Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1011938
76 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 the tiny berries and essentially bursts them. To ensure the juice can benefit from the full potential of anthocyanins and tannins, Peck then performs a series of délestage, or rack and returns, early in the fermentation process to ex - tract every drop of juice from the pulp. These techniques allow for better extraction overall but would be nearly impossible to implement on a large scale. To ensure it's drinkable upon release, the wine is aged in 100 percent new French oak for 17 months and bottle- aged for nearly two years. "In a way, it's a 'Hilltop Reserve' in that it's a superlative experience in the current release," Peck says. "It's also a wine that would certainly hold with age, but it's not a wine you have to cellar long-term to get the most out of it." J. Lohr 2014 Signa - ture Cabernet Sauvi- gnon ($100) Concentrated and juicy black fruit with notes of caraway and anise. The luxurious, supple mouthfeel builds into plush tannins for a richer attack on the finish. —Michelle Ball HILLTOP The uplifted terraces and gravelly soils of the Hilltop Vineyard, which originally provided fruit for the Hilltop Cabernet, made for an exceptional wine. Yet with J. Lohr's vineyard acreage expanding throughout the region, Peck says the Hilltop Vine - yard—located on J. Lohr's home ranch in the Estrella District AVA of Paso Robles—is not necessarily the winery's "best of the best" each vintage. "We began to see that we could make a better wine from some of the other sites that we had, including Beck," he adds. Beginning with the 2007 vintage, Hilltop now features a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from multiple "hilltop" vineyards grown at higher elevations. The 2015 Hilltop primarily consists of fruit from Beck Vineyard in the Creston District and Shotwell Vineyard in the El Pomar District AVA, although the Adelaide District's Gean Ranch has also been used in the past. Specific vineyard blocks are slated as possible components for Hilltop, yet Peck says J. Lohr doesn't want to pass up new oppor - tunities, either. After fermentation, Peck "barrels down" roughly 75,000 cases—nearly five times more than he needs—into French oak barrels, and over the next few months, the winemak - ing team tastes through each of the barrel lots to whittle it down to roughly 15,000 cases. "You already have to meet a really high threshold to be a part of those 75,000 cases, then we pull the best of the best to make the Hilltop blend," Peck says. The re- maining wine is then added to the Seven Oaks Cabernet, thereby elevating the final blend of J. Lohr's popular, entry-level wine. J. Lohr 2015 Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon ($35) Savory, brambly fruit with minty undertones that speak to the vintage. Dense mid- palate concentration with subtle, well-integrated oak characteristics. Aged in 75% new French oak for 18 months. —M.B. J. Lohr has been Beck Vineyard's exclusive fruit recipient since 2008 and purchased the property outright earlier this year. Vineyard Manager Zach Merkel now oversees this unique site. J. Lohr's Shotwell Vineyard in the El Pomar District AVA.