Winemaker Notes
#37 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Best Buy of 2019
The 2017 Riverstone Chardonnay exhibits youthful hues of light to medium straw. The enticing aromas are reminiscent of peach, nectarine, marmalade, yellow floral, baking spices, and honey. Those aromas echo on the palate and are complemented by orange and apricot, and balanced with a creamy texture from aging sur lie. Flavors of crème brûlée and a touch of oak can be found on the long finish.
This wine can be enjoyed with a variety of dishes, including classic herb roasted chicken, citrus marinated halibut, or moules marinière.
Critical Acclaim
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J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines was founded more than four decades ago by Jerry Lohr and is still family owned and operated today. Jerry and his team helped pioneer winegrowing on California’s Central Coast. Today, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines sustainably farms 4,000+ acres of vineyards in the Monterey, Paso Robles, and Napa Valley appellations. The winery produces six distinct tiers of award-winning releases: J. Lohr Estates, J. Lohr Pure Paso™, J. Lohr Vineyard Series, J. Lohr Cuvée Series, J. Lohr Gesture, and J. Lohr Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The J. Lohr Wine Centers in Paso Robles and San Jose welcome visitors daily.
Named after the dramatic, seasonal river of rain and snowmelt that cuts through the upper elevations of the Santa Lucia Mountains, the Arroyo Seco AVA extends east from the resultant mountain gorge, and into the rural and warm Salinas Valley. During the growing season, cool and damp Pacific Ocean air penetrates the gorge and flows into the valley, creating a cool evening respite for vineyards after a hot summer day. This natural water-release has also created a subterranean aquifer, which helps set the foundation of the AVA's boundaries and supplies the vineyards with water.
Arroyo Seco was actually home to the first commercial vineyard in California, called Mission Ranch, which was owned and propogated by the Mirassou family in the 1960s.
Chardonnay is most widely grown here. But as one of Monterey’s warmer regions, Arroyo Seco enjoys the highest praise for its reds, namely Bordeaux blends.
Arroyo Seco is one of the oldest AVAs in California, its status granted in the early 1980s, and also remains one of its smallest.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
