2009 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling

The 2009 vintage in many ways resembled that of 2008, with the exception that the early blast of heat during flowering gratefully missed the critical set period and yields, and as a result, returned to near normal levels in 2009. We had two significant heat events in April and May, with temperatures exceeding 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The weather then immediately returned to cool and foggy in May, June, July, and all but the last weeks of August. We witnessed Indian Summer temperatures in early September, which provided the final push for the late ripening White Riesling to reach desired maturity, with harvest commencing on the 19th of October at nearly 24° Brix, 3.30 pH and 0.63 grams/100 ml of acidity. Some early season El Niño rain induced some Botrytis, or Noble rot in the 2009 vintage giving the Riesling an elevated apricot fruit character.

White Riesling
The release of the 2009 marks the thirty-third vintage of White Riesling from our Bay Mist vineyards in Monterey County. The vines are grown in well drained Chualar and Elder loam soils underlain by stones deposited from the Arroyo Seco, as well as Metz and Arroyo Seco gravelly, sandy loams. The winds of the Salinas Valley extend the growing season, and the fruit retains the natural grape acids. The pure manifestation of fruit from the vineyards is our primary goal in producing this varietal, employing a combination of cultured yeasts fermented in stainless steel.

TECHNICAL DATA

Origin:	Arroyo Seco, Monterey County
Composition:	94% White Riesling, 5% Gewurztraminer 1% Orange Muscat
Harvest Date:	October 19th to 20th, 2009
Brix at Harvest:	23.5° average
Total Acidity:	0.67 g/100 ml
pH at Bottling:	3.16
Alcohol:	12.84% by volume
Residual Sugar:	2.15 g/100 ml
Vinification:	Stainless steel fermented M2 (Terpene and thiol varietal character enhancing) R-HST (Terpene varietal character enhancing)
Maturation:	Four months in stainless steel post fermentation
Bottling Date:	February 5th, 2010

Winemaker's Comments
The 2009 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling is a pale, youthful brassy yellow color with enticing fruit aromas of apple, apricot, peach, Bosc pear, rose petal and linalool. The palate echoes the fruit aromas with apricot, apple and rose petal spice combined with refreshing acidity and slight palate spritz balanced by the 2.15% residual sugar. The 2009 White Riesling is an enticingly fruity, refreshing wine capable of complementing the vibrant flavors of Pacific Rim cuisine such as Thai chicken or beef satay, grilled soy-marinated salmon or served as an aperitif.

Price: $10.00 750ml