Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 9, 2014 - 17

Daring ambitions
The potential impact of oak treatment on the final wine
is tremendous. Oak's influence on a wine's flavor profile
is second only to its fruit. When used judiciously, barrel
aging both frames and highlights everything great about
a vintage without competing for attention. It showcases
the fruit expression, aids in character development,
rounds out the overall structure, and literally put, spices
up the story line without interfering or confusing the
message of the wine.
At Jordan, our wine style has always been focused
on balance, and while the role that oak plays in our
winemaking has not changed, new characters have
been introduced to the "story line" to challenge old
assumptions. Thus, the plot has thickened.
Why tinker with the oak if the wine is already popular?
As John Jordan says, "If we're not getting better, we're
getting worse." Fans can rest assured: We aren't changing
the style of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon in any way;
we are simply finding ways to enhance and elevate it.
Our palates and empirical wisdom are our guides, and
they are leading us to a place that would have made my
mentor, the late André Tchelistcheff very proud. Having
just completed my 38th vintage at Jordan, I can tell you
that this challenge is our most exciting to date. But to
reach the conclusion that it was time to go against the
grain and further fine-tune our barrel selection, we started
in the vineyards.

sourcing great fruit
The highest priority in winemaking is to begin with the
highest quality ingredients, in our case, grapes from the most
well-respected vineyard blocks on the eastern benchlands
and hillsides of the Alexander Valley. After six years of
refining which vineyards, blocks and growers are best-suited
for Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon (see "The Art of Blending,"
Vol. 7), we've finally found a whole new level of balance-
grapes that achieve ideal ripeness at lower sugar levels grown

in vineyards with well-drained soils that are quite resilient to
Mother Nature's quirks. We affectionately call this collection
of vineyards the "Côte de Jordan." Because our new vineyard
sources are consistently yielding us some of the most pure,
high-quality fruit in our history, our focus has naturally
turned to the barrels, where élevage, French for the "raising
of the wines," begins. Continuing to evolve Jordan's barrel
cooperage selection to best support and showcase this pristine
fruit has become a key focus within Jordan's cellar walls.

17

http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2011/04/video-demonstrating-the-old-world-art-of-making-a-wine-barrel/ http://www.jordanwinery.com/newsletters/2012vol7/files/4.html

Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 9, 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 9, 2014