Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 11, 2016 - 5

2015
REPORT
by Rob Davis

"We are very excited to have a vintage
like 2015 for our 40th: very early, very
low yields, very concentrated wines
and absolutely delicious."

T

he last grapes destined for Jordan
wine made their way through the
hopper and into our fermentation
room on September 28, making the 40th
vintage at Jordan one of the earliestfinishing harvests in our history-bested
only by 1984, 1992, 1997 and 2000. All our
grapes were off the vines just as the annual
Harvest Lunches were getting started.

end of spring. Unusually cool, somewhat
damp days lingered the first two weeks of
the month when fertilization of the vines'
flowers was occurring. This caused a lot of
shatter in the forming clusters, which led
to fewer flowers on the grapevines turning
into berries. It became clear that 2015's
crop would not be as bountiful as its three
preceding vintages.

The continuous string of early bud breaks
continued in 2015 with grapevines awaking
from winter dormancy three weeks ahead
of a typical growing season. Fortunately,
temperatures remained warm in March and
April, mitigating any frost threats.

Warm weather returned and remained
throughout the summer, helping the vines
ripen their smaller crop. The only major
heat spikes occurred in September when
the thermometer hit 100 degrees, which
always makes growers and winemakers
uneasy. During extremely hot weather, the
vines shut down and withdraw the water
from the clusters to help them survive.
The heat fluctuations, coupled with the
cold weather during flowering, resulted in

The most significant event of the 2015
growing season occurred in early May
when the weather dramatically shifted.
It seemed more like February than the

grape cluster weights being down 20-30%
from normal. It was a double punch on
quantity: less grapes on the vines with less
juice inside the berries.
Despite low yields, the wine quality of both
Cabernet and Chardonnay is extraordinary:
berries were small, but delicious. We are
thrilled about the bright apple and pear
aromas on the Chardonnay with juicy, crisp
acidity exhibiting great staying power on
the palate. The Cabernet is superb: deep,
rich, blackberry and cassis flavors with a
concentration of tannin provided by this
vintage's uniquely small berries; just the
kind of wine that John Jordan was hoping
to craft since his arrival in 2005. We are
very excited to have a vintage like 2015 to
commemorate our 40th harvest: very early,
very low yields, very concentrated wines
and absolutely delicious.
5
Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 11, 2016

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