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What We Say 2010 'Joie De Vivre' Sauvignon Blanc
QPR ALERT:
Today’s wine is a fantastic value, drinking well above its price class. This earn this wonderful Sauvignon Blanc a QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Alert.
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Mission Codename: Embrace it
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: In time for our Operatives’ summertime enjoyment, send Agent Red to investigate Joseph Vineyards, a Napa Valley winery whose charter is to create limited production wine of superior quality. Secure a high-value wine for our deserving Operattives.
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Joseph Kent Wines
Wine Subject: 2010 Joie de Vivre Sauvignon Blanc
Winemaker: Kent Jarman
Backgrounder: Sauvignon Blanc originally hails from the Loire Valley in France, but has found new homes in other parts of France (Bordeaux, where it is blended with Sauternes); New Zealand, and specifically the Marlborough region as well as California. It is generally dry and crisp with flavors of apples, pears and tropical fruit and tends to have bright acidity that lends itself well to pairing with spicy foods.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Golden yellow, this wine sparkles when swirled. Color is evenly concentrated, from edge to core. After the wine settles, skinny legs start high up on the inside of the glass, before they run slowly down.
Smell – Beautifully fragrant, with a refreshing rush of white peach, orange blossom, green melon, and newly dried yellow straw. As the wine opens up, hints of green apple, vanilla and light lemon curd make a subtle appearance.
Feel – Soft and round across the front palate, this wine turns even more velvety across the mid-palate. As the wine passes the palate, completely, soft tannins add a hint of dryness at the mid-palate. This dryness, combined with the bright acidity of the wine, accentuate flavors and add complexity.
Taste – Bright and focused, with flavors of young peach, crisp citrus and sweet white flowers leading the way. These are soon followed by yellow apple, green apple, zest, soft minerals and just a hint of zesty spice, all of which show on the mid-palate. At the tail end, unique tropical notes of guava, and pineapple make a sweet appearance.
Finish – Long and very flavorful, the wine begins sweet and then goes slightly tart. As these initial flavors fade, a soft minerality eases in, leading the way to the brief appearance of sweet tropical fruits.
Conclusion – This is a very very special Sauvignon Blanc! Loaded with flavor, bursting with fragrant aromas and a sheer delight on the palate, this is a fantastic wine whose value far exceeds its price. Delicious, approachable and soft on the palate, this is a wine that renews our love for this varietal. You may have noticed that we feature very few Sauvignon Blancs on our pages. This is because we find most interpretations to be overly harsh, grassy or worse. Today’s *2010 Joseph Kent Joie de Vivre Sauvignon Blanc_ shines as a beautiful example of just how excellent the wine can be – in the right hands. Kudos to Kent Jarman and Mitch Boyd, who have teamed up to craft wines that are wonderful expressions of place and varietal. Their Sauv Blanc strikes an even balance between complexity and approachability. There is something here for everyone. Pair this brightly delicious treat with your favorite summertime delicacies.
Mission Report:
WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER
SUBJECT: Kent Jarman
WINE EDUCATION: UC Davis
CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: Winemaker for Kenefick Ranch, Coup de Foudre, Associate Winemaker Somerston
WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: Create wines that are extremely flexible for instance, early approachability and extensive aging, excellent food pairing or alone. Aromatics and finish tend to be most important to me
WINEMAKER QUOTE: “Wine and music are symbiotic. Both take you on a journey and are extremely therapeutic to whatever the soul may need at a given time.”
FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: 2008 Joseph Kent “Joie de Vivre” Sauvignon Blanc – June 2009
WINEMAKER INTERVIEW
AGENT RED: Greetings, Kent. We are thrilled to be showing your 2010 Kent Joseph Joie de Vivre Sauvignon Blanc today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.
KENT JARMAN: Thanks for the opportunity!
RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?
KENT: Christmas dinner a long, long, time ago, and I walked by two bottles of Penfolds Bin 707 Cab Sauv my Dad had opened to let breathe. The aromatics were incredible and were coming at me from 10 ft away!
RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?
KENT: It’s really been a culmination of all of my experiences in my 10 years of winemaking. Started with Duckhorn, and then one of my best friend’s, Robbie Meyer, really taught me a lot about wine, vineyards, business, and life, in general.
RED: Who do you make wine for?
KENT: My business partner and I really like to style the wine to our liking without leaving the consumer out of the loop.
RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.
KENT: You’re drinking a Sauv Blanc that is grown on some of the nicest soils in Napa. Most of the fruit is sourced in Calistoga on Aiken soils, and has a small quantity of the Musque clone blended in. That helps with the tangerine oil nuances of the aromatics. The aging on lees and batonage process really aid with the creamy mouthfeel.
RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?
KENT: Raw Oysters!
RED: In your opinion, what makes the Napa Valley such a special place for Sauvignon Blan?
KENT: Our climate and soils really allow us to tailor make Sauvignon Blanc. There is no real “Napa” style to Sauv Blanc because we can get the tropical notes or go for the grassy notes, and pick and choose your acid profiles based on how you manage your canopies or when you pick your grapes. The flexibility is the key to Napa Sauvignon Blanc
RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?
KENT: Bottling! Ugh…
RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?
KENT: The Joseph Kent Sauv Blanc needs an open mind because it is not typical of most SB. I think ours has a bit more body and richness than some of the very easy to drink versions of the grape.
RED: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
KENT: Don’t be afraid to cellar a bottle or two of the 2010 for a couple of years. The way it’s made and the dark bottle really allow this wine to drink incredible right on release, but fun to see how it changes over time. Our 2008 is still very delicious.
RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!
What the Winery Says
Joseph Kent Wines
About This Wine:
The phrase “Joie de Vivre” is interpreted as The Joy of Living. We really enjoy everything we do at Joseph Kent Wines, and this approach lends itself to our winemaking style. The “batonage” technique of stirring the finished yeast lees in barrel for two months lends a crème brulet character and texture to this wine. The aromatic profile shows Lychee Fruit, Gardenia Blossom, and White Peach. This is underlined by a well-weighted palate of Passion Fruit, Melon, and Vanilla Bean. Firm acidity allows the wine to have a crisp finish.
About The Winery:
“Laissez les bons temps rouler” translated from Cajun French to English means “Let the good times roll”.
This phrase embodies the spirit of Joseph Kent Wines and is present in everything that we do. Kent and Mitch met at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans in 2001. Little did they know at that time that a lifelong friendship would be born from a love of music, wines, outdoor pursuits, and culinary exploits. Over the years both Mitch and Kent have watched each others careers blossom in the Winemaking and Sales & Marketing areas of the wine business. After years of discussion over many concerts and glasses of wine they decided to put their diverse backgrounds together to form Joseph Kent Wines. They still travel from Napa to the New Orleans Jazz Fest every year with family and friends to celebrate great music, food, and the culture of New Orleans.
Mitch Boyd: Mitch, a native to the Bay Area, began his wine career with Kenwood Vineyards and Heck Estates, quickly moving up through the ranks from the tasting room to become the International Sales and Marketing Manager. Mitch traveled the world extensively growing and building sales and distribution for Kenwood Vineyards and Heck Estates for 6 years. He then took on the challenge of building an import brand in the Americas, working with Diego Planeta and Settesoli, one of the largest and most respected wine cooperatives in Europe. After serving as Vice President of Sales for Vinum Global, a wine sales and importing company, he was the Director of Sales for White Cottage Ranch on Howell Mountain. In addition to managing Joseph Kent Wines Mitch is currently a sales and marketing consultant for small family brands in Napa, including Encanto Vineyards and Red Cap Vineyards. He resides in Napa with his wife Natalie.
Kent Jarman: Kent was born in the culturally rich environment of South Louisiana. Growing up in a family with a Grandfather that managed a wine distribution business Kent was immersed in fine wines at a young age. This family atmosphere would be the basic foundation for a future in
winemaking. After graduating from U.C. Davis in Viticulture and Enology, and internships at J Winery and Spring Mountain Winery, Kent took a job with Duckhorn Wine Co in the Napa Valley. Five years of tutelage at Duckhorn fostered an education that exposed Kent to many different vineyards and varietals grown around the valley. This
knowledge and experience allowed Kent to start Joseph Kent Wines. In addition to Joseph Kent Wines he is winemaker for Kenefick Ranch, Coupe de Foudre, and associate winemaker for Somerston Vineyards. Kent resides in Napa.
Technical Analysis:
Appellation: Napa Valley
Varietal (percentages): 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Age of vines: Plantings from 2005
Viticultural Techniques: Sustainable
Winemaking and Fermentation: Barrel fermented in neutral oak this wine is fermented by the naturally occurring yeast strains present in the juice and in the barrel. The “batonage” technique of stirring the finished yeast lees in barrel for two months is applied before filtering and bottling.
Aging: 6 months in neutral French Oak
Acid: 6.3 g/L
pH: 3.40
Alcohol: 14.1%
Harvest date: 9/10/2010
Suggested retail price: $24
Cases Produced: 80
