a great snapshot of the vintage. Like Vintage 2018, 2019 was a nearly perfect year for Napa Cabs, and Kirk Venge took advantage of the ideal vintage conditions to produce another fabulous Silencieux Cab.
Vintage 2019 shares a lot of similarities with Vintage 2018. Producers, critics, and insiders all agree that the year produced an abundant crop of very high quality Cabernet Sauvignons. Still, Kirk Venge only produced about 1,500 cases (6-packs) of this wine. He could certainly up his production, but the guy is hell-bent on quality. Thank you Kirk!
Before I get into my own tasting notes, I must remind you that we never get enough of this wine. We sold 300+ cases last year before it ran out -- we could have easily sold a bunch more. I attribute the success of this wine to its very high quality-to-price ratio. As I've said in the past, this destroys a lot of more well known Cabs that cost two to three times the price.
For a number of reasons, our allocation was cut to just 100 six-packs this year. A big part of that is due to the devastating effects of the fires of 2020....production levels were lower and quality suffered, no doubt due to the smoke taint. For that reason, Venge decided to reserve more of this wine for their list members. I get it. Needless to say, I'd stock up on this one if I were you.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves though -- value for money, that's what this wine delivers. It's made using the same care and "ingredients" as many wines that cost 3 to 4 times the price. Fruit comes from top sites in Calistoga, Oakville, and Rutherford, and the wine is aged for 18 months in high quality (and high dollar) French oak (65% new). The finished product slays so many Napa Cabs that cost so much more.
Okay, I've hyped the hell out of this thing -- here are my personal tasting notes. Opaque in color, very "leggy" in the glass, and the nose is classic Venge. Huge notes of cassis, ripe dark berries, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, espresso, and oak spice all come out to play. This coats every square inch of the palate and offers up similar flavors as aromas.
Seamless in texture with fine-grained, ripe tannins, this is a big wine that drinks a little too easily. Super long on the finish! Like most vintages of this wine, this offers immediate gratification, but I suspect it will provide great drinking over the next 10-15 years.
ORDER NOW in our online store. We will apply deal pricing once we receive your order.
Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville