Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/62409
WINEMAKING days. Frequent yeast choices for the Cabs and Bordeaux grapes are D254, BM45 and RB2. Nutrients are used only when the grapes demand it. The wines ferment some period beyond dryness, until they taste right. Discussing the relatively low-input approach to winemaking for both labels—skipping nutrients and enzymes and keeping sulfur additions down— Mirassou notes that the wine industry did just fine without these things until not that many years ago. He says the technical advances that greatly improved white wine quality in the past 40 years have been moved on to reds as well, increasing reliability but perhaps at the expense of nuance. The highest tier Kent reds go into Taransaud, François Frères and Le Grand barrels; some other reds spend time in Canton Grand Cru American oak and in Hungarian oak from Trust and Demptos. Some Cabernet lots mature in 100% new oak, most around 70%-75%; Syrah gets 50%-60% new American oak; Cab Franc goes mostly into second-fill barrels. Cabernet Sauvignon usually spends 24 to 26 months in barrel, the Bordeaux blenders 20 months, the Rhone and Steven Kent Mirassou (left) and winemaker Tom Stutz of La Rochelle taste in the laboratory at Wente Vineyards. La Rochelle makes high-end Pinot Noir sourced from various regions in Cali- fornia, and Steven Kent Winery focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon. Italian grapes 18 months. As with the Pinots, fining and filtration aren't part of the program. The Steven Kent label also offers a Livermore Chardonnay, Merrillie, named after Mirassou's grandmother and based on an old Wente Chardonnay clone. Plans are under way to develop a larger line of small-batch Chardonnays, similar to the La Rochelle Pinots, and in some cases from the same cool-climate vineyard sources. All in all, the entire operation produces around 50 different bottlings per year, adding up to about 9,000 cases. Under the Steven Kent label there are several Cabernets, single-variety Bordeaux grape TECHNICAL REVIEW QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #1029 56 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2012