The French have a saying, On voyage pour changer, non de lieu, mais d’idées, which means “We travel to change, not to change a place, but to change ideas." It’s a fitting way to describe how Jordan Chardonnay became the wine it is today.
One of my first international trips was to Burgundy in 1979—the year we made our first vintage of Chardonnay at Jordan. There, I had the opportunity to taste from barrels in several domaines throughout the Côte D’Or, the heart of Burgundy’s finest vineyards. My sensory response to White Burgundy, specifically the Chardonnays of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, was more of a jolt than a subtle departure from what I was accustomed to in Alexander Valley. My California winemaking peers promoted extended ripeness of fruit, compounded by cellar manipulation—specifically an excessive
extraction of oak, bâttonage (extended contact with lees) and malolactic fermentation (buttery flavor development) to further amplify the flavor profile. It was this style of wine that was being crafted by our fraternity in the 1970s—wines lauded by critics and consumers alike. In contrast, the winemakers in Burgundy focused on fruit and the difference in the vines’ exposure to varying elevations and changes in soil (the French concept of terroir). After that fateful trip, I changed course. I became a student of the importance of vineyard sites—their soil profiles and their response to the cooler areas of the Russian River Valley, though Jordan’s estate Chardonnay vineyards were in the warmer Alexander Valley at the time. I fully embraced the importance of winemaking decisions that promoted the vineyard rather than embracing methods that built structure and richness at the expense of the fruit.
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