Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 7, 2012 - 13

2011 Estate
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
CHEF’S COMMENTS: The first bottling of
Jordan featuring the additions of Ascolano
and Manzanillo fruit, 2011 brings notes
of papaya and guava to the spectrum of
traditional flavors, such as Fuji apple, freshly
cut grass and subtle artichoke. The exotic
fruit nuances, round texture and clean finish
captured in 2011 have made this vintage the
culinary staff’s favorite to date.

2010 Chardonnay Russian River Valley
WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS: A delicate wine filled with subtle fruit and
oak nuances to seduce the palate. Aromas of fresh green and Fuji apples lead
seamlessly to an elegant palate framed by lively acidity and a hint of oak.
Apple crispness lingers in the long, graceful finish. The wine possesses a mouthwatering quality that makes you want to take another sip.
THE VINTAGE: Spring weather was cool and gentle, and this consistency
allowed the vines to develop good-sized clusters with average yields. Cool
temperatures and foggy mornings lingered throughout the summer, enhancing
the intensity of fruit character in our Chardonnay grapes at lower sugar levels
with higher acids. The fact that the last cluster of Chardonnay made it into the
press minutes before the early October rains was not lost on any of us. The
elation of our crew could be heard even in the most southern tip of the Russian
River Valley.
THE WINEMAKING: Being incredibly selective with our grapes was essential.
All fruit was handpicked in the coolness of the night and early morning hours
before sunrise. Rigorous separation occurred again at the winery sorting table.
It was all about maintaining our high quality. The final selected grapes had
intense fruit flavors and bright acids due to the long, cool growing season. We
limited malolactic fermentation to only 36% in order to retain the wine’s bright
acidity and natural expression of fruit intensity, while giving a subtle creaminess
to the mid-palate. Gentle toasting of oak is our focus so that the extraction
of oak is balanced with apple flavors in our Chardonnay. Wine lots matured
for five months in oak before nine months of bottle age. 100% Chardonnay;
alcohol: 13.5%.
FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTIONS: Our Chardonnay is a chef’s dream for its
ability to complement and contrast flavors in an array of seafood, poultry, salad
and pasta dishes. This wine has the acidity to stand up to ceviches and raw
oysters. It’s a dual-purpose wine, made to complement the acidity in light, fresh
dishes or contrast with rich flavors: think lobster or a pasta with cream sauce.

THE VINTAGE: “Light and late” are the two
words that best describe the 2011 vintage.
Once flower clusters started to appear on the
trees in the springtime, we knew the potential
crop was going to be very small, which wasn’t
a big surprise because olive trees are alternatebearing—and 2010 was a bumper crop. An
unexpected rain storm in June while the trees
were pollinating further diminished the already
light crop. A mild frost in the second week of
November led us to harvest the fruit a few
weeks earlier than usual, yet the pulps were
ripe, rich and vibrantly pungent due to the
long, cool growing season. One benefit of the
smaller crop was that there was no real delay
in harvest. Sometimes, we need to wait a few
weeks between harvesting the early-ripening
Arbequina and the Tuscan varieties. This year,
they were fairly uniform in ripeness, and that
allowed us to pick through the entire orchard
in a week’s time, beginning November 7.
THE MAKING: Fruit was either handpicked
in the Italian brucatura tradition or shaken by
hand into special nets. As an artisanal oil, the
olives are milled within 24 hours of harvest,
and it is never filtered or heated allowing our
estate fruit to truly express itself. Our extensive
master blending session in January resulted in a
complex combination of Arbequina, Ascolano,
Frantoio, Leccino, Manzanillo and Pendolino
olives. Each bottle was hand-labeled in our
cellar by the Jordan culinary staff.
PAIRING SUGGESTIONS: The simple, delicious foods enhanced by a drizzle of 2011
Jordan Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil are endless. From a slice of sun-ripened tomato over
grilled rustic bread to an aged manchego or
mild chèvre with citrus wedges, you can’t go
wrong when treating this extra virgin olive oil
as you would any fine condiment. Even a scant
teaspoon of our oil over simply grilled fish and
a squeeze of lemon will bring pure, timeless
flavors to your table.

http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2011/01/video-watch-the-2010-california-olive-harvest-in-action/ http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2011/01/video-watch-the-2010-california-olive-harvest-in-action/ http://blog.jordanwinery.com/2010/11/winemaker-video-2010-vintage-harvest-report-alexander-valley/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDXwOPTCqBk http://www.jordanwinery.com/culinary/recipes/53 http://www.jordanwinery.com/culinary/recipes/80 http://www.jordanwinery.com/culinary/recipes/72

Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 7, 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 7, 2012