1. In my short time of being a lifelong student of wine, I’ve never thought about wine tasting in Livermore
2. Until two months ago, I hadn’t yet heard of Steven Kent Winery or La Rochelle

These two things, I’ve officially marked as tragic, but these two things have changed. Permanently, and for the better.

I can attest that a great time was had by all* meeting and speaking with Steven during the time that we were there. By the time we concluded the tasting, I was in disbelief that such great wines, and such historic vineyards, could be so. darn. close. to where I lived (currently San Jose). Needless to say, I have to now schedule a full weekend of tasting in Livermore Valley, simply to see if other can live up to what I experienced with Steven Kent Winery and La Rochelle. Oh, I so hope my wishes of joyous wine experiences come true!

The scoop: The wines from these two wineries don’t immediately fall within the regular qualifications I use to write about wines. There’s no new flavor or aroma, the labels are attractive and appropriate within the industry (in fact, the SKW label strikes me more as an advertising style logo than wine, but what the hell do I know?), the tasting rooms were great (the views were beautiful, the staff was great, and there were oven-fired pizzas the day we were there- yum!), and these varieties are all ones you’ve heard of before. No, instead, I’m writing about these wines and the wineries because this area – Livermore – is California’s oldest wine growing region, and THAT HISTORY makes this area stand out. It’s the history of Steven’s family bringing the first Mourvedre (and possible Pinot Noir) vines here in the late 1800s that makes this a story to know a bit about. It’s also important (to me, at least) to note that these two wineries each produce about 5,000 cases, so we need to make sure that we support the boutique winemakers!

The score: Most wines ended up in the 4 out of 5 range, and you’ll see that below. Overall, the quality was so good across the board, I had to post all my notes so you could see for yourself that these wineries need to be placed on your list!

The nerdy notes: strap on your reading rocket boots – we tasted A LOT of wines, and I was not disappointed!

2009 La Rochelle Blanc de Noir Sparkling Wine, Methode Champenoise McIntyre Estate Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands, 13.8% alc., $34
score: 4 out of 5
n: beautiful creamy nose, slight creamy brie note
t: very light bubbles, slight Meyer lemon note, beautiful

2011 Steven Kent Merrillie Chardonnay Landucci Block Livermore Valley, 14.6% alc, $34
score: 4+/5 out of 5 – wowza!
n: slight toasty oak, beautiful Meyer lemon, “I really just want to huff this for a while”, ruby red grapefruit
t: nice body, good acid, Meyer lemon and SweetTart tartness, nice long finish, grapefruit note

2010 La Rochelle Dutton-Morelli Russian River Valley $65
score: 3+ out of 5
n: lighter/thinner than Merrille, slight reductive, slight grassy note/hay
t: thinner, tart, regular lemon, nice finish, much better paired w/ fod (brie + toasts)

2010 La Rochelle Chardonnay Ferrington Vineyard Anderson Valley, $65
score: 3+ out of 5
n: gravenstein apple, moderate diacetyl and banana note
t: diacetyl, fennel, long finish, slight bell pepper note, nice acidity

2010 La Rochelle Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands, 14.6% alc., $75
score: 4 out of 5
n: warm, bright cherry and tobacco and black tea notes, slight lemon note upon opening
t: warm baked cherry pie, moderate to long finish, nice acid and tannin structure, rich

2010 La Rochelle Pinot Noir Donum Estate Vineyard Carneros, 14.6% alc., $75
score: 5 out of 5 – FOLKS, WE HAVE A WINNER HERE!!
n: nice forward fruit, flint/pencil lead, slight raspberry and fig, slight shitake and redwood forest floor
t: slight smoke, warmth to the fruit and supple, long finish, light black cherry

2009 La Rochelle Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow
score: 4 out of 5
n: ripe amazing note, black cherry, redwood, tobacco and black tea
t: moderate tannin but not aggressive, really ripe blackberry and black cherry and pits

2010 Steven Kent The Premier Cabernet Sauvignon Livermore Valley 14.3% alc., $100
score: 4 out of 5
n: cassis, black tea, deep tones, slight mint on back note, cedar box, black cherry (overripe)
t: fig and baking spice

2010 Steven Kent Cabernet Franc Ghielmetti Vineyard Livermore Valley
score: 3+/4 out of 5
n: black pepper, bell pepper note, sweet oak notes, anise and fennel
t: moderate tannins, black pepper, black olive (brine hint), moderate tannin structure, walnut

2010 Steven Kent Merlot Ghielmetti Vineyard Livermore Valley
score: 3+/4 out of 5
n: black pepper, cassis, deep notes, toasty oak, fig
t: warm, mild oak notes, slightly underripe blackberry

2009 Lineage (27% Merlot, Cab Sauv)
score: 4 out of 5
n: cassis, black tea, slight asphalt, sweet oak notes (vanilla hint)
t: long finish, nose notes carry through here, sage, basil

2010 Lineage (15% Merlot, 65% Cab Sauv, 16% Cab Franc)
score: 4 out of 5
n: sage, fruit forward, slight minerality, black pepper
t: cassis, tea, nice vanilla note from oak, mild to moderate tannins, black cherry

Library tasting – now we’re really nerding out with Steven, and I really counted myself luck at this point
2006 La Rochelle Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, 15.8% alc.
score: 4 out of 5
n: big! fig and slightly smokey, slight blueberry, Rhone-like personality and worthy of a cocktail

2006 La Rochelle Pinot Noir Gary’s Vineyard
score: 4 out of 5
n: forest floor, sage, eucalyptus
t: forest floor, sage, eucalyptus plus nice full, long finish, redwood, cherry and raspberry

2005 La Rochelle Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow
score: 4 out of 5
n: ripe raspberry and fig, black tea
t: nice, full ripe fruit, subtle, complex and slight yeast, will knock you out of your chair with how age worthy this still is

*With full disclosure, the tasting I”m about to write up was part of an organized tasting I attended with Luscious Lushes, James the Wine Guy, and BrixChicks. I was the “baby” in the group when it comes to amount of time or amount of posts written, and I was totally okay with that.

I realize that quite a few folks that read this blog or speak to me in person are always looking for recommendations of places to visit when coming into California, but maybe aren’t able to sync up with me quick enough to get a tailored list of places I recommend tasting. So…to help remedy this situation, I’ll post “New-to-you region” write-ups for your benefit, and cross-link so that you can do additional research either on my specific wine reviews, or with the wineries themselves. These write-ups will be a little different from what you’re used to seeing on this blog, but mixing it up (read: being deviant on a deviant blog) is a great thing! Without further ado, I give you Carneros!

Carneros – rich with history, and known to produce beautiful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. I could go on in paragraphs about how this AVA came to be…but I won’t. You know how to read, especially since I’m giving you background links.

This event, like many, are set up to enjoy the beautiful weather and vineyard scenery. The setups were varied – some places were grilling or prepping food, others allowing folks to sample wines from special barrel rooms – but the folks at every location were great! And, don’t forget to bring your DD (designated driver), so that you can enjoy the weekend. Maybe trade-off, one person driving one day, and a different person on the second day, so that everyone can enjoy and be safe!u background links. I recently attended a tasting event called April in Carneros, hosted by the Hospitality de los Carneros Association, and had a lovely time. With only 4 hours to taste, I tried my best to move through A LOT of wines, so that I could report back on the ones that struck my fancy. Heck, I even had some fun while doing it (notice the fancy hat I’m sporting as a prize from the prize wheel at )…and you should expect to have a fun time too!

As for my selections, here they are:

Image rights owned by Center of Effort Winery

Out in the land of the Central Coast is a winery few have heard of. Small in the grand scheme of things, they have a couple of great winemakers at the helm, charting a path for the Center of Effort wines of today and tomorrow. Funded by a couple of well known (and well funded) Cal Poly SLO alumni, this winery has the good fortune of working with great fruit, and the wines are cared for by Nathan* and Mike, both known to produce some great vintages prior to this project.

The scoop: To me, the main standout for these wines (see Deviant Guide criteria here) is their label. They’ve screen printed the label onto some very pretty glass, and it’s a bottle that could easily be spotted, thanks to the unique logo approach taken by the owners of Center of Effort. It’s not hard to recognize the C surrounding the O engulfing the E (that spells COE, folks), nor is it hard to recognize the effort placed into these wines. You’ll see below that overall, they are worth getting your hands on them. And take note, they have a “second” tier to Center of Effort, simply and lovingly called Effort.

You’ll also see a couple of aromatic descriptors that maybe you don’t see as often when tasting Burgundian style wines: blood orange on a Pinot Noir is not what I expect…but there it was, and it was lovely.

The score: I’d put all of these wines somewhere between a 3+ and 4 out of 5. Across the board for this winery are well structured wines. If I had been smart, maybe I would have gotten a couple of bottles to lay down and see what they were like in 5+ years.

The nerdy notes:

2008 Effort Edna Valley Pinot Noir
n: Rose petal, black tea, tobacco leaf, slight cedar note
t: little spice & ripe citrus, Pomegranate

2009 Center of Effort Edna Valley Pinot Noir
n: perfume, light baby powder, deep red fruit
t: moderate spice, black tea, lovely once open, blood orange

2008 Effort Chardonnay
n: gala apples, slight note of yeast, malolactic note, bananas foster
t: fruit cup, tropical notes, slight but faint hotness

2009 Effort Chardonnay
n: pine, lemon ( bright) & slight butterscotch
t: bright citrus, not much else. would you believe me if I said I think this wine is too young? or maybe I’m just too impatient.

2008 Center of Effort Chardonnay
n: lemon drop candy (powder), tart,
t: nice mouthfeel, mild citrus (grapefruit), mild malolactic feel, easy drinker & a lovely glass to drink

2009 Center of Effort Chardonnay
n: nice acidity & brightness, slight malolactic characteristic
t: smooth yet slight cirtus, tart

*In the interest of full disclosure, I happen to be friends with Nathan and his girlfriend, Kristin, and have known them from working and living down in SLO for many years. That being said, if I didn’t like the wines, I wouldn’t have posted them, and you’ll see that although I enjoy them, I’m not afraid to mark down all my notes above.