Jordan Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Stellenbosch

Description

Jordan Barrel Fermented Chardonnay is a South African white wine made by Jordan Wines in the Stellenbosch wine-growing region.

The Jordan Wine Estate is located in Stellenbosch Kloof. The estate was founded in 1982 when Ted and Sheelagh Jordan bought the 164-hectare Stellenbosch property. Ted’s son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Kathy Jordan, took over the reins of the estate in 1993. Gary was a geologist by training and Kathy was an economist.

Both worked in the family winery until 1988 when they went overseas to study at the University of California, Davis. Gary studied the Programme in Viticulture and Enology as did Kathy who also studied marketing courses in the Department of Agricultural Economics. They returned to South Africa in the early 1990s, built the winery in 1992 and started the journey to becoming the phenomenal husband and wife winemaking team they are today.

Jordan Wine Estate Vineyards

Ted Jordan embarked on an extensive replanting programme in the 1980s concentrating on planting classic varieties. Today the vineyards are planted with Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Assyrtiko for the white wines and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Petit Verdot for the red wines.

The wines are borne out of fastidious vineyard management innovative canopy management and selecting varieties and clones specifically suited to the various soils and slopes. Cool hillside vineyards were planted to classic varieties, and a modern family-run winery has combined to produce distinctive wines displaying the ripe concentrated fruity accessibility of the New World, with the complex elegance of classic wine. There are several ranges of wines including the classic estate varietal range and the flagship range including Cobbler’s Hill and Nine Yards.

Jordan Barrel Fermented Chardonnay Winemaking

The grapes for the Jordan Barrel Fermented Chardonnay are 100% Chardonnay harvested from mature vineyards (10 to 24 years old) planted with selected Davis and Burgundian clones. After harvesting and pressing the juice is barrel-fermented in a selection of 228 litre French oak barrels (45% new, 30% second-fill and 25% third-fill Nevers and Burgundian oak barrels). The wine is then aged for a further 9 months “sur lie” with occasional rolling over of the barrels to increase the lees-y character, adding creaminess and texture. 8% of tank-fermented Chardonnay is added to the blend which adds fresher, well-balanced citrus flavours. All the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation.