Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 8 - 2013 - 8

UnloCKing

thE family CEllar
rEflECtions on foUr dECadEs of CaBErnEt saUvignon
By greg miller

E

very bottle of Jordan Alexander Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon carries with it a
distinctive story of place and time. The
wine inside is a true expression of the grape
variety, the soils the vines are rooted in, the
climatic conditions of the growing season,
and the many contributions of every individual involved
throughout the winemaking process. Sealed with a cork,
a portion of these time-capsuled stories—dating back
to the inaugural 1976 vintage—have been aging in the
Jordan cellar. This cellar is kept separate from the tiny
quantities of library vintages set aside for our Jordan
Estate Rewards members—it’s a handful of bottles from
every vintage ever produced, tucked away under ideal
storage conditions for historical purposes. Bottle after
bottle, the collection has evolved into an extensive estate
library with size formats ranging from the standard
750mL bottle to the 6 liter imperial representing each
vintage. Pulled from the depths of the cellar, several
treasured vintages were dusted off and shared again
at Jordan Winery’s 40th anniversary retrospective
tastings in 2012. Serving and tasting these wines was an
enlightening experience, one worth sharing with those
who enjoy a well-aged bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Interestingly, the original vision for Jordan Cabernet
Sauvignon was to make an elegant wine for immediate
enjoyment—ageability was an afterthought. The Jordans
wanted to be the first to produce a fruit-forward
California Cabernet Sauvignon with silky tannins that

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could be enjoyed in its youth—not a wine defined by rugged
tannins that required a decade in the cellar before being ready
to drink, which was the primary style of Cabernet Sauvignon
being crafted in neighboring Napa Valley in the 1960s.
With that first vintage, the Jordans took a big risk; no one
in California was producing wines that focused on balance
between fruit, acid and tannins to such great extent. Clearly
the risk paid off, as each of the vintages at the 40th anniversary
retrospective tastings, from the barrel samples of 2010 back
to the inaugural 1976, beautifully showcased the Jordans’
original vision and demonstrated the wines’ magical ability
to age gracefully for decades.
Simply observing the intensity of focus throughout the
retrospective tastings, one could almost identify which vintage
a guest was enjoying. Whether it was a gentle closing of the
eyes while savoring the delicate aroma of the 1976, or the
hollow sound of a taster drawing air through the palate of the
2008 to further release its youthful fruit and tannin structure,
the experience was captivating for all. The wines from ’76 to
’79 were fragile, but hauntingly intact in component structure.
Those of the ’80s vividly told the story of the dramatic
temperature fluctuations from one year to the next, leading to
some vintages that are soft and bashful and others bold and
expressive. Every vintage of the ’90s was a crowd pleaser, with
the later years still holding on to some of that youthful fruit,
and the more mature doing a bit more intermingling with the
hints of dried tea, tobacco leaf and black truffle. From the
vintage 2000 on, it was almost as if they were just released,
as they were energetic with youthful fruitiness, acidity and
tannin structure.
http://www.jordanwinery.com/40
Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 8 - 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 8 - 2013
