The SOMM Journal

October / November 2016

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/735024

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 59 of 132

{ SOMMjournal.com }  59 Steven Kent Mirassou Owner/Grower/Winemaker, The Steven Kent Winery When establishing The Steven Kent Winery in 1996, Steven Kent Mirassou rang in Livermore Valley's new wave as an unrepentant proselytizer. He has brazenly, for instance, presented his Steven Kent Lineage—a $165 blend of Livermore Valley– grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and (occasion - ally) Malbec—in double-blind tastings alongside the likes of Opus One, Harlan, Joseph Phelps Insignia and Bordeaux Grand Crus, and the wine has fared favorably. It belongs. Confidence comes with the terri - tory. Mirassou represents, after all, the sixth generation of a family that has been farming wine grapes in California since 1854 (originally in Santa Clara Valley and later in Monterey County). They knew the legendary figures: Wetmore, James Concannon, the original Carl Wente. But that wine savvy is also based upon the stunning success of plantings, crowned, without a doubt, by Steven Kent's Ghielmetti Estate Vineyard: a 64-acre site planted in 2001–2002 in the far eastern corner of the appellation near the Altamont Pass, where slopes of high luminosity range from 500 to 1,000 feet and the valley narrows to heighten the impact of daily winds. Explains Mirassou, "In the 1950s, U.C. Davis advised Bordeaux varieties in Livermore's flat gravel beds, and slopes were not planted. So when the '60s came and regions like Napa Valley exploded, Livermore sort of stood still and got left behind. When we got started, we could see there were sites replete with well- drained loamy sand and clay soils—much more conducive to intensity and acid retention—and that's the big difference today." While Mirassou produces outstanding varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it is his Bordeaux inspired blend that rules. The Steven Kent 2012 Lineage (72% Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot), for instance, is gloriously rich yet almost incomparably refined: cedar, cigar box, black cherry/ cassis and slivers of sweet herbiness tucked neatly into a silken, moderately weighted body, bright with acidity and impeccably polished tannins. "What Lineage shows," says Mirassou, "is how dis - tinct we can be, compared to Napa Valley or Médoc. Cabernet Sauvignon grown here gives more of a lean, elegant skeletal structure. Cabernet Franc can be its nervous system, illuminating it with electricity. Our Merlot is typically fleshy, while grapes like Petit Verdot add the exotic feathers that really make you sit up and pay attention." "Personally," adds Mirassou, "my ambition has been to be the first to make world-class wine from Bordeaux varieties, but I can see the valley not being driven by just one or two wine types. The region will expand, like ripples from little pebbles dropped in a pond, because a lot of grapes grow well here, not just the major ones. There will be plenty for connoisseurs to latch on to." "Mother Vines" are still cultivated by Concannon Vineyard). A year later, Carl Wente established his vineyard estate, initi - ating work with cultivars of Chardonnay still considered, after more than 100 years, the best-adapted to California terroirs. Wherefore, when The Somm Journal and the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association conduct their three-day Livermore Valley SOMM CAMP on October 9–11, the focus will be on the historic attributes of Livermore Valley as well as the recent resurgence, only within the past 20 years or so, of ultra-premium winegrowing in the region. What is fueling Livermore Valley's current quality push? Apart from the moderate climate, the early pioneers were drawn to Livermore Valley's well-drained, gravelly/ silty riverbed soils, famously compared to Bordeaux's Graves region. Today, however, we are seeing markedly more concen - trated, focused wines, much of this attrib- uted to movement into shallower hillside soils, where constant wind also becomes a key factor, making an impact on the higher-quality clones (particularly Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties) at growers' disposal. In the course of plotting out our Livermore Valley SOMM CAMP itinerary, I seized the opportunity to query four of Livermore Valley's leading modern-day producers about what makes their region special, and why their wines are more suitable than ever to the needs of today's sommeliers. Steven Kent Mirassou with a barrel of his Lineage blend. The Steven Kent Lineage is one of Livermore Valley's most ambitious wines.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of The SOMM Journal - October / November 2016