J. Lohr Cuvee PAU 2016
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Jeb
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#44 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 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.
Delicious with grilled rosemary lamb chops, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted beets.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
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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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Cuvee PAU is the Left Bank Bordeaux-styled release, and it's a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot, and the rest Malbec, aged 18 months in barrels. Deep purple-colored, this medium-bodied, concentrated, nicely balanced effort has lots of classic Cabernet currant fruits as well as notes of lead pencil, dried earth, chocolate, and leather. It's a solid, textured, balanced Bordeaux blend that will keep for a decade.
Other Vintages
2018-
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For fifty years and through two generations, the Lohr family and their team have been leaders in the California wine industry. Founder Jerry Lohr and his three children Steve, Cynthia, and Lawrence oversee one of the country’s most successful and trusted fine wine labels. With first plantings in Monterey in 1972 and then in Paso Robles in 1986, the J. Lohr team helped write the book on sustainable winegrowing on the Central Coast.
Today, J. Lohr farms more than 4,000 acres of estate vineyards in Monterey’s Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands appellations, Paso Robles, and St. Helena in the Napa Valley. J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines produces eight tiers of award-winning releases: J. Lohr Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, J. Lohr Cuvée Series, J. Lohr Vineyard Series, J. Lohr Gesture, J. Lohr Pure Paso Proprietary Red Wine, J. Lohr Estates, J. Lohr Monterey Roots, and ARIEL Vineyards. J. Lohr was honored with the 2020 Green Medal Leader Award in recognition of the company’s decades-long commitment to sustainability.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.