2014 Kitten Swish “Oh My” Chenin Blanc
Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, California
I am always a big fan of Leo Hansen’s Leo Steen label, a small production wine label focused
mostly on Chenin Blanc (although his Grenache and Syrah also kick ass). I met Leo some years ago while kicking off the first release of Kitten Swish Zinfandel. Leo is a firm man, a man who has a mischievous sense of humor, but ultimately a man of no bullshit. And, subsequently, his wines show the same generous traits. Leo gave us a chance to work with some of his Chenin Blanc and thus, Kitten Swish Chenin Blanc…or Kitten Swiss as Leo calls it, was born.
The wine stems from an old Chenin Blanc vineyard in Dry Creek Valley. The site is a warm one, located in an old dry river bed, soils mostly of sandy loam. 2014 was a hot vintage and a generous one in terms of ripeness, delivering grapes keen with character. The wine was fermented in stainless steel, with slight skin contact, and aged for roughly six months in older barrels before being bottled.
Pre-prohibition Dry Creek Valley was booming, with over 256 wineries in production. But the “Noble Experiment” killed most of it and much of the land went to farming prunes….blah. The 50s and 60s brought back viticulture to the area with renewed interested in European grapes, and voila, Chenin Blanc plantings. Dry Creek is one of the few places in California to still have old vines of Chenin Blanc and we are mind-blowingly excit-ed to have some of them.
The label…
Mark and I were wasted in San Francisco some years back. We had made the usual rounds of Vesuvius, Rickhouse and Mr Bings. It was in Mr. Bings that the original resource for this label was discovered…maybe…who knows, things are blurry. I do know photographs were taken and probably the only good thing to come of them was this label.
While on reconnaissance for relief in the loo I spotted a beaten up vending machine selling vaginal replacement products. The expression of the woman on the poster for the product amused me to no end. She was so surprised. The title of the ad read, “At Last!”. And at last indeed, finally, Chenin Blanc.
She is always surprised by how delicious it is…
I love that about her.
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