Cloudy’s 2020 did not last, all sold out as we feared.

But we were prepared, having dug even deeper into the library for another one! At the tender age of 8, with a couple of nice scores too, unlike the previous which had none, this is gonna fly.

The Napa Valley Register said it right, “Kirk Venge has made some of the finest examples of wines the Napa Valley has to offer.”

Fact check: Last time we offered a Janzen, it was 4 years ago and we dropped the price by $70. That was a killer deal. And one of the most popular and most re-requested wines of the year.

So, this time?

We’re turning up, hitting new lows, and serving a second helping right! From $185 to $65 puts this in the deepest and steepest of terrain and drops a full benny back in your pocket, and then some!

If you liked the Anthem Mt. Veeder Cab I must say this is very similar - ultra-ripe and rich, polished, and built like a house. Fully torqued, and ready to rip!

Janzen is one of those producers that has rock-steady reliability. But actually, it’s not the producer - it’s Kirk Venge. He’s the reason these wines remain consistent year in and year out. Each vintage is a BLOCKBUSTER Cab from hillside fruit sourced from a premier vineyard in Napa.

This has ALL the right stuff, starting with the vineyard.

Bacio Divino makes three single-vineyard Cabernets, each from its own rightfully incredible location. Each sparing no expense. This beauty comes entirely from hillside fruit in Cloudy’s Vineyard, which sits at the edge of the Vaca mountains, not far from Hourglass Vineyard. The vines struggle to produce tiny clusters, with thick skins, and each berry contains neutron star like density of fruit inside…

Then there’s the aforementioned winemaker. How many 95-100 point wines has Venge made just like his dad the venerable Nils Venge?? We lost count. All we know is that they are Cab wizzes, the guys you call to extract that core of supergiant flavor from your prized grapes. Like that endless silk handkerchief trick, he somehow teases an Amazonian expanse of rich fruit and dense flavor building upwards into a skyscraper-like structure. Waves of warm mulberries, rich cassis, violet-tinted blackberry jam, sweet herbs, torrefaction, and tobacco - it’s all there in spades. No expense spared here, raised in a mix of 100% new French Oak Taransaud, Gamba and Sylvain barrels (tastes just how you like it). Fine-grained tannins suggest it has years of life ahead - a decade or two easy. A few extra years in the bottle will reward handsomely but it’s oh so irresistible now.

For those who like to map things out, Cloudy’s is PRIME high elevation Napa fruit, sitting in a canyon between Switchback Ridge and Hourglass.

Serious Cab hounds, ready to grab your share again? Do not blink or you may miss this too!

94 Points – Wine Enthusiast “From the producer’s estate vineyard on the eastern side of the valley, this 100% varietal wine opens in a wealth of nutmeg, cinnamon and clove, giving it a spicy edge on the palate. Dark fruit, toasted oak and thick tannin wrap around each other in well-integrated layers of power and structure.”

93 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “The Janzen Cloudy’s Vineyard is another impressive 2017 from this team, revealing a deep purple hue as well as loads of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit intermixed with plenty of chocolate, graphite, and roasted herb aromas and flavors. Full-bodied and concentrated, with impressive balance, notable tannins, and a solid spine of acidity, drink it any time over the coming 15 years. Drink 2020-2035.”