2021 J. Lohr Home Ranch Petit Verdot
Displays abundant aromas of ripe plum, blueberry, and violet, with subtle cedar and anise notes from 15 months of aging in French oak barrels. Brambly and bright on entry, the tannin structure is refined and polished, with lasting blackberry and black cherry flavors that linger on the finish.
— Brenden Wood, Red Winemaker
Wine Details
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Composition Blend
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100%
Petit Verdot
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Origin
Estrella District, Paso Robles, CA
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Cellaring
Petit Verdot is tradition- ally used to lend structure to Bordeaux blends; it will age gracefully as a single varietal for over a decade.
12 Years -
Food Pairings
Serve with hearty beef and vegetable stew or end the meal with this finely- textured red alongside manchego cheese, marcona almonds, and dried fruit.
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Maturation
Time in Barrel: 15 months aging in French oak
Barrel Type: 225-liter Bordeaux Export, 22% new
Vineyard
This Petit Verdot was grown on the J. Lohr Home Ranch in the warmer Region III Paso Robles Estrella District. The block was planted to an east-west row orientation in 2008 with clone 400 on low-vigor 420A rootstock. The soils are coarse, loamy Arbuckle-San Ysidro complex. A highly fruitful variety, Petit Verdot is prone to overcropping, requiring extensive fruit thinning to achieve luxury wine quality. Our program involves pinching clusters from young shoots in early spring, followed by dropping to one cluster per shoot prior to veraison. This protocol favors good canopy development and allows sunlight to envelope every berry on every cluster, resulting in exceptional color and flavor development in the fruit.
Vintage
The 2021 vintage in Paso Robles, and most of California, delivered unparalleled quality. Despite generous January rainfall, the following winter and spring months were extremely dry. The dry conditions led to small but concentrated berries, typical of drought years in Paso Robles. However, the consistent mild daytime temperatures and cool nights allowed for patience in harvesting grapes at optimal ripeness. As a result, the extractable anthocyanin content from red grapes in Paso Robles reached an all-time high in 2021, producing wines that surpassed the color density levels of acclaimed vintages like 2007, 2013, and 2019. Known as the “bookend” variety, the picking of late-maturing Petit Verdot signals that another harvest is winding-down. We hand-harvested this Petit Verdot on the Home Ranch on October 26th, 2021.
