2014 Steven Kent Lola Ghielmetti Vineyard

 

This sample was provided by the winery.

 

 

Overview

Over the last couple of years, receiving samples from Steven Kent Winery (and La Rochelle) has always been a high point.  Steven Kent Winery produces some of the best Bordeaux varietal based wines coming out of California.  La Rochelle is at the other end of the varietal spectrum producing outstanding wines from the grapes of Burgundy.  This shipment was of one of my favorite warm weather wines, the new vintage of Steven Kent Winery Lola.  This is usually an outstanding blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, the white grapes of Bordeaux.

 

 

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 at 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, Livermore Valley was already far ahead of its Napa Valley 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 at 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.

 

 

2014 Steven Kent Lola Ghielmetti Vineyard – SRP $24.00

The fruit for both varietals was fermented separately in stainless tanks.  The Semillon was aged in neutral oak barrels for about three months then blended with the stainless steel aged Sauvignon Blanc.  To maintain as much of the racy fruit as possible Lola did not go through malolactic fermentation and was thus filtered before bottling.

 

This wine is a blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon from the Ghielmetti Estate Vineyard located in the foothills 3.4 miles east of the Winery.  The wine has 13.6% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off cap.  There was 500 cases of this wine produced.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a clear light straw yellow with a slight green tint.  The fresh and sexy nose has lemon zest, honey suckle, orange blossoms, crushed stone minerals, apples, cut grass, lime zest and a touch of spice.  This has light to medium body with crisp acidity.  On the palate tart apples and lemon zest jump out quickly with minerals and white flowers coming in later.  The finish has very good length with lime zest and a slight grassy note coming in adding nice depth.  This is a killer bottle of wine for a nice au fresco meal on the deck or patio or to sip on its own on a warm day at the pool.  Count me in as a big fan.  (91 pts)

 

 

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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 always check out the sale and close out items when in a store.  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.

 

 

 

Cheers!