The Wandering Wino Blog
Lineage - A Legacy Cabernet
Written by shawn on date 24 July 2012 in Wine Reviews
In life and wine there are often quantifiers. In school we had grades. In life we have work reviews, in wine we have scores. All of these things are simply an attempt to distinguish between below average, average, above average, or rock-star status.
Allow me to get to the meat by unabashedly saying this is a hall of fame rock-star wine!
Steven Kent Winery or shall I say Steven Kent Mirassou is a 6th generation California winemaker that has a winery in Livermore Valley of California. The Lineage label is his top tier of wines and a true Bordeaux style blend. While other California regions may often take up the spot-light on Cabernet and Bordeaux style blends, this wine can go toe to toe amongst the best.
The nose offered big juicy plum, currant, coffee, and anise.
This is one of those wines that is so deep, you have to keep going back to learn and discover more. If this wine were a baseball player he'd be described as a home-run hitting, base stealing, Triple Crown winning, Cy Young award winning pitcher, that is known as being the best short-stop and catcher in the game.
Elegant blackberry with layers of complexity, structure, amazing depth that make you want to be in a room alone just to ponder. Chewy tannins complimented with flavors of coco powder and baking spice. The finish went on for days......
Only six barrels produced and the love that went into production is very apparent. Five of the six barrels used were new French oak. Harvest amongst the 2009 fruit was between October 24, 2009 all the way until November 6, 2009. The long growing season that offered complex fruit is clearly seen in this wine.
I've had the pleasure of consuming a few California Cult wines. Many of those wines came with price tags of $200+, and many were not to the same level of amazing as the Lineage. Only 237 cases of Lineage were produced. This wine retails for $145, and might I suggest this wine is under priced. After six generations of wine making, might I also suggest that Steven Kent (Mirassou) is the one leaving the legacy.
(Sample provided by Steven Kent)
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