Cuvée St. E

Rainfall was higher than normal in 2019 with 13 inches falling in a typical seasonal pattern from November to March; an additional inch fell after budbreak, helping to fill out canopy growth prior to the onset of summer weather. We normally see slightly later budbreak in wet years, as was the case in 2019. This delays the phenological stages for the entire vintage, including bloom, veraison and harvest. This worked to our advantage that year; our late-ripening Cabernet Franc vines were able to mature well into the last weeks of October under ideal temperate growing conditions. Cabernet Franc grown on Block 60 of our J. Lohr Home Ranch was farmed by expert vineyard manager John Pierini with the Cuvée St. E program solely in mind. This block consistently provides fruit of deep color, polished tannins, and complex savory elements; clusters were hand-picked on October 24th, 2019 and sorted using our Pellenc Selectiv system

CUVÉE ST. E

The inspiration for our J. Lohr Cuvée St. E comes from the Grand Cru wines of St. Émilion from the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These memorable wines are composed primarily from Cabernet Franc and Merlot, with accenting touches of the other Bordeaux red varietals. We are given the freedom to emulate these great wines without the restrictions of varietal percentages, instead keenly focusing on the texture and complexity of the blend that nature delivers with each vintage.