Arroyo Seco

To lovers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco region is utopia. Its rare confluence of stony, loam soil and maritime climate work in harmony to yield grapes with tremendous fruit intensity, which have become the hallmark of the region’s natural riches.

J. Lohr oversees well over  1,100 acres of estate vineyards here, having planted its first Chardonnay grapes in the early 70s. These original vineyards have supplied fruit for over twenty years for the iconic J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay, celebrated for its exotic, tropical fruit flavors.  Possessing perhaps the longest growing season of any California winegrowing region, Arroyo Seco is the perfect setting for additional cool-climate varietals, which include our crisp and beautifully floral J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling and J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié, a French grape produced stylistically to echo the light, berry Gamay of Beaujolais. Cooling afternoon breezes contribute to two other lush and nuanced Chardonnays in our portfolio, the J. Lohr Arroyo Vista Chardonnay, a perfect marriage of stone fruit essence and Burgundian winemaking techniques and the J. Lohr October Night Chardonnay, an aromatic, floral varietal expression which owes much of its uniqueness to the Dijon Clone 809. After years of vineyard trial and experimentation, we recently debuted our 2006 J. Lohr Fog’s Reach Pinot Noir, a graceful interplay of perfume and strawberry, cherry and rhubarb flavors.

This famed, extended growing season occasionally blesses us with the development of Botrytis (the noble mold), which has yielded our delicious J. Lohr Late Harvest White Riesling in recent years.

We also look forward to harvesting our first fruit from two exceptional vineyards in Monterey County’s acclaimed Santa Lucia Highlands appellation in the fall of 2010. Planted on the rocky, southeast-facing slopes and terraces of the Santa Lucia Mountain range, our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines bask in the glow of the morning sun, before benefiting from afternoon breezes that sweep in off Monterey Bay and cool the vineyards. Like grapes from the Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands fruit is known for its deeply expressive, yet nuanced aromas and flavors. We eagerly anticipate sharing our Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with you in late 2011.