Description
The J. Lohr Stairway Vineyard is located in the Adelaida District sub-AVA of Paso Robles. Slopes can be as much as 50% at this ranch. Hiking up the vine rows is leg-burning and requires caution when traversing the steep, step-like chalk rocks. This part of Paso Robles is an ancient uplifted seabed so fossilized that seashells are often found in the ground - even though the vineyard is perched at 1,500 foot average elevation. Daytime high temperatures are moderated by early afternoon breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean, just 13 miles away. Planted in 2018 and 2019, just 4 acres of Grenache vines are dedicated to growing highly aromatic, luxury tier, Provence-style rosé. Paso Robles experienced record winter rainfall as multiple atmospheric rivers advanced across the west coast from December 2022 through March 2023. Rain totals for the season were nearly double the 30-year average and helped to established cover crops in our sustainably farmed vineyards to prevent erosion and draw precipitation back into the soil. A remarkable “superbloom” of colorful native flowers could be spotted through springtime on the central coast in response to the nourishing downpours. Cool weather persisted through much of the growing season. This slowed vine and cluster development until mid-July, when warm weather finally emerged. Veraison occurred during the second and third weeks of August, about two weeks behind schedule. Near perfect warm weather continued through October and November, allowing us to wait until the last days of autumn for optimal ripeness and flavor development. We hand-picked this Grenache in two passes, on October 3rd and 16th. The lots were crushed and held in tank on the skins for 15 hours prior to pressing to develop the wine’s vibrant pink hue.
J Lohr was founded in 1973 by the eponymous Jerry, who originally looked at the cool and windblown Monterrey coast. Fairly quickly building a successful business with the lovely terroir there in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, he expanded to Paso in a search for a place to grow truly great Cabernet. And, with no doubt - he found it. Founding the Hilltop Vineyard pretty quickly, they expanded rapidly off the back of the quality of Paso Robles fruit and the exceptional quality of the wines they were producing. Nowadays this is one of USA's favourite wineries - not requiring pretence or shouting to show how damn good it is. This is a Cellar's favourite across the board, with the Seven Oaks and the Riverstone proving firm favourites amongst our customers.