J. Lohr Tower Road Petite Sirah 2006

Winemaker's Notes:

VINTAGE2006 marks the inaugural vintage of J. Lohr Tower Road Vineyard Petite Sirah for limited national distribution. Originally created as a wine for our two J. Lohr Wine Centers in San Jose and Paso Robles, the Tower Road Petite Sirah quickly became a favorite of our visiting distributors, often requesting it for their respective markets. It is built on a backbone of Petite Sirah, which is in many ways not Petite at all. In fact, it is the largest-berried and largest-clustered variety that we grow in Paso Robles, and amazingly, it is also the variety with the greatest phenolic content, with gobs of color and tannin. And in most years with Petite Sirah, it is more an exercise in restraining the extraction rather than trying to maximize it. The 2006 vintage comes from our block 64 Petite Sirah vineyard bounded on its southern end by Tower Road. The vintage was outstanding for Petite Sirah, producing jet-black fruit with tremendous berry fruit flavors. Although the wine is made to showcase Petite Sirah, it is blended with some other Paso favorites, such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, and is a big, beautifully-colored and extracted wine, sure to please those who enjoy big reds.Technical DataOrigin: Block 64, Paso Robles AVA, San Luis Obispo CountyComposition: 79.1% Petite Sirah, 9.5% Syrah, 9.1% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2.3% Valdigui Harvest Dates: September 11th, 2006 Process: Hand-harvested early morning, destemmed and crushed to twenty-four ton stainless steel fermenters Harvest Numbers: 25.7 Brix average, pH=3.56, Total Acidity 0.57 g/100 ml Vinification: Yeast: Lallemand D254 Fermentation: Stainless steel fermented with punchdowns and manual pumpovers Temperature:To 88F Maceration:10 daysMaloactic: Inoculation in stainless steel and completion in 60% new French, Hungarian and American oak barrels Maturation: Eighteen months in 60% new French, Hungarian and American oak barrelsBarrel Type:60% new French, Hungarian and American oak Bordeaux-style barrels (60.9 gallons), 40% third-fill French oak barrelsForests: Center of France, Hungary, Missouri Coopers: Francois Frres, Trust, World CooperagePost-Maturation: Rack from barrels, fine and bottleBottling Numbers:pH: 3.81 Total Acidity: 0.63g/l00ml Alcohol:14.5% by volume Res. Sugar:Dry Winemaker's Comments Opaque, deep purple with youthful magenta hues, the 2006 J. Lohr Tower Road Vineyard Petite Sirah has dark, brooding aromas of blackberry, black currant and rhubarb pie with a bouquet of dark chocolate, black licorice and brown spices. The flavors are reminiscent of the aromas, with dark chocolate taking the fore, with a huge, plump mouthfeel and long, savory finish. Tower Road Vineyard Petite Sirah, given its size and structure, would pair well with roasted venison, elk or beef with a lingonberry reduction sauce.Jeff Meier, winemaker