Failla Chardonnay 2019, Olivet Ranch Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California

“In 2011, with a desire to own and farm a higher percentage of our Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, Ehren purchased an established vineyard on Olivet Road in Santa Rosa, next to the revered Olivet Lane Vineyard. The result is Olivet Ranch, a 14-acre site situated on the Santa Rosa Plain in the heart of the Russian River Valley AVA. We immediately converted the vineyard to organic farming, and are now seeing the fruits of our labor. As the core of our Sonoma coast chardonnay, we are delighted not only to see it raise the overall quality of our AVA blend, we are even more excited to see this particular block of the vineyard emerge as a standout.” The single vineyard Chardonnays are raised in one-quarter concrete and three-quarters oak, with 20 to 30 percent being new oak. All of Failla’s wines are fermented with wild yeasts. None of them have added sulphur, and none are acidulated. Failla’s winery is located in Napa, on Silverado Trail. It was built while Jordan was starting up Failla and contemporaneously working as winemaker for Turley Wine Cellars. (While at Turley, Jordan made a string of widely appreciated wines, particularly Zinfandels, which wowed for their power and also impressed for being distinctive and refined.)