2011 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard

After many years juggling duties at both Turley and Failla, Ehren Jordan is now focused solely on his estate, but he still makes a dizzying array of wines. These Chardonnays and Pinots are essays into many of the truly great terroirs of Napa Valley, Sonoma and Mendocino. Personally I tend to gravitate towards the Sonoma Coast wines in this range, but there are plenty of fabulous wines from which to choose here. All of the 2012s were in bottle at the time of my tastings, in January 2014. I also had a chance to revist the 2011, which have largely confirmed my impressios from last year.

Ehren Jordan is one of those people who is maddeningly talented at many things. Jordan recently left his post at Turley, where he spent nearly 20 years making a dizzying array of superb Zinfandels. At Failla, which Jordan owns with his wife Anne-Marie, the focus is on cool-climate Chardonnays and Pinots, rendered in a range that approximates Turley when it comes to the number of different bottlings. Did I mention Jordan is versed in the classics and is also a licensed pilot? Jordan wants to spend more time at Failla, and I believe it, given the breadth of this range. Frankly, I can't imagine how Ehren took care of similarly large portfolios at both Turley and Failla while maintaining a sense of sanity. It will be interesting to see how things develop at Failla. The wines are already stellar, as I hope these notes amply demonstrate. Simply put, Failla is a reference point winery for the Sonoma Coast. This is as good as it gets.

Two thousand eleven was a year of the farmer, in which the challenge was to get the fruit ripe and minimize the spread of rot, said Ehren Jordan. "The vintage is a mixed bag, depending on variety and site, but for me it's extraordinary. The wines, especially the chardonnays, can be electric, and they have relatively moderate alcohol levels. The early-ripening varieties show great precision. It's the vintage I always fantasize about in California: cool to the finish." Whether or not to ferment his many pinot cuvees with whole clusters was "a game-time decision," noted Jordan, who added that the stems were mostly ripe due to the long growing season. I found the wines a bit youthfully clenched but fascinating, with wonderfully subtle aromatics. "In comparison, the 2010s are fatter wines," noted Jordan. "They speak of the two heat events in August and September."