Review: J. Lohr 2018 Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles ($30)

 

This Cab is a stellar value with so many Napa and even Paso Robles Cabs selling for well over $50 or even $100. While it definitely has some of the opulence that you expect from Paso Cabernet, but it also has great balance and complexity for a Cab in this price range, showing lovely cassis, black cherry, black pepper and sage notes. It's a pretty seamless on the palate, and it has decent acid and really just the right amount of tannin. (93 Points)

Some notes from the winery:

The 2018 Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon is primarily sourced from the relatively cool El Pomar District sub- AVA in Paso Robles, where the J. Lohr Shotwell Vineyard is located. A lesser amount is from the J. Lohr Beck Vineyard, located at a 1,700 foot elevation in the Creston District. The blend also utilizes a collection of other small sites in the Paso Robles AVA. Blessed with long summer days of intense sunshine, our near 100°F daytime temperatures are followed by chilly, ocean-cooled nights in the 50s. These Cabernet vines are naturally stressed in the dry, often very gravelly, and sometimes lime shale-laden soils. Water is at a premium in these vineyards, enabling the viticulturist to fine-tune irrigation, resulting in the darkest possible fruit with resolved tannins year after year.