2022 Leo Steen, Chenin Blanc, Peayberry, Mendocino County.
Looking for great domestic Chenin Blanc? This is the label for you, and especially this gorgeous 2022 Peaberry from Leo Hansen at Leo Steen wines, which was sourced from mature 45 year old Chenin vines in Mendocino County set on Pinole gravelly loam soils that help give this wine depth and an expressively varietal personality. This pale gold and medium/full bodied Chenin shows the vintage’s concentrated density, but with a beautiful steely mineral charm and impeccable balance, it shows off loads of white peach, green apple, lemony citrus and tangy quince fruits, along with dried herbs, crushed stones, dry honeycomb, orange oil, clove spice, white flowers and a delicate earthiness. Natural and Loire like in style, this wine was made in a age worthy and structured style with 75% whole cluster pressed to tank and cold settled for extraction and 25% de-stemmed and crushed, then all racked to a combination of neutral old French oak and acacia barrels where the wine is aged about 5 months. This Peaberry saw no sulphur additions and was allowed to complete full natural malolactic fermentation in the wood, which adds to the transparent profile and gives textural pleasure to this well made gold/straw hued Chenin that really excels with cuisine, with me having it with tuna crudo and trout row, as well as soft cheeses.
These Leo Steen Chenins, by winemaker Leo Hansen, a Dane ex-pat, are some of the most pleasing California versions I’ve ever had, ranking right up there with some old favorites and new top quality efforts from Justin Willett’s Lieu-Dit, Tegan Passalacqua’s Sandlands, Casa Nuestra in Napa Valley, Jaimee Motely, Raj Parr to Chappellet, Chalone, and Ian Brand, who just released his latest old Durney (Massa Estate) old vine version, to name a few. Hansen is very focused on this grape, historically connected to Vouvray, Saumur and Montlouis, as well as being in South Africa, does a full range of dry versions. Leo also does a sweet one and even a fortified Chenin made in the Angelica (California’s first commercial wine made originally from the Mission grape) style with a slightly oxidized element, which Hansen says has a Sherry like quality. Leo, who has a well rounded background, having done stints in Alsace, Loire, Champagne and Burgundy to Spain and Italy moved to California in 1999 to, as he notes, immerse himself in winemaking, finally landing at Alexander Valley’s Stuhlmuller Vineyards, where he became the winemaker. At that time, in 2004, Leo also started his own label, Leo Steen Wines, which allowed him to make wines more to his personal tastes, leaning on his old world palate. To achieve his goals, he uses a variety of fermentation methods and a combination of aging vessels in his wines to showcase each vineyard and terroir with transparency in his wines, as this 2022 Peaberry shows perfectly.
($32 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive