2015 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley

VENGE 2015 FAMILY RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON, OAKVILLE
Our 2015 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a stellar example of our Oakville Estate Vineyard. The nose carries intense notes of dark fruit, dried lavender, tobacco, cedar, and spice. The palate is full and expansive. Intense flavors of blackberry, blueberry, cassis, vanillin, and earthy spices are won-derfully integrated. Complex, balanced, and full-bodied, drink between 2019 to 2035.
IN THE VINEYARD
Harvest took place early in early October. The cane-pruned vines were hand harvested from our Venge Estate vineyard in Oakville. The 2015 vintage was an unusually warm year with a heat spike right before harvest. This resulted in a smaller crop. Though limited in production, this produced an extraordi-nary vintage. Now in their 29th year, we continue to sustainably “dry farm” these vines by not allowing them any applied summer irrigation. Their roots must find water on their own and struggle in the final months of summer and early fall leading to a complexity and depth of flavor often unequaled in irrigated vineyards.
IN THE CELLAR
The fruit was destemmed into a combination of small stainless steel tank fermenters, concrete vats, and open top barriques. Time on skins lasted 14 to 45 days. The fruit was then separated to “free run” and “light press” frac-tions. The Cabernet was aged in 100% new, tight grained, French Oak bar-rels for a lengthy 27 months. We employ a variety of cooperages for Caber-net including Boutes, Sylvain, Taransaud, Gamba and Alain Foquet. 100% native, spontaneous yeast and malolactic fermentations were also key in-gredients in the making of this wine. The gentle use of gravity flow wine-making, whenever possible, is carefully exercised throughout the making of this and every Venge wine. Bottled unfiltered.