May 13, 2012 – Wine: 2005 J. Lohr Cuvee St. E

For Mother’s Day, I wanted to open something that would be a favorite of the two mothers at our get together.  Since one is a wine club member at J. Lohr, I figured that one of their flagship cuvees would be well received.  Ordinarily, J. Lohr produces three distinct Paso Robles cuvees each vintage: one primarily cabernet Sauvignon, one primarily Merlot, and one primarily Cabernet Franc called the St. E Cuvee.  In 2005, the only cuvee wine they produced was the St. E.  When it was released, the wine was wonderfully rich and offered great balance.  The tannins were in check and the fruit was well presented, even though the wine was clearly quite young.  Today, the wine seems to be passing through an awkward state of its evolution.  The flavors were all on the dark side, suggesting tar, black cherries, dark chocolate truffles, and leather (which surprised me because most Napa fruit from the same vintage features red fruits prominently).  The wine is wonderfully rich, albeit a little awkward and off-balance.  I expect the next two bottles to rebalance sometime in the next two years or so.  There are certainly enough tannins present to sustain another five or more years of cellaring.  And indeed, this wine was well received by both moms.



2005 J. Lohr Cuvee St. E