Ahhh J Lohr......yeah. Before you guys get on me for my choice of producer, please let allow me to first explain. Ya see I was at Walmart today and I wanted to get home quickly but I also wanted a wine to review tonight. As I carefully looked over my choices I noticed that there were wines on the shelves that I would NEVER choose no matter what, wines on the shelves that I could possibly choose, in a pinch (hello J Lohr) and wines on the shelves that I had at one time or another already reviewed. I decided to choose a wine that based on my past experiences with the winery I knew already was likely to be bad but I was hoping that this particular offering would begin to change my feelings about them. Anyway, I bought the wine and when I got home, quickly threw it in the Freezer for about forty five minutes in order for it to chill and now here I am.
Today's review is on the 2018 J Lohr, Chardonnay. The wine is 100% Chardonnay and the grapes are from their Riverstone Vineyard in the Arroyo Seco area of Los Angeles County. The winery brags about the many different Clones that are used in the making of the wine and says that these Clones bring out complexity of flavors, textures and acidity in the wine. Once again, based on my previous experiences with the winery, we shall see. The wine is Cork sealed and comes in at 14% Alcohol.
As I check out the label now I rather like it. I love the Crest and how it is wedged into the main label. I think it is unique and presents the wine in a sharp & classy way. The back label is even something to talk about. This label appeared big and said a lot as it told about the family and the vineyards. Font or Script wise the label has it nailed down for a white wine with no complaints from me. I have to say that whomever designed the label is talented indeed.
Let's get to the Bouquet now. Ripe Nectarine and oak come screaming through onto the Nose. Following these two notes up is one of White Peach and a slightly more then moderate Note of an at least perceived butter/oily texture which when mixed in with the other Notes right away had me screaming "danger Will Robinson". I am getting the perception here of a sweet & overly bright and fruity tropical wine. If what I get on the Nose turns out to be exposed on the Palate perhaps the producers should rethink calling this a Chardonnay or perhaps throw it into a big Jug to be mixed at a later date with some sort of juice, it is too early to tell for sure however. Legs were fairly thick yet dripped quickly.
Right off the bat as I first taste the wine I have to tell you that I am getting big time evidence of Malactic Fermentation (MLF) which of course means that the wine presents a pretty big buttery/oily Palate presentation. I am also getting more then a good bit of the feared fruit sweetness on the Palate as well as some moderate oak. Alright guys, thanks for reading this review and I will see you next time. In all seriousness guys this wine is .......I guess...... Okay, I should stop and back this review up a bit huh? Let's tackle that Malactic Fermentation first. Malactic Fermentation is not really a Fermentation because it doesn’t use yeast. Instead of yeast the Winemaker uses a special kind of bacteria called Oenoccocus Oeni along with a few
other Lactobacillus strains that eat the Malic Acid in the wine and poop out
lactic acid. This is where a wine can get its buttery/oily like texture in the Mouth. While that may sound gross, if done correctly and in moderation it can help create a great Chardonnay. Where it seems a lot of people differ is in their interpretation of what "moderation" is. My tolerance for MLF is not too high at all and thankfully the Chardonnays I have reviewed recently (2018 Ondine Chattan - Chardonnay) have not even come close to pushing that limit. In this wine the buttery/oily type texture is unfortunately very in your face. As I said earlier, the wine also expresses a BIG time note of sweetness on the Palate and neither is a good thing here as this is supposed to be a Chardonnay and there is no way the varietal should be putting off any of these overdone notes. Guys as I sip further on this wine I'll tell you that the buttery/oily notes comes across from just after Mid-Palate and follows through all the way to the Finish and it seems even after. In my humble opinion the level of the Notes the wine presents are all overblown and all offensive. I believe that if you have any sense of what the varietal is supposed to taste like, you will feel the same way as well. Moving on now, there are big sweet notes of over ripe White Peach & sweet Apricot as well and they simply just add to the wines overpowering sweetness and overall overly fruity Palate brightness. The wine also presents a really big note of crème brûlée as well and overall I didn't appreciate it. There was absolutely no crispness, dryness or minerality to the wine and I thought these Notes were very much needed due to the varietal. Come on folks, this is a Chardonnay and I don't want, need, nor should there be any overly bright, ripe, sweet, tropical fruit, dominatingly buttery/oily Notes present. in it. I also don't need any crème brûlée in my Chardonnay thank you. What little there was that was good to say about the wine was indeed very limited and short lived. In one sentence I'll tell you what the positive was. The wine had a big note of Stone. There I did it. What was good ended up bad as that Stone Note it is like.....coated by that darn MLF and what it offered up. Another thing which killed the Stone was of course the overall big time sweetness. On the back end is a sudden bit of acidity which just hits me as being out of place in the wine and therefore on the Palate, like for real. One last Note that is exposed just as the Finish completes is a slight burn of Alcohol, not good.
Look guys, it seems that everyone loves this wine from the reviews I have read as well as the J Lohr line of wines themselves as a whole. Perhaps I am wrong but I think the wine SUCKS, there, I finally said it! I have to end this review as I have already spent way too much time on a J Lohr wine and the sink is waiting. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 81 points which means "Not recommended, drink water instead."
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