I LOVE j.lohr but let me tell you, this bottle was bad. There’s a reason why you taste the bottle of wine at a restaurant. It’s not just to figure out if you like the flavor profile + characteristics of that wine, it’s to also taste if the wine has gone bad and this bottle was a BAD BOTTLE. If I could I would have taken it back to the grocery store. I have had multiple bottles of this wine before and have never had an experience like this. I hope this post helps shed light on what to look for when tasting a bottle that you think might be bad. From the words of my mother, “if I had never had this wine before I don’t think I’d buy it again.”
wine name: j.lohr
vintage: 2016
style/type: cabernet sauvignon
country/region: paso robles, ca
price: $10
appearance:
- clarity (clear or hazy): clear
- intensity (pale, medium, or deep): medium
- color (describe the shade of the wine): ruby/garnet
nose:
- condition (clean or unclean): clean
- intensity (light, medium, strong): light
- aromas (what do you smell): grape, raspberry, toasty, cinnamon
palate:
- sweetness (dry, off-dry, medium, sweet): off-dry
- acidity + tannin level (low, medium, high): high acidity and tannins
- body (light, medium, or full): full body
- flavors (what do you taste): boysenberry, tart cherry, dirt
- finish (how long does it linger with you): short and dissipates quickly
conclusion (0-5): 1
❤ happy tasting
hmmm, wait. I would like to understand something. You had a bottle of this exact wine from same exact vintage before and you liked it, but you don’t like this particular bottle? If this is the case, can you please define “bad”? Is this wine spoiled – i.e., exhibiting signs of damage such as corked, oxidized or heat damaged? Or you never had this exact wine before (but you like other J. Lohr wines), and you didn’t like this particular wine but it was not spoiled? Which one is that?
Hi there and great questions! Yes, I’ve had a bottle of the exact same style + vintage previously. It appeared that this bottle had spoiled. It had a sour/tarte and nutty taste that I don’t typically recall tasting in previous bottles. Now that I think about it, I do wish I had picked up another bottle to do a side by side tasting. Maybe for one of my future posts!
Sour/sharp/rasp + no fruit on the palate is a hallmark of the corked bottle. It would usually have the musty smell of basement as well, but that might be hard to detect. So I can’t speak of the laws and practices of your state (I believe you live in the US), but in Connecticut, I can return spoiled bottle back ((it can’t be empty, of course), and most of the reputable retailers will take it back and give you back the money, as they can return it to the wholesalers for the same credit. You should probably try it in the future.
I believe the laws are the same in California. I’ll defintely try that in the future. Thanks so much!!