Mourvèdre

2017 will be remembered as a restorative vintage for our Paso Robles vineyards, with the return of generous rainfall following an unprescedented 5-year period of drought throughout California. Mourvèdre is alway the last variety to awaken from dormancyin the spring. Budbreak occurred on April 20th, with bloom holding out until the first week of June. Crop set was good, with Mourvèdre coming in at 4 tons per acre after multiple crop thinning passes. An alarming heat spike brought temperatures as high as 115 degrees along the California coast from Los Angeles to North of San Francisco in early September. This triggered harvest for the early varieties such as Syrah, but had no effect on late-ripening Mourvèdre at our Gean Ranch that was harvested on October 21st. This vintage of J. Lohr Gesture Mourvèdre speaks to complexity and layers of intriguing spicy flavors.