Seven Oaks

We witnessed a fourth consecutive year of low rainfall in the Paso Robles growing region in 2015. These dry conditions followed the extreme climatic trends seen across the entire state of California. Budbreak was early, as is typical in dry years, with vines coming out of dormancy in mid-March. Good growing conditions in April were followed by an unusually cold period in early May that disrupted bloom, resulting in a significant reduction in our Cabernet Sauvignon crop size due to shatter. The majority of our blocks were down in yields, with most vines bearing just half the typical number of berries on each cluster. The small crop ripened readily as fall approached, with this early harvest beginning in earnest on September 15th. Young wines showed explosive fruit and concentration right off the bat, and our enthusiasm for the vintage continued as we assembled the blends prior to barrel aging. As the 2015 Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon approaches its release date, we can appreciate the integration of ripe flavor and mature texture that is the result of J. Lohr’s use of traditional Bordeaux winegrowing techniques.