2020 J Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon

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About 2020 J Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon:

A dense Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon from this benchmark producer. While elegant layers of blackberry, currant, and toasted pastry. 2020 Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon also brings complex and refined dark fruit upon release with the structure to age gracefully, properly cellared, for a decade.

• Tasting Notes:

The 2020 J Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon further displays trademark aromas of blackberry, black currant, and toasted pastry crust. Dense and soft on the palate. For example elegant layers of black and red currants leave a bright finish, accented by spice and pastry notes from extended oak aging.

• Barrel Selection:

2020 J Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon 18 months in 225-liter French oak barrels, very tight grain, 58% new

• Growing Notes:

The majority of the fruit for the 2020 Hilltop vintage indeed was grown on the J. Lohr Shotwell Vineyard. Located within the cool Templeton Gap-influenced El Pomar District of Paso Robles. Finally, twelve percent was from Beck Vineyard, uniquely located at a 1,700 foot elevation in the Creston District. The balance of the blend was from J. Lohr properties in the mountainous Adelaida District. Nevertheless, Paso Robles vineyards are blessed with long summer days of intense sunshine; the near 100°F daytime temperatures in summertime are followed by
chilly, ocean-cooled nights in the 50s. The Cabernet vines are naturally stressed in the dry, often very gravelly, and sometimes lime shale-laden soils. In addition Water is at a premium in these vineyards, enabling the viticulturist to fine-tune pruning and irrigation to achieve dark fruit with resolved tannins year after year.

Overall, precipitation for the 2020 season in Paso Robles was on par with its 25-year historical average. Springtime further enjoyed temperate daytime temperatures which allowed vines to have good flower bloom and canopy growth. Fruit set was modest, after two previous years with above average crop loads. The healthy canopies allowed the vines to withstand late summer heatwaves with little desiccation.

Harvest Dates: October 6th – October 30th, 2020

• Winemaking Notes:

Select Harvest picked and berry sorted. Pinnacle Fructo Select was yeast of choice for most ferments. Primary fermentation in open-top and conventional stainless steel tanks with peak fermentation at 90°F.

As in past vintages, 2020 Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with a portion of Petit Verdot and Malbec. Petit Verdot adds luxurious blue fruit aromas and hones the mid-palate structure while Malbec amplifies red currant aromas and flavor. The winemakers also included 2% Cabernet Franc in this blend to freshen the fruit aromas and infuse the finish with a lively spice character.

• About The Winery:

Founder of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Jerry Lohr, is one of the region’s pioneers and has played a larger-than-life role in bringing the area to prominence.

Jerry’s instincts led him to two regions located about 75 miles apart. In the early 1970s, he chose Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco district, with its cool, windy climate and rocky soils, as ideal for Chardonnay. In the 1980s, he recognized the potential of Paso Robles for growing Bordeaux varietals, especially Cabernet Sauvignon – given the area’s rich soils and dramatic diurnal temperature swings between warm days and cool nights.

After Jerry Lohr’s nearly decade-long search for the right place to plant his first vineyard. He chose a site in Monterey County that was to become the heart of the Arroyo Seco appellation. In 1974, Jerry unveiled the first J. Lohr winery in San Jose.

• Jerry Lohr Beginning:

In the early 1980s, Jerry Lohr saw the potential for great Cabernet Sauvignon further south. Borrowing a lesson from the French—that great Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon excel in very different growing conditions—Jerry began planting Cabernet Sauvignon and other red varieties in San Luis Obispo County’s then little-known Paso Robles region in 1986. With the hands-on devotion of an artisan farmer, Jerry tended to the vines while diligently working toward the creation and development of an adjacent winery and barreling cellars. J. Lohr’s Paso Robles production facility was opened in 1988.

For instance J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines now includes more than 1,400 acres of cool-climate estate vineyards in the Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands regions of Monterey County.