1996 Venge Cabernet Sauvignon Family Reserve
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Licorice and black fruits on the nose lead you to a plush, polished, round and fruit filled finish that is at its apogee.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
This is a dazzling effort. It possesses over 14% alcohol, and is highly-extracted as well as wooded as it was aged in 100% new French oak. Exceptionally dense, it offers formidable quantities of black fruits, smoky oak, and licorice, awesome purity, and layers of extract. Its finish exceeds 30 seconds. My best guess for this unevolved, backward Cabernet is that it will require 3-5 years of cellaring, but will last for 2-3 decades. It is a remarkably intense, hugely concentrated wine exhibiting the tell-tale Nils Venge style of viscous cassis/blackberry fruit crammed into a flamboyantly oaked, powerhouse, ageworthy personality. Tel. (707) 944-1304; Fax (707) 944-1325