This is based on samples provided by the winery or organization acting on their behalf.

2012 Steven Kent Chardonnay Merrillie

2010 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Home Ranch Vineyard

2010 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Folkendt Vineyard

I was recently lucky enough to receive some wine samples from the Steven Kent Winery. I had the opportunity to try some of their wines last year and I was very impressed. To say I’m excited to try these wines would be a big understatement.

The Steven Kent Winery Was Born

In 2005, Steven joined forces with the Ghielmetti family who owned a spectacular vineyard site about three miles east of the winery. The site was planted to Bordeaux and Rhône varieties, many of which he used to make small-lot releases for his burgeoning wine clubs. Steven realized in 2007, though, that the farther he went down this path, the further away he’d be from the vision with which he started in the business – to make a single, great, statement wine.

Lineage—our Livermore Valley Red Wine—then, is the renaissance of that need to have the effort mean something; for the wine to be a symbol of the passion to create something of great quality, an emblem of one family’s generations-long commitment to the grape.

Also in 2005, Steven found an opportunity to close a circle. His cousins, who had earlier sold the Mirassou brand to Gallo, had started a brand called La Rochelle, named for the town north of Bordeaux from which their progenitor had come to America in 1854. La Rochelle had an amazingly talented winemaker, Tom Stutz, and a portfolio of wines whose only focus was family vineyard fruit from Monterey. Steven acquired the brand and brought it and Tom up to Livermore with a new focus on Pinot Noir. Seven years later, La Rochelle is making some of the best Pinot Noirs (and a newly released, small-lot production focus on Chardonnay) in California.

Much more information, links to the wineries, and purchasing information is available on their website.

Steven has a very nice blog here – Steven’s Blog.

Steven Kent Winery Info

“Steven Kent is producing today’s greatest Livermore Cabernets, wines that hearken back to the valley’s roots as one of California’s best wine regions.” – Wine Enthusiast

The Steven Kent Winery was started in 1996 with one mission: to make Cabernet here in the Livermore Valley that rivals in quality the greatest red wines made anywhere in the world.

Livermore Valley has a long, dedicated history of growing the “Bordeaux” varietals, and in particular Cabernet Sauvignon. In the 1880s, pioneering winegrowers began to discover the potential of the Livermore Valley region. Then, as today, L.V.’s climate and soils closely resemble those of Bordeaux’s famed left bank of the Gironde. By the turn of the last century, LivermoreValley was already far ahead of its NapaValley neighbor in specializing in the Bordeaux varieties. Our goal at Steven Kent is to carry on that tradition.

“We have worked joyously and strenuously to know our vineyards; to learn how our fruit expresses itself from those sites; to discover the best winemaking and barrel regimens that translates those grapes into world-class vintages. We’re very gratified that customers, critics, and collectors alike consider our “historic Cabernet” to be an essential addition to their table, their “best of lists,” and their cellars”. – Steven Kent Mirassou

More information is available on their website.

To check availability or to purchase any of these wine or other wines offered by the wineries in the Steven Kent Portfolio, visit their website.

The line up for this tasting:

Steven Kent Line up

2012 Steven Kent Chardonnay Merrillie – SRP $34

This 100% Chardonnay uses fruit from the Landucci Block of Chardonnay, in the LivermoreValley, about 1.5 miles west of the winery. This block is planted to one of the older Wente clones. The first varietally-labeled Chardonnay was made from Wente clone fruit, and many of the most sought after clones in California (Robert Young, Hyde Selection) are children of Wente clone material.

After destemming and crushing the fruit was transferred to stainless steel tanks where it was allowed to settle for about 48 hours prior to fermentation. The must was then transferred to barrel where it underwent both primary and secondary (malo-lactic) fermentation. The wine was aged sur lie for 8 months in 60% new French oak barrels. The wine was then bottled without filtration or fining.

The wine has 14.7% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light golden yellow color. The tropical and fresh smelling nose has apples, pears, flinty minerals, pineapple, lemon zest, baking spices and vanilla. This has medium body, creamy texture and citrusy acidity. On the palate the white orchard fruit, minerals and vanilla hit on the front end with nice closing citrus. The finish has good length with minerals, apples and lemon zest slowly fading away. This is on the young side but still very tasty with some air. (91 pts)

2012 Steven Kent Chardonnay Merrillie

2010 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Home Ranch Vineyard – SRP $65

This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wine is from the site of the winery’s tasting room on Tesla Road. The 2.8 acre vineyard block was planted in 1996.

After destemming & crushing the fruit was fermented in open-top fermentors. It went through primary fermentation & maceration in bin then malolactic fermentation was induced in barrel. The wine was aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels before it was bottled without filtration and fining. There were only 189 six-packs of wine produced.

The wine has 14.1% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium ruby red color. The very inviting nose has cassis, eucalyptus, cherry, minerals, licorice, dried herbs, cedar, warm baking spices and white pepper. This has medium body, moderate tannins and good acidity. On the palate the laser focused fruit is joined with mint and spice on the front end with dried herbs, minerals and white pepper coming through on the back end. The finish has good length with the fruit and minerals carrying the load. (93 pts)

2010 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Home Ranch Vineyard

2010 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Folkendt Vineyard – SRP $65

This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a 4.5 acre vineyard planted in 1992 on Greenville Road in the LivermoreValley.

The wine has 14.2% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to dark ruby red color. The outgoing nose has cassis, dried herbs, minerals, plums, cocoa powder, cedar and cherries. The wine has medium body, moderate to solid tannins and good acidity. On the palate tart fruit, cedar and minerals carry the load with plums and dark chocolate coming in later. The finish has good length with a touch of mint entering the picture. (92 pts)

2010 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Folkendt Vineyard

Conclusions

Both of the cabernets tasted better on the second and third day. If you open one, give it plenty of air but it would be preferable to stash them in the cellar for a year or two. The Chardonnay will also reward some time in your cellar but is very tasty with some air.

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two. Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets. I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

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Cheers!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive. I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.

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