Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/637107
80 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 { somm camp } J. LOHR "SPICE RACKS" At J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines' new white wine facility in Greenfield, Director of Winemaking Jeff Meier and White Wine Winemaker Kristen Barnhisel led us through two blind tastings to illustrate the impact of winemaker decisions on Arroyo Seco- grown Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay. Showing us graphs comparing wine region temperatures recorded around the world, assembled by Mark Greenspan of Advanced Viticulture, Meier said: "Arroyo Seco is not just a Region I climate. In most years it is colder than other cold- climate regions, such as Sta. Rita Hills, Carneros, Sonoma Coast, even the Beaune area of Burgundy. If anything, it is our high winds that set us apart. "That said, acidity is never an issue. This allows us to play around with degrees of ripeness. In the early 1980s we typically picked our Chardonnay in the 23°, 24° Brix range. In 1986 we experienced heavy rain in the middle of harvest, and ended up stopping for ten days with most of the grapes still hanging. After the rains we resumed picking, and grapes were closer to 26.5°. We had never done something like that before, but the fruit impressions we were getting werelike someone turning on a 'flavor light.' This changed our minds about ripeness, and for years after we were always the last to pick in the area." Ms. Barnhisel—who came aboard in early 2015 after working in Northern California—added these insights: "Having come out of Sonoma and Anderson Valley, I'm just starting to get to know the region. But I can already see the differences. Arroyo Seco Chardonnay is very much white peach or peach fuzz, tanger - ine, nectarine and Meyer lemon, underscored by substantial texture and natural acidity. Then there are bluff looking down upon the dry riverbed, replete with glistening white river stones (called "Greenfield potatoes" by locals), piled atop crushed sandstone. Phillip Wente told us: "The parameters of the Arroyo Seco AVA are drawn by this river canyon, defined by its own underlying water table, drawn from waters completely separate from the Salinas River watershed. The ability to start from scratch here was a big advantage. The family had been working with Professor Olmo at U.C. Davis to develop completely virus-free stock of Chardonnay, from the enormous pool of Livermore Valley selections originally brought in by my dad's father [Ernest Wente] in 1912. You are standing where the original clones FPS [Foundation Plant Services] 04 and 05 were planted, prior to becoming the most widely planted Chardonnay clones in the state." Karl D. Wente took over from there, treating us to taste of the Wente Vineyards 2014 Riva Ranch Arroyo Seco Chardonnay—a fleshy, toasted oak style with a tight clarity of lemony/citrusy fruit—alongside barrel samples of 2015s. According to the younger Wente: "Like our mix of Pinot Noir clonal material in Riva Ranch, all of our Chardonnay clones contribute something to our Chardonnay program. The 2014 Riva Ranch is a mix of clones 04 and 2A. The 2A is lesser known in California for the same reason that we like it—because it exhibits the uneven 'hens and chicks' clusters of many of the original Wente selections." Some notes on the clone 2A samples of 2015 Chardonnay in this field tasting: Early picked barrel—Bright, lemony acid balance; already emanating tropical, banana-like esters. Later picked barrel—Harvested riper at 24.6° Brix; even more tropical as well as a tad creamier in texture, yet still sharp with acidity, floral and citrusy. Non-oaked—Stainless steel tank–fermented; zesty, with bright array of tropical fruit aromas (pineapple/pear/banana). New French oak barrel—Picked ripe (25° Brix), barrel-fermented and aging in new François Frères barrels; tropical perfume and sharply etched, yet more austere and tightly wound than the other samples. Explained Wente, "My Uncle Philip has always been fond of saying that to fully express Arroyo Seco fruit, you have to paint with the broadest possible palette. These samples show the amazing range of flavor, structure and style you get by just slightly varying picking times, clonal selection and winemaking technique, all from within these original blocks." Fourth-generation winegrower Philip Wente greeting somms in original block (planted 1962) of Wente Chardonnay at the family's Riva Ranch. J. Lohr winemakers Kristen Barnhisal and Jeff Meier lead a "spice rack" blind tasting.