I have a philosophy that wine labels are an extension of what is inside the bottle and that most winemakers put as much thought and effort into their label as they do their wine. I will buy a wine based on a label that speaks to me. It is after all, the first interaction with the consumer. You can read an entire article I wrote about this here. Skeptics abound, but I don’t hear anyone complain about Chateau Mouton-Rothschild’s devotion to art on the label.

The stars have aligned for me with this Eric Kent Chardonnay. It might be the best example I’ve ever encountered of label and wine synchronicity.

I knew nothing about Eric Kent Wines when I clicked “add to cart” on the Wine Spies website. It was the label that caught my eye. So beautiful and interesting to me with those hands passing a drop of water. Two bottles were soon on their way to me.

I recently opened one of the bottles – it was International Chardonnay Day on May 23rd – and wow was this a beautiful wine. I immediately began researching Eric Kent Wines and was delighted to find that the entire venture started with a winemaker and an artist who wanted to merge wine and art as the core of their business. I am forever a devoted fan.

Eric Kent|Stiling Vineyard Chardonnay|2019|14.5% ABV|$58 (approx. retail)

Kent Humphrey and Colleen Teitgen, are not only business partners, but husband and wife, he the winemaker, she the artist. Truly a marriage of wine and art. The commitment to giving artists exposure is as much a part of the plan as the exceptional winemaking, and they brought their vision to life in the early 2000’s.

Kent and Colleen began nurturing the seed of an idea of combining wine and art while she was still in art school, but Kent would explore two other careers before working his first harvest at age 33. Approximately 20 vintages later they have made incredible wines that have featured hundreds of artists on the labels.

The grapes for this wine come from the Stiling vineyard in Russian River Valley. This vineyard is where Kent and Colleen were married in 2002! The following year was their first vintage and every single vintage since has included Stiling vineyard grapes. Hand picked and sorted, the Chardonnay grapes go into the press whole cluster. After settling in stainless steel tanks, the juice is moved to barrel and undergoes fermentation in barrel (35% new), for 32 months! That is not a typo, 32 months.

This Chardonnay wowed me. Aromas of bruised apple, peach pastry, almond paste and warm cement. All of this carries over onto the palate with the addition of caramel, baked lemon, and salinity. There is a delicious bitterness throughout – quince maybe best describes? The depth of flavors and aromas are outstanding and the full bodied, lush mouthfeel made me fall a little more in love with every sip.

The wine is incredibly well balanced. The 14.5% ABV is undetectable unless you happen to grab a bite of something that has a little heat – in my case it was a hot honey hummus – then the heat from the food and the wine make you aware. Well, also the fact that one nice pour will make you little tipsy lol!

And this label. It is beautiful and I can’t imagine it wouldn’t grab anyone’s attention. The artist for this label is Los Dos, comprised of Lisa Beerntsen and Tony Speirs, a couple who produce collaborative art – how cool is that? This label has been made a part of the permanent collection and will not change from year to year for this Chardonnay.

I was intrigued by the text and found that Duende often refers to pixie or garden imp in Latin American culture. In Spain I found that it derived from an old phrase that meant master of the house – any other Harry Potter fans picking up Dobby vibes here?

On that same note, I’m drawn back to the Chateau Mouton-Rothschild correlation who also makes artwork on their labels a focus of the brand. Mouton-Rothschild is a definite bucket list wine for me, but at approximately $1,000 a bottle, it will likely never happen. They also feature incredibly successful artists. Eric Kent wines focus on artists that are not yet well known, with a price that while not cheap, is certainly doable, and 100% worth it.