J.Lohr Vineyards & Wines: Wines

2007 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling

The 2007 vintage got off to a late start due to extremely cold weather in January, which put our vines into a deep dormancy. White Riesling is typically the last variety to push buds, but the mid-April budbreak was late even for Riesling in the Arroyo Seco. We had good cluster numbers in 2007, but as the cool growing season progressed, we realized that the clusters were going to be lighter – producing a smaller yield than average. We also had some mildew pressure, which manifested itself with a mild outbreak of the “noble rot,” also known as Botrytis. The combination of environmental conditions, hastened ripening of our White Riesling with harvest commencing on October 21st at 23.5º Brix and 0.72 grams/100 ml of acidity, with flavors of pear, peach, dried apricots and honeydew melon.

White Riesling

The release of the 2007 J. Lohr White Riesling marks the thirty-first vintage from our Bay Mist vineyard in the town of Greenfield in Monterey County. The vines are grown in Chualar loam soils underlain by stones deposited from the Arroyo Seco. The winds of the Salinas Valley extended the growing season and the fruit retained the natural grape acids. The pure manifestation of fruit from the vineyard is our primary goal in producing this varietal, employing a combination of cultured yeasts fermented in stainless steel.

Technical Data

Origin: Bay Mist, Greenfield Vineyard, Monterey County
Composition: 100% White Riesling
Harvest Date :October 21st to 22nd, 2007
Brix at Harvest: 23.5° average
Total Acidity: 0.72 g/100 ml
pH at Bottling: 3.08
Alcohol: 12.92% by volume
Residual Sugar: 1.98 g/100 ml
Vinification: Stainless steel fermented 55% M2 (floral enhancing strain) 22.5% R2 (cold fermentation temperature tolerance)
and 22.5% Fermichamp.
Maturation: 85 days in stainless steel post fermentation
Bottling Date: January 14, 2008

Winemaker's Comments

The 2007 J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling is a pale brassy yellow color with enticing fruit aromas of pear, lychee, ruby grapefruit, honeydew melon and apricot. The 1.98% residual sugar is balanced by the crisp grape acidity and natural spritz from a long cool fermentation, making the 2007 White Riesling an enticingly fruity, refreshing wine capable of complementing the vibrant flavors of Thai curried chicken, Indian Mughlai Biryani chicken, or as an aperitif.

Jeff Meier, winemaker

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