Mission Codename Artsy smarty
E.K. E.K. Eeek! One of our favorites is back today!
Gorgeous label art, gorgeous single vineyard, super cool story.
And the best part? Well, aside from stunning stone fruits, minerality, and lush texture? It’s almost half off!
Kent Humphrey, otherwise known as Eric Kent, spent some time under Bill Hunter of Chasseur and Mike Officer of Carlisle so you know he knows his way around the winery. He and his wife, Colleen launched Eric Kent to honor their shared love of art with each vintage featuring a unique artist on the label and a true expression of place in the bottle. Humphrey makes wines “of immense charm and poise,” according to PinotFile and that includes his Chardonnays.
Besides the beautifully artistic labels, what’s going on inside these bottles is dazzling. It is fresh and clean with a brilliant texture. This Chard has just the right amount of oak leaving it lifted, and well-structured. On the nose, green apple, caramel, and baked pears while lemon curd, quince, nutmeg, and ripe peach are on the palate. A lesson in balance. A completely breathtaking, highly crushable example of Chardonnay done right in our mind.
You may recall how fast that Stiling Pinot from EK came and went a few months ago… And this Chard brings that same classic Russian River character, with a floral Rued clone twist. We are, after all, in the neighborhood where heavy hitters like Kistler and Gary Farrell (with their own Stiling) tout wines that consistently get solid scores. Almost 3 years (gulp!) in barrel allows long and slow exposure to teeny tiny amounts of oxygen and the result is stylish oak nuances in perfect harmony with the bright fruit.
The heat of summer can be exhausting, and this is the perfect wine to relieve that. With lobster tails, or prawns or any shellfish really, in garlic butter.
Grab what you can quickly to enjoy on the patio cause we did not get that much!
What the Winery Says
2019 'Stiling Vineyard' Russian River Valley Chardonnay
- Winemaker
- Kent Humphrey
- Varietal
- 100% Chardonnay
- Vintage
- 2019
- Alcohol
- 14.5%
- Appellation
- Russian River Valley, Sonoma County
- Vineyards
- Stiling Vineyard
- Clones
- 100% Rued
- Fermentation
- 100% barrel
- pH
- 3.45
- TA
- 5.9 g/L
- Aging
- 32 months barrel & puncheon
- Barrels
- 35% new French oak