Tasting notes
Juicy plums and baking spices with just the right touch of sweet oak and gentle tannins for pairing with anything grilled or roasted.
Why we recommend this wine
Californian Merlot is something else, more opulent than those from elsewhere. This is a great value-for-money example.
The wine
A blend of 89% Merlot 7% Malbec 4% Cabernet Franc grown in Paso Robles on well- drained but relatively poor soils that limit vine vigor and support wine quality. They harvest thier 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. Whole-berry fermentation is done in stainless steel tanks with 100% malolactic fermentation followed by 12 months in American oak barrel with 15% new.
The wine estate
In the late 1960s, Jerry Lohr began an extensive investigation of California grape growing regions – searching for the ideal location for his first vineyard. Jerry was raised on a South Dakota farm; his agricultural roots armed him with an innate sense for the relationship between climate, soil, and location. His research and instincts led him to the Central Coast, an area just beginning to explore its potential for winegrowing. California Central Coast had not yet emerged as one of North America’s world-class winegrowing regions and with little history or viticultural precedent, planting on the Central Coast was a gamble. Lohr is still family-owned and operated today. J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines is a regular winner of the annual California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Awards that provide recognition to vineyards and wineries who are standard-bearers in implementing the three “E’s” of sustainability: environment, economic, and social equity. Ground cover crops, owls, bees, water conservation and solar power form the core of their Sustainability.
jlohr.com
Food and wine
Pairs well with roasts and grills and tomato-based dishes or creamy spinach and hard cheeses. Refer also to our food and wine pairing guide, click here.
Did you know?
Sideways, an iconic wine movie but dubbed a romantic comedy, is about the adventures of two middle-aged guys on a bachelor party road trip through Californian wine country. One had a big hatred of Merlot and the soon-to-be-husband just wants a last fling. Needless to say it all goes hilariously wrong. However the impact on Melot vines was huge – plantings dropped around 15% over the next fifteen years.