Winemaker Notes
The 2014 vintage of J. Lohr Carol’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon expresses this classic valley floor site in an approachable way. Savory fruit elements wrapped in a barrel signature of hazelnut and cocoa powder. Firm and angular in structure with red and blue fruits on the finish. Excellent with grilled entrecôte and shallots, or a roasted pork loin with porcini mushrooms and fennel.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A dense and linear red with blueberry and blackberry character. Hints of chocolate and dark tea. Full body, yet tight and refined. Needs another three to four years but shows very beautiful potential. Try in 2021.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
As mannerly as it is so very rich and a wine that hits the mark smartly for crafting, varietal focus and layered depth, J. Lohr's 2014 version from Carol's Vineyard is an altogether lovely Napa Valley Cabernet that evokes the polished richness found in top bottlings sourced from better valley floor sites. It is full-bodied and very comfortably balanced, but for all of its considerable, come-hither appeal, it has all of the pieces in place to become even more attractive with age and be in fine drinking shape well into its second decade of life.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Petit Verdot has a densely opaque purple color, wonderfully sweet cassis fruit, blackberries and a floral note as well as a full-bodied, concentrated mouthfeel. In short, this is unquestionably the finest wine I have ever tasted from J. Lohr, so kudos to them. Of course, they’re not giving it away either, but this is worth every bit of its $60 price tag. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
Dense and compact, tight and concentrated, this offers loads of rich fruit, with tiers of dark berry, graphite, sage, cedar and crushed rock, ending a bit clipped. Best from 2020 through 2034.
For more than fifty years and through two generations, the Lohr family and their team have been leaders in the California wine industry. Founder Jerry Lohr and his three children Steve, Cynthia, and Lawrence oversee one of the country's most successful and trusted fine wine labels. With first plantings in Monterey in 1972 and then in Paso Robles in 1986, the team helped write the book on sustainable winegrowing on the Central Coast.
Today, J. Lohr farms more than 4,000 acres of estate vineyards in Monterey's Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands appellations, Paso Robles, and St. Helena in the Napa Valley. They produce eight tiers of award-winning releases: J. Lohr Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, J. Lohr Cuvée Series, J. Lohr Vineyard Series, J. Lohr Gesture, J. Lohr Pure Paso Proprietary Red Wine, J. Lohr Estates, J. Lohr Monterey Roots, and ARIEL Vineyards.
J. Lohr is a Certified California Sustainable Vineyard and Winery and was honored with the 2020 Green Medal Leader Award in recognition of the company's decades-long commitment to sustainability.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.