Venge Scouts Honor Red Blend 2023

Region: Napa Valley, California

Grape Variety: Zinfandel, Charbono, Petite Sirah & Syrah

Former Reserve Club Selection

It is impressive to see how Kirk Venge has pushed out of the shadow of his father, Nils, who was the first American winemaker to earn a perfect 100 point score from wine critic Robert Parker with the 1985 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Rather than ride on the family coat tails and work with dad, Kirk split off to create his own legacy, becoming one of the most heralded winemakers in Napa Valley from his own property, Venge Family Farms. However, his impressive stature today all started in 1996 with the first bottling of this wine produced in honor of his favorite dog, Scout.

I have visited Venge Family Vineyards twice over the years, first at their original location near St. Helena and later at the new winery on Silverado Trail. Kirk produces a staggering number of wines under his own label, mostly from single vineyard sites of his longtime friends in the valley. He also is the winemaker of several cult projects which are produced in the same facility, including a former club pick, Trespass Vineyard. Kirk has a definite style, producing full throttle, extracted, high alcohol wines typically framed by copious amounts of oak. Personally, I find some bottlings a little too much, but during a recent tasting of his Florida offerings I was impressed with several wines including their most famous bottling, Scout’s Honor.

Since that first vintage this wine has always had the soul of old Napa, with a Zinfandel base. This year the blend is 76% Zinfandel, 14% Charbono, 8% Petite Sirah and 2% Syrah. The Zinfandel was picked from two, old-vine (60 to 100+ years old), dry-farmed vineyard sources: Venge’s Signal Fire Vineyard estate, and the Frediani Ranch, both located in the heart of Calistoga. The Charbono is from old, dry-farmed vines (60 to 100+ years old) also planted in the Frediani Vineyard. Robbie Mondavi’s Howell Mountain Oso Vineyard is the source of the Petite Sirah. Then he rounds out the blend with a dollop of Syrah from Stagecoach Vineyard, high in the mountains of the Atlas Peak AVA. 50% of the wine was aged in new American oak barrels and the remainder in second pass French barrels for 14 months.

You will definitely want to decant this wine for up to an hour before serving, and I strongly suggest giving it a light chill as it weighs in over 15% alcohol. The nose is a rich combination of milk chocolate, caramel, dried black figs, Luxardo cherries, boysenberry preserves, cinnamon and clove. On the palate this wine is drier than the past few vintages, with high concentration and a powerful core of fruit framed by firm, grainy tannins. Drink 2023-2026.