Hilltop

The primary source of this year’s Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon blend was our J. Lohr Shotwell Vineyard located within the cool, Templeton Gap-influenced El Pomar District of Paso Robles. Our J. Lohr Beck Vineyard provided 10% of the fruit from its 1,700 foot elevation in the La Panza range in the Creston District. The final 10% of the blend comes from our J. Lohr ranches located within the mountainous Adelaida District. As is typical, we’ve added small amounts of estate grown Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc to hone the final wine. Our Cabernet vines are naturally stressed in the dry, often very gravelly, and sometimes lime shale-laden soils in the region. Water is at a premium in these vineyards, enabling the viticulturist to fine-tune pruning and irrigation to achieve dark fruit with resolved tannins year after year.