2006 J. Lohr Late Harvest White Riesling

The 2006 vintage in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey began with one of the wettest springs on record, with rain nearly every day in March-indeed a record. This unusual rain affected bud fertility, ultimately reducing cluster numbers (and consequently yields) in White Riesling. The growing season started warm, followed by very cool weather in June, July and August with the exception of a short heat spike during the third week of July. The combination of record spring rain, warm late spring weather and a cool summer encouraged slow ripening and ubiquitous Botrytis (the noble mold) development - so much so, that for the first time since 1995 we had ideal conditions to hand-select this fruit and produce a Late Harvest Riesling. We hand-harvested the Botrytis-affected White Riesling clusters on October 26th, destemmed and crushed the fruit and let it sit overnight in the press before gently removing the free run nectar at 31.1° Brix with 7.7 grams per liter of acidity the following day.

Vineyard

The Bay Mist vineyard lies just east of Cypress Avenue in the heart of our early Greenfield vineyard plantings which surround our lone iconic Monterey pine tree in the Arroyo Seco AVA. The vineyard has some original White Riesling on its own roots planted in 1972, and some White Riesling vines planted in 1995. The soils are largely Chualar loam, underlain by stones deposited from the Arroyo Seco over the millennium. The winds of the Salinas Valley are particularly intense in the Bay Mist vineyard due to its position at the beginning of an elevated plateau just to the north.

TECHNICAL DATA

Winemaker's Comments

After an eleven-year absence, we are proud to reintroduce the 2006 J. Lohr Bay Mist Late Harvest White Riesling, which is light golden yellow in color with Botrytis-induced aromas of dried apricots, peaches, pears and candied oranges. The enticingly high 10.3% residual sugar is wonderfully balanced by the wine's crisp acidity and 3.16 pH, creating a versatile wine to be enjoyed on its own as dessert, or paired with fruit sorbets or pears baked in cream.

Jeff Meier, winemaker

 Price: $25.00 (375ml)

Wine Fact Sheet: 

2006 J. Lohr Late Harvest White Riesling Short Wine Fact Sheet

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