2016 J. Lohr Cuvée PAU Red Blend
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Wine Enthusiast, October 2020
- This is a dense and detailed wine, starting with rich, inviting aromas of dark berries, cherries, cocoa, vanilla and mocha on the nose. Those lavish tones carry to the palate, which is framed by chiseled tannins. But the most intriguing aspects are the wild array of oregano and dried herbs that decorate the blackberry-jam and cherry-juice core.
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Wine Enthusiast, November 2020
This luxurious 2016 J. Lohr Cuvée PAU displays concentrated aromas of black currant and black cherry along with oak-inspired notes of anise, cedar and cigar box. Classic and oily on the palate, leaving cherry, plum, and granite on the finish. Open and decant an hour before serving for full expression.
— Steve Peck, director of winemaking
Wine Details
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Composition Blend
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65%
Cabernet Sauvignon
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21%
Cabernet Franc
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13%
Petit Verdot
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1%
Malbec
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Origin
Paso Robles AVA, San Luis Obispo County, California
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Cellaring
Fruit driven at release, with a structure that should show best from 2023-2028
12 Years -
Food Pairings
Delicious with grilled rosemary lamb chops, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted beets.
Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine, in the manner of classic Left Bank wines from Pauillac.
Vintage
Early seasonal rains were short of average, but the timing was ideal for vine health and wine quality in 2016. Every phenological marker, from budbreak in spring to bloom and veraison in the summer, occurred 1 to 2 weeks earlier than normal. Cabernet Sauvignon at our Gean Ranch in the Adelaida District woke from dormancy on the 4th of April during a period of 80 degree weather. Vine canopy growth propelled through the spring, bouyed by additional light rains in April. An unusually cool bloom period set in during the latter half of May, which hindered flower pollination and set back crop yields at this vineyard to just 2 tons per acre. Good ripening weather arrived on time for an October 25th harvest of this Cabernet Sauvignon, just days before a season-ending rainshower arrived.
Cuvée PAU
The inspiration for this blend comes from the Grand Cru wines of the Pauillac district of Bordeaux which are composed primarily from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with occasional acccents from Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Our J. Lohr winemaking team is given the freedom to emulate these great wines without the restrictions of varietal percentages, instead keenly focusing on the texture and complexity of the blend that nature delivers with each vintage.