
VINTAGE
The 2006 vintage saw a return to below average rainfall for Paso Robles, and with it came smaller vine canopies, smaller clusters and smaller berries in our Bordeaux varietals. In the case of Merlot, we not only had a very strong vintage in 2006, but we also welcomed a significant amount of fruit from J. Lohr’s vineyards located along Creston Road. Finally, we were blessed with no significant heat events after veraison, and had very mild weather conditions straight through harvest. This allowed sugar, flavor and tannin ripeness to simultaneously come together to produce Merlot full of bold and generous varietal and regional expression. The fruit reached optimal maturity over a period of three weeks, with harvest beginning September 11th and finishing October 4th.
MERLOT
Traditionally, we harvest our estate-grown Merlot grapes across a range of sugar ripeness. The early picks usually capture the classic varietal definition of Merlot, while the fruit harvested later adds depth and intensity to the wine. Clone and rootstock combinations and soil variation add complexity to our J. Lohr Estates Los Osos Merlot. We grow our Merlot grapes in Nacimiento-Los Osos, Arbuckle-San Ysidro and Arbuckle-Positas complex soils on our Los Osos vineyard in Paso Robles, where these well-drained but relatively poor soils have chalky or gravelly components.
TECHNICAL DATA
Origin: Los Osos, Paso Robles vineyard
Composition: 82% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.5% Cabernet Franc, 3.3% Malbec, 2.7% Petit Verdot and 2.5% Petite Sirah
Brix at harvest: 24.2-27.9° Brix
Total acidity: 0.69 g/100 ml
pH at bottling: 3.52
Alcohol: 13.87% by volume
Residual sugar: Dry
Vinification: Stainless steel fermented
Malolactic in barrel, racked and blended after fermentation
Maturation: 16 months aging in 30% new American and Hungarian oak barrels
Bottling date: March 2007
WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS
The 2006 J. Lohr Estates Los Osos Merlot has a dark plum red color with purple hues. The aroma is dominated by blueberry, raspberry and cherry fruit and layered with lifted spicy, cedary oak. The palate is greeted by an array of red fruits similar to those on the nose, with tar, cedar and forest floor adding complexity. The wine has a full mid-palate and finish that carries the wine through, with a lingering hint of fruit and licorice spice. This wine would be ideal with roasted beef or lamb with a berry-based reduction sauce. Enjoy now or within ten years.
Jeff Meier, winemaker
Other products in the category ESTATES:
2007 J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay -- VINTAGE
The vintage of 2007 saw very cool temperatures during flowering, resulting in a phenomenon called “hens and chicks” in our Chardonnay. This is a cluster with normal size berries, or “hens”-- mixed with tiny (seedless or unfertilized) berries – “chicks.” Although the clusters weigh less, the flavors are intensified in the tiny berries. And with very little rain in 2007 and very mild weather . . .
2007 J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Cabernet -- VINTAGE
2007 was a very dry year in Paso Robles, with the seasonal total for rainfall registering a scant 4.4 inches. Temperatures, fortunately, were mild, and did not exacerbate the extremely dry conditions. Canopies were small, as were cluster and berry size, resulting in some of the lowest yields we have seen in the last ten years. Despite these dire factors, the Cabernet Sauvignon was remarkably . . .
2007 J. Lohr Estates South Ridge Syrah -- 2007 J. LOHR ESTATES South Ridge Syrah, Paso Robles
VINTAGE
2007 was a very dry year in Paso Robles, with the seasonal total for rainfall registering a scant 4.4 inches. Paso Robles was met with serious but short heat waves around the 4th of July and then in the beginning of August, the latter of which hit prior to veraison and had little effect on color development in our red varieties. Crop . . .
2007 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling -- VINTAGE
The 2007 vintage got off to a late start due to extremely cold weather in January, which put our vines into a deep dormancy. White Riesling is typically the last variety to push buds, but the mid-April budbreak was late even for Riesling in the Arroyo Seco. We had good cluster numbers in 2007, but as the cool growing season progressed, we realized that the clusters were going to be lighter . . .
2008 J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié -- VINTAGE
2008 will go down in the record books for the poorest set for red varietals in the last 30 years. Low winter rainfall, very cold (freezing) temperatures in April, record-setting high temperatures in May, and unanticipated June winds created the perfect storm for an unprecedented, low-yielding vintage. Valdiguié is a very large-berried variety requiring extra vigilance from our Greenfield . . .
2006 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel -- 2006 J. LOHR ESTATES Old Vines Zinfandel, Paso Robles
VINTAGE
The 2006 harvest returned Paso Robles to drought conditions– the third of the last four years. The low rainfall however, was helped by a warm, slow-ripening vintage with minimal vine stress. This mild growing season pushed ripening slowly in 2006, with optimal flavor development occurring in late September. The intensely flavored . . .
2007 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel -- 2007 J. LOHR ESTATES Old Vines Zinfandel, Paso Robles
VINTAGE
The 2007 vintage proved to be another dry year in Paso Robles – actually, the fourth year out of the last five. These consecutive dry years severely limited vine growth in 2007, and reduced cluster size, berry size, and ultimately yields, by as much as forty percent. The silver lining, of course, is that the reduced berry size made . . .