J. Lohr - 2014 "Hilltop" red blend

A product of famed vintner Jerry Lohr, this 14.90% ABV red blend was made in high-elevation, warm vineyards in Paso Robles, California. Located in San Obispo County south of the Bay Area, Paso Robles is also the home of Firestone Walker Brewing Co., a favorite of mine, so I've spoken of this area numerous times over the years. Aside from a star producer of beer, Paso Robles is an officially-recognized AVA (American Viticultural Area) with eleven subregions. It's a prolific producer of wines, typically reds, and is a major element of California's wine production, right up there with Napa, Sonoma, and the Central Coast.

Now, you may look at the title of my post and then look at the wine's label and notice a bit of a discrepancy. That's because, although this wine is labelled as a Cabernet Sauvignon, it's actually a red blend - 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. So then why to the call it "Cabernet Sauvignon"?

That's because of a quirk in the laws. According to the Tax and Trade Bureau of the US Department of the Treasury, under 27 Code of Federal Regulations, § 4.23(b), a wine doesn't have to be 100% "pure" (here, a pure varietal) in order to be declared as such. This doesn't mean deceit - it's just a peculiarity of the labeling law. I've read conflicting information regarding the threshold, but TTB says that a wine must be at least 75% of one varietal to be labelled as such. Makes sense I guess, but might be misleading to customers looking for one particular grape and instead getting 25% of a different grape (or grapes.) Although this wine is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, I'd prefer to call it a red blend for the purposes of a review.

Let's dive in - I'm detecting a nose of ripe red fruit.

Very full bodied - but - remarkably smooth. Dominant flavors here are black cherry, baking spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, and plum skins; heavily fruit-forward with a dense, rather velvety feel, and rich tannic heaviness throughout. As the wine develops, I'm picking up ripe red cherries and strawberry juice on the aftertaste, accompanied by that heavy weight of tannins.

There's good acidity, too, and definitely on the heavy end of the spectrum of wines. In terms of style and heritage, this is a superlative Cabernet and a great example of a massive California red. Cabs from this part of California are known to be "big" wines, and this doesn't disappoint. I paired this with Ethiopian food, and I'll tell you, it was a bit too much. This wine may be best enjoyed on its own to fully appreciate the strength, or perhaps aged for a five or six years to mellow out. At $29.99, this wasn't cheap but well within my budget for a high-quality California Cab.