South Ridge

The third in a trio of strong vintages for Paso Robles, the wines of 2014 are showing dense and aromatically expressive and are reminiscent of 2004. With less than half the usual winter rainfall in the ground, spring growth rocketed as degree days racked up at a faster pace than we’ve seen in a decade. A somewhat warm veraison period at the end of July pushed tannin levels upward and led to the earliest picking dates on record for these vineyard blocks. Keen to preserve fruit character, we destem and ferment the berries whole. A base of plum character comes from the warmer vineyard sites in the Estrella and Creston districts, with spicy white pepper coming from the coolest sites in Willow Creek. In the end, a balanced expression of varietal character from the team at J. Lohr!