Arroyo Seco celebrates its 40th anniversary as an AVA this year and with it the recognition of its prowess as a growing region for bright, flavorful whites, including Chardonnay. With its windswept stony soils and minimal rainfall, grapes develop precise flavors and retain their acidity. The Arroyo Seco region has proven ideal for Chardonnay since the Wente’s and the Lohr’s began planting vines here in the 1970s.
JL WOOD wine is new on the scene. Named for an Arroyo Seco rancher whose family roots date back to 1905, and ran cattle here, JL Wood was a visionary. He oversaw the transition of the now125-acre ranch, which spans the hillsides and the river bottom by the bridge near Thorne Road, from cattle to vines. His daughter Carol Morrison and her husband Paul are both natives of the Salinas Valley, graduates of Hartnell College and UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. In addition, Paul studied winemaking at UC Davis. Together they manage the vineyard and the brand—and with the help of veteran winemaker Ed Filice, who crafts and ages the wine in Napa—the Morrison’s are dedicated to showcasing the varietal’s purity and intensity.
“Our Chardonnays are definitely more in the Burgundian style,” says Morrison. “We use oak as an accent, not the driver. What we get out of Arroyo Seco is good acid and strong fruit presence, and we do nothing to suppress it. No ML. Less filtration. We do no sugar or acid adds, use no grape concentrate or any other additives. We want that lemony fresh flavor to dominate. The result is clean and precise.”
Four different JL WOOD wines from vintage 2021 are currently available to retail and wholesale markets, each with their own unique label featuring wildlife abundant on the ranch. The innovative, appealing packaging reflects the natural, authentic flavors of the wines inside.
THE JL WOOD LINEUP
2021 No Oak Chardonnay – Brisk, lively and lemony, with perfect balance. Precise and clean.
Label: Feisty fox
Price: $32
Awards: California State Fair, Gold 95pts; Winemakers Challenge, Gold 92pts; Sommeliers Challenge and Monterey International, Gold 90pts; Sunset International, Silver.
2021 Nouveau Chardonnay – Potent tropical presence in the foreground while maintaining lemon drop in the background. Satisfying and mouthwatering.
Label: Chartreuse lips
Price: $32
Awards: Monterey Winemakers Celebration, Gold; Sommeliers Choice, Gold 91 pts; Sunset International, Silver.
2021 Premier Chardonnay – Lush lemon pie, cream tea biscuit and a hint of graham cracker. Poised, pure and silky.
Price: $36
Label: Wild boar
Awards: Sunset International, Double Gold, 97 pts; California State Fair, Gold, 96 pts; New York International, Gold, 95pts; Critics Challenge, Gold, 94pts; Winemaker Challenge, Gold, 92pts
2021 Hoo Knew Chardonnay – Deliciously and surprisingly flavor-packed, with pleasing depth and persistence of flavor. A must for any Low/No program.
Price: $26
Label: Wise owl
(Not entered in any wine competitions as of yet.)
The 2021’s are tasting superb right now and have garnered the recognition to prove it. Of the 2021 No Oak Chardonnay, Morrison says, “Making a no oak wine is actually hard to do, as you cannot mask any issues. The chemistry has to be perfect.”
Of the Nouveau he says, “For harvest 2021, one particular block exhibited this pure tropical character we wanted to capture.”
The Premier was made for those who prefer their Chardonnay with a bit of oak. “Again, we do no ML,” says Morrison. “We want to preserve the balance and the freshness, right off the vine.”
The Hoo Knew inevitably intrigues people at tastings. They normally react with an eye roll at the thought of a low calorie (80 per serving), low alcohol wine, but will generally come back to try it and are usually quite pleasantly surprised. Morrison says low alcohol wines are gaining in popularity at lunch, as you can function after having a glass or two. Plus many consumers are trying to cut back for health reasons, but still want the flavor and mouthfeel of wine, which seltzers and spritzers fail to provide.
They plan to add two new releases of JL WOOD Chardonnay from vintage 2022 before the end of August.
Arroyo Seco Rising
Morrison notes that the bar for wine quality in Arroyo Seco vineyards is constantly on the rise as consumers have increasingly been drawn to the price performance of the region’s Chardonnays. “Wente has been noticeably upgrading their program (Riva Ranch) over the last 4 to 5 years. Their vineyard is a stone’s throw from our ranch. They have invested a lot of money in their vineyards. The Chardonnays from J. Lohr really set a benchmark for style and quality. These brands inspire us to do our very best to deliver a superior product under our boutique JL Wood label.”
Arroyo Seco wines are typically done with less oak than their counterparts in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and offer a brighter taste profile for those who appreciate pure fruit flavor. They also offer an ideal alternative to pricey Sonoma and Napa wines that often sacrifice natural fruit flavor for the weightiness of oak. The Premier offers a silky, creamy mouthfeel and lingering finish, while retaining pure lemon and white peach flavors.
Says Morrison, “Our ranch in Arroyo Seco is the perfect spot to grow Chardonnay. We have early morning fog and shade in the afternoon, as the hills to the west cut short the intense sunlight. We are also balanced in vigor by the sandy and rocky soil, derived from decomposed granite.”
The abundant potato-shaped rocks here help the soil retain warmth at night, and they get just enough sun and heat, as it gets into the low 90’s by mid-September to early October, which is their harvest window. But, and this is a very important but, they assiduously avoid overripeness and baked fruit flavors. Fresh is their mantra: fully flavored, precise wines, is their goal.
Says Morrison, “We believe we are offering wines that drink well above their price points.”
If you find something that intrigues you, there is a minimum 4-bottle purchase from the website: JLWoodWine (*) Try all four and find your new favorite(s).
If you are a restaurant, wine bar or wine shop interested in carrying the wines, please call or text Paul Morrison at (415) 518-3050.
(*) Consumers are able to order wines for direct home delivery in states California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, DC, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota through JLWOODwine.com.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
