Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 8 - 2013 - 9

prEsErving a tastE of history
Caring for these older vintages has become a passion project
for the Jordan staff, and having the opportunity to share
them is rewarding. With one of the most extensive estate
libraries of Cabernet Sauvignon in California available to
the public, our library wine program has been developed to
control and protect the collection. The Jordan team annually
tastes through the library’s wines to evaluate each vintage’s
aging characteristics and how they evolve with time. From
the results of these annual tasting sessions, vintages from our
library are selected based on drinkability and made available
for others to enjoy immediately or to continue aging in their
cellars. The opportunity to taste wines from the 1970s and
1980s is quite rare due to miniscule bottles remaining in our
cellar. Besides these historical anniversary tastings, which
occur every 10 years, our Retrospective Tasting with our
Winemaker for Two, offered exclusively to Jordan Estate
Rewards members for 15,000 points, is the only event,
hosted every other year, to give members a glimpse into
these older wines.

Constantly Evolving in BottlE
Any wine worthy of aging requires balanced components
of acidity, tannin structure and fruit expression. To quote
André Tchelistcheff, the legendary enologist who worked
alongside Jordan Winemaker Rob Davis until 1993, “Only
wines of balance age.” An interesting observation about these
balanced wines capable of cellaring, like the Jordan Cabernet
Sauvignon, is that they are absolutely fabulous in their youth
as well, for exactly the same reason. With balance comes
harmony, and with harmony comes elegance and finesse,
regardless of age.
In its youth Jordan Cabernet displays a beautiful perfumelike aromatic quality of blackberry, cherry, red currants,
plum, and violets backed by a hint of vanilla and baking

spices influenced by its time in barrel. The mouthfeel carries a
lively youthfulness with seamlessly balanced acid and tannin
components. The fruity aromatics of the wine at this stage
derive directly from the grape variety (primary aromas) and
are also generated during the fermentation process (secondary
aromas). The perfume and floral characters are also secondary
aromas caused by the production of esters, which deliver
mind-boggling variations in aroma perception. The flavor and
aroma contributions of the oak barrels, while present early on,
are considered tertiary aromas as they are developed during the
aging process. In a standard 750mL bottle, these characteristics
will persist through the first seven to ten years of the wine’s
drinking life starting from the vintage date printed on the label.
The majority of all wines, whether built for aging or not, are
consumed toward the front end of this primary phase.
As the wine further ages in bottle, the fruity aroma
characteristics of its youth will begin to give way to additional
aging components of dried tea and sweet tobacco leaf, cedar
and baking spices. The already silky texture of the wine
becomes even softer and more supple on the palate as tannins
fall out of solution as sediment to the bottom of the bottle.
From 8 to 13 years from the vintage date, the primary and
secondary characteristics intermingle and form a layered
complexity that many refer to as the coveted “sweet spot.”
The sweet spot is when most winemakers and collectors prefer
to drink their cellared wines.
Toward the tail end of the sweet spot, the bottle-aging aroma
characteristics, also referred to as a wine’s bouquet, will begin
to dominate on the nose and palate, and the tannins will
continue to soften. If the acid, fruit and tannin components
were balanced at the time of bottling, chances are that with
proper cellaring, they will soften together and remain balanced.
While wines 20 to 30 years old could seem quite foreign to a
novice, many wine aficionados cherish wines of this maturity, as
the experience is truly one resulting from integrity and patience
in the cellar; it is after all, a time capsule.
9

http://www.jordanwinery.com/rewards/reward_levels/discover http://www.jordanwinery.com/rewards/reward_levels/discover http://www.jordanwinery.com/newsletters/2011vol6/files/6.html

Jordan Estate Tales - Volume 8 - 2013

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