Another brilliant value that readers will love, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Silencieux,is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot, all of which spent 22 months in 50% new oak. This medium to full-bodied, round, balanced, mouth-filling beauty has lots of ripe black and blue fruits, some background spicy oak, velvety tannins, and a great finish.
This will be the first of our Cabernets to be released from the 2021 vintage and it will certainly be a wine that stands among the greats within our history of producing Silencieux Cabernet Sauvignon. 2021 was the last in a series of drought years that saw the natural culling of fruit through depleted water retention, reducing yields by 35%, resulting in tiny berries with thickened skins. While this is a concentrated, compact and hedonistic beauty, what I really love most about this wine is its diversity of vineyard selections and the impact upon quality each has on the finished wine. This is sure to be a joy to savor among the enthusiast and the collector alike!
Wonderfully aromatic and expressive, the 2021 vintage opens with scents of sweet cassis, anise, blackberries, roasted coffee, blue herbs and barrel vanillin. On the palate, the tannins are firm, upfront and balanced throughout, with all pockets of the mouth left yearning for another sip. Full-bodied and extracted with ripe black fruit, blueberries, charred caramel and a delightful hint of fresh herbs that concen- trate into a lengthy finish. This wine is approachable upon release and cellar worthy in proper aging conditions.
Blend: 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot
2021 SILENCIEUX CABERNET SAUVIGNON
100% Napa Valley
EIGHT DISTINCT VINEYARD(S): Venge’s Calistoga Estate Vineyard Block 1, Napa Valley Beckstoffer’s George III Vineyard Young Vines, Rutherford, Napa Valley Stagecoach Vineyard Block I2B, Atlas Peak, Napa Valley Somerston Vineyard Block 24, Chiles Valley, Napa Valley Kenefick Ranch Vineyard, Calistoga, Napa Valley Haymaker Vineyard, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley Star Vineyard, Rutherford, Napa Valley Sugarloaf Vineyard, Napa Valley
Great is the day when we have the opportunity to provide extreme value for the product rendered here at Venge Vineyards. I can say confidently that you will be hard pressed to find a 100% Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that delivers on quality-to-dollar ratios the way that we do with Silencieux Cabernet Sauvignon. And, that is the point of making this wine. This wine is about you, your support in pursuit of our dreams, and providing you with something you can be proud to serve for any occasion. This is pure, guilt-free consumption. A real pleasure center at the heart of our Cabernet programs, friends, and it fills me with absolute joy! I have delivered many messages on dramatic fruit price increases, droughts, and fires, and I am darned pleased to move beyond those topics to more positive ground with the subject of the 2021 vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Our 2021 vintage is turning out to be a limited-production run, with Cabernet Sauvignon at 35% below average harvest levels; however, the result of natural culling brought on by Mother Nature has produced spectacular quality. Many of you often ask us to compare vintages when it comes to your decision to purchase more or less of our Cabernets, in particular. While it is difficult to post an apples-to-apples comparison when it comes to the drought vintages of the late ‘20’s, I can certainly see little peaks of similarity to vintages of 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2013 when noting the 2021 vintage. Naturally, tannin structure and color concentration will dominate the wines from the late ‘20’s as the heat and degree day indexing is far more significant than past vintages. Peel the veneers back a bit and what we get in commonality among the vintages are showy examples with purity of fruit and concentration that are sure to hold firm for at least a decade. If ageing wine is not your jam, you are in luck, as the 2021 vintage – with ample decanting for oxygenation – will drink spectacularly upon release. I have included my detailed Winemaker and production notes here for your reading enjoyment. I look forward to hearing your feedback on our first Cabernet Sauvignon to be released from the historic, 2021 vintage!
-Kirk Venge
