2023 J.Lohr Vineyards and Wines – Massive and Quality All in One!
Background
Met the VP of Winemaking, Steve Peck over one year ago during a conversation of all things Saint Macaire wine. We continued our conversation off and on during the subsequent year. I admittedly cut my teeth almost 45 years ago on J. Lohr 375ml of Chenin Blanc. But after those years, never again had another J. Lohr wine. At our initial conversation a year ago, Steve informed me that J. Lohr had an offering of some very higher end and delicious wines and invited me next time in Paso Robles to visit him at the winery. I am writing this story based upon Steve Peck’s incredible education of a native wine aficionado and very much thank him for his tutelage. I hope others may gleam some insight also on J. Lohr wines.
History
Fifty years ago Jerry Lohr with little viticulture background ventured to California and found two areas that he thought could produce good wines: Monterey coast and Paso Robles. Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco had the cool windy climate and rocky soils necessary to produce excellent Chardonnay. Ten years later in the 1980’s, he also realized Paso Robles was well suited for producing Bordeaux varietals with rich soils and large diurnal temperature swings between the warm summer days and the cooling breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Fast forward, the growth of vineyards and planting was steadfastly adhered to with incremental acquisitions of property. Today over 1,400 acres are planted in Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County with a focus on Chardonnay, Riesling, Valdiguié, and Pinot Noir. Now add the 2,700 acres of vineyards in Paso Robles planted and producing Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux and Rhone varietals. J.Lohr winery also owns 30 acres in Napa Valley producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Jerry’s vision has become a reality, producing some solid and award winning wines with it now still being run as a family business.
One of many distinctions separating J.Lohr is their conscientious “farming for the future”. 2023 marks thirteen years since and continuously, J.Lohr became the first vineyard and winery in California to earn the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing from California Sustainable winegrowing Alliance (CSWA). Detailed information can be found on their website.
Tasting Room
Photo ©Michael Kelly
When we arrived at the tasting room we were warmly greeted by Jasmine Jia who was expecting us. We then sat down with Steve at the tasting room located at 6169 Airport Road in Paso Robles. Having visited so many monumental tasting rooms in northern California, I was at first taken back by the “low key and homey” atmosphere of the tasting room. But that was all about to change!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
As we sat down to discuss J.Lohr Winery, Steve in a nonchalant but proud manner proceeded through a line-up of wines, discussing the properties and why each contributed unique characteristics by elevation, warmth and wind variables. I was mesmerized by his knowledge of viticulture, vineyard management, wine production, etc.
Photo courtesy of Jasmine Jia
We started off the appointment with two white wines, a 2022 J.Lohr F&B Pinot Blanc made in a 550 gallon concrete egg then aged in stainless steel as a prerequisite to our discussion. Next up was the 2022 J. Lohr Arroyo Vista Chardonnay. The discussion could not be framed without understanding the area from where each vineyard is located and its contribution to the flavors we were about to taste.
Photo from J.Lohr map ©Michael Kelly
Showing the vineyards on the Paso Robles AVA map gave a very detailed understanding on the vineyards ranging from the far northern portion like Snowden & Jones vineyards to the southern portion like Beck Vineyard. A deep dive into the elevation changes, 1200 feet elevation (Rain Catcher) to 1700 feet elevation Beck and subsequent soil types made a fascinating conversation. Added to this was the wind direction, low elevation gaps which allow the cooling winds with their effects was like listening to a PhD professor at college. Steve presented all of this without hesitation or a written note to be found, a truly remarkable display of his working knowledge.
While five reds were on the tasting menu, we only got to two as the conversation was so long lasting!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The first being the 2019 POM Cuvee which was a blend of 74% Merlot, 18% Malbec, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc. The POM comes from the Grand Cru wines of Pomerol in Bordeaux on the Right Bank. Beautiful cherry and blueberry were dominated on the taste buds along with a soft finish.
The second wine in the lineup was the 2019 J.Lohr St.E which was absolutely delicious! 66% Cabernet Franc, 28% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot. The inspiration behind the St E label is for St. Emilion on the Right Bank. Black fruit with velvety tannins provided a long lasting finish and stated to age up to 13 years.
The third on the list was for 2020 J.Lohr PAU with inspiration from the Grand Cru wines of Pauillac district in Bordeaux. Mainly composed of of Cabernet Sauvignon with small portions of other Bordeaux varietal wines to provide structure and layering, resulting in texture and complexity.
The fourth being the 2021 J. Lohr Carol’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon that was rated 95 points and comes from their vineyard in Napa Valley. It spent 18 months in 54% new French oak barrels. It is listed to age for 12 years. A donation is made by J. Lohr Winery of $3 for every bottle sold to the National Breast Cancer Foundation program.
The fifth and final wine was their 2015 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon that was aged 20 months in 100% new French oak barrels. This is consider Jerry Lohr’s embodiment reflecting his decades providing his best wine to be enjoyed. It has received 98 points and is comprised of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Malbec.
The conversations during the tasting ranged from aging in puncheons with a larger wood to air ratio, picking Cabernet Franc at 27/28 brix’s to allow sugar development and releasing the color, their hotel/retail sales reaching 1.5M cases a year, another 300,000 cases of artisan wines produced for the wine club, their yearly barrel purchasing program averaging $8.5 million annually, and so many other fascinating factoids on J. Lohr Winery. The conversation was so intense, we actually only got to taste the first three red wines and forgot to taste the last two red premier wines! Also forgot to take a picture of Steve during the tasting but had taken one from two nights prior at dinner celebrating the Cab Franc Paso Robles while he was exhorting the value of J. Lohr Winery.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Facility/Production Area
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Steve had another commitment and arranged a tour of their facility/production by their head red winemaker, Brenden Wood. We started out the tour viewing one room housing some large tanks. In total they have 5 million gallons of tank capacity at the Paso Robles winery. This includes tanks in their Bottle Ready Tank Farm, the blending room and the Fermentation buildings which we later toured. The majority of the tanks, about 140 of them, are fermentation tanks. Our fermentation tanks range in size from 6 ton capacity to 44 ton capacity. The multitude of tanks gives us the ability to pick and ferment each vineyard block from their ranches separately. In turn, this allows them to fine-tune color, aroma, tannins and flavor extraction for each block separately before blending, which ultimately leads to a better wine in the bottle.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
We then traveled to see one of the three barrel storage areas with this picture being just the right and side of one. On the premises in Paso Robles approximately 55,000 barrels of wine are quietly resting! They also have another 35,000 barrels in Monterey. They have roughly a $7.0M barrel budget annually which is about 12,000 new barrels.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
They have 8 x 145,000 gallons tanks in their Bottle Ready Tank Farm (BRTF). Each tank holds the equivalent of 60,000 cases. These tanks hold their 7 Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon after it has been aged in 100% American Oak barrels for a minimum of 1 year (18% new American oak). The 7 Oaks Cab is literally ready to bottle and has already been blended and fine-tuned with Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Malbec and the other Bordeaux varieties that they grow. On the far side of the tanks is a scale where “juice tankers” are pulled up to weight and waiting to take the juice to San Jose which is their bottle plant where they can bottle 6,500-8,000 cases a day.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
They are setting up their own bottling facility on the premises which should be up and running in 2024. Additionally almost all the power, approximately 75-85% is generated for this enormous operation comes from their 4 acres of solar panels beyond the large outdoor tanks.
Conclusion
Conclusion is most likely a misnomer as J.Lohr Winery is ever evolving. Perhaps better phrased as a snapshot of who J. Lohr Winery was the day of our visit as it is constantly changing. We spoke about their line of de-alcohol wines targeting what I refer to as the “Alphabet generations” (Gen X, Y, Z and Millennials) and many more subjects and projects coming down the road.
Most impressive was that Steve was able to “enlighten and educate” me on the vastness, depth and quality of J. Lohr Winery and its rich history in Paso Robles and Monterey. I walked away with a deep understanding and appreciation that J.Lohr is a serious wine producer beyond their retail line of wines, which by the way fulfill a large niche for the consumer.
Sláinte,
Michael