The name of Jordan is synonymous with Californian wine. Founded in 1972 by self-proclaimed Francophiles Tom and Sally Jordan, whose many visits to the Chateaux of Bordeaux convinced them that they could make wines of similar breeding and terroir-led elegance in cool areas around the Napa and its surrounds, if only they could find the right dirt, and the right people. Their search led them to the cool Alexander Valley, north of Napa itself, where proximity to the Pacific ocean and its beneficial cooling gave hope that their grapes would ripen slowly and give the much needed freshness and minerality.
The purchase of 275 acres of land was completed and a planting programme started, with the famous quartet of Bordelais red grapes planted - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot (the Chardonnay came later), planted in the cool areas around the Russian River in western Sonoma. Tom and Sally then convinced the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff to become consultant and winemaker, a coup that was key to the direction the Jordans wish to take with their wine, as Andre’s understanding of European winemaking enabled them to harness the cool climate and make a red wine that was fresh, layered with fruit and yet balanced in terms of tannins, acidity and oak, similar in many ways to Pauillac or St Julien.
The hiring of Rob Davis as winemaker in 1976 was another key moment, as Rob Davis continued to be winemaker at Jordan until 2021, a record of singular and continual winemaking in a Californian wine estate that remains unparalleled. Today, Jordan estate sits in around 1,500 acres of bio-diverse, sustainable and beautifully situated valley and hills in Alexander Valley, home to a winery and Chateau-styled home that works as both cellar door, sales and home to Tom and Sally’s son, John Jordan.
John has carried on his parents legacy and continues to bring wines of elegance, breeding, complexity and freshness to the glass of wine drinkers around the World. The Cabernet is a blend of around 85% Cabernet with varying amounts of Merlot and Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, fermented in steel and oak, then aged in new French oak. From 2021 no American oak has been used. All the grapes are picked by hand, and are farmed organically, with bio-dynamic methods employed where useful, such as plants between rows, ploughed back, use of Bees and hives to pollinate, it’s own water source, solar power etc etc. The Chardonnay all comes from the cool Russian River, the grapes picked by hand, fermented in steel and then matured in 90% French oak, mostly 1 and 2 year, with a small amount of American oak. The style is fresh, less obviously tropical, with nuances of apple, light oak, great minerality and a bracing freshness and steely backbone.
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