2008 J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay (ESTATES) -- J. Lohr Winery Shopping Cart -- Chardonnay Riverstone Estates Lohr J. 2008

<A HREF="http://www.jlohr.com" TITLE="J. Lohr Winery"><IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/jlohr/BW.gif" ALT="J. Lohr Winery" NAME="J. Lohr Winery" BORDER=0></A> <H1>2008 J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay -- J. Lohr Winery Shopping Cart</H1> $14.00 <IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/jlohr/images/Riverstone-Chard-label-lg.jpg" ALIGN=right ALT="2008 J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay" NAME="2008 J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10> VINTAGE The vintage of 2008 was the third consecutive drought year in the Central Coast with total rainfall amounting to less than seven inches. Additionally, we had a very hard freeze in January followed by very cool weather all the way to bloom in May. The end result was record low yields in Chardonnay primarily due to cool, windy weather during set. The only silver lining to this vintage was very mild weather throughout the summer with typical Monterey County fog and winds for much of June, July and August. We made a conscious decision to pick all of our Chardonnay fruit at riper levels, especially the French clones 76, 95 and 96 to further enrich the flavor of Riverstone Chardonnay. In 2008, that meant waiting until October 1st for the first pick of our French clone Chardonnay in Blocks 2 and 4 at 25.2° Brix and concluding harvest on October 23rd with the final pick of California clone Chardonnay at 26.1° Brix. CHARDONNAY The 2008 vintage marks the twenty-second year of production of our Riverstone Chardonnay, from our vineyards in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County. Each year, starting in 1995, we have experimented with and have incorporated higher percentages of traditional Burgundian production techniques into Riverstone, until the desired complexity and end-results were achieved (reaching 60% in 2000). The result is a complex and nuanced Chardonnay with an abundance of Arroyo Seco fruit, with subtle barrel fermentation and malolactic character. The vines are grown primarily on Elder loam soils underlain by "riverstones" deposited over thousands of years from the Arroyo Seco River, allowing a four-foot rooting zone that keeps the vines’ vegetative growth and fruit in balance. Additionally, the cool climate and winds of the Salinas Valley extend the growing season and retain the natural grape acids and intense varietal character of the Chardonnay. TECHNICAL DATA Origin: Riverstone, Arroyo Seco AVA Composition: 100% Chardonnay Harvest Dates: October 1st to October 23rd, 2008 Brix at Harvest: 25.8o average Total Acidity: 0.70 g/100 ml pH at Bottling: 3.58 Alcohol: 13.9% by volume Vinification: 100% barrel fermented in combination of American, Hungarian and French oak at 55 to 65° F. Malolactic fermentation in barrel of 50% of the Chardonnay Maturation: 8 to 10 months in combination of American, Hungarian and French Oak Barrels from new to fourth fill WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS The 2008 J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay has a very youthful straw yellow color. The aromas are of ripe bosc pear, fuji apple, lime and honeysuckle combined with the perfumed vanilla and toasty oak bouquet from the barrel fermentation, malolactic fermentation and sur lie aging creating an elegant Chardonnay from Monterey’s Arroyo Seco AVA. The flavors are very clean with ripe pear, subtle floral notes and vanilla toastiness, producing layers of complexity with an excellent balance of fresh fruit acidity and palate-weight. This wine is ideal for pairing with oven-roasted chicken, Dungeness crab or grilled salmon. Jeff Meier, winemaker <LI>Bottle Size: 750ml; 375ml Other products in the category <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Category11" TITLE="ESTATES">ESTATES</A>: <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product523 TITLE="2007 J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Cabernet"><IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/jlohr/images/Seven-Oaks-Cab-label2.jpg" ALIGN=left ALT="2007 J. 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Lohr Estates South Ridge Syrah">2007 J. Lohr Estates South Ridge Syrah</A> -- 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 . . . <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product550 TITLE="2008 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling"><IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/jlohr/images/Bay-Mist-Riesling-label-sm.jpg" ALIGN=left ALT="2008 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling" NAME="2008 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10></A> <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product550 TITLE="2008 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling">2008 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling</A> -- VINTAGE The vintage of 2008 will definitely go down in history as one of the lowest yielding on record. The growing season started out cool and dry, but was followed by very warm weather during flowering which inhibited pollination of the grape berries resulting in fewer clusters and berries per cluster. The weather then immediately returned to cool and foggy, but fortunately White Riesling excels . . . <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product521 TITLE="2008 J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié"><IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/jlohr/images/Wildflower-Valdiguie-label-sm.jpg" ALIGN=left ALT="2008 J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié" NAME="2008 J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10></A> <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product521 TITLE="2008 J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié">2008 J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié</A> -- 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 . . . <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product488 TITLE="2006 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel"><IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/jlohr/images/OVZint.jpg" ALIGN=left ALT="2006 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel" NAME="2006 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10></A> <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product488 TITLE="2006 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel">2006 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel</A> -- 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 . . . <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product511 TITLE="2007 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel"><IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/jlohr/images/OVZint.jpg" ALIGN=left ALT="2007 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel" NAME="2007 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10></A> <A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr/Product511 TITLE="2007 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel">2007 J. Lohr Estates Old Vine Zinfandel</A> -- 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 . . . <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/jlohr" TITLE="J. Lohr Winery Products">J. Lohr Winery Products</A> <A HREF="http://www.jlohr.com">J. Lohr Winery</A> J. Lohr Winery Online Store powered by Nexternal <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com" TITLE="ecommerce solutions">ecommerce solutions</A>