It seems like the more new ultra-high priced, ultra-trendy Cabernets come onto the market, the more I appreciate the generation of great wines that created the category in the first place- affordable classics of the genre that combine old school class with good ol’ California sunshine.  Is there any better representative of this old guard than Jordan?  Started in the mid-1970s by Tom Jordan to mimic the Bordeaux chateaux he so loved, the Jordan family has stuck to their guns ever since, creating each vintage a single red wine (and an excellent Chardonnay) that remains in their cellar until truly ready for release and, once it is out there in the world, it only improves for decades longer.  I remember my late father-in-law’s last bottle of 1977 we drank in 1998 or 1999 that just blew us away!  And while other wineries are already trotting out their 2022 Cabernets, we still get to enjoy Jordan’s 2019!  A blend of 80% Cab and the rest Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, it’s as polished and complex as any Classified Growth Bordeaux yet as true to its Alexander Valley, Sonoma County roots as can be. Now well on its way to maturity, the 2019 Jordan Alexander Valley Cab is gorgeous: glossy with black-tinged fruit, Kirsch, olive tapenade, blackberry bramble and tarry mineral.  Not overdone or over-oaked, it’s seamless, silky and very complex- about as different as you can imagine from some its competition from over the other side of the mountain, if you know what I mean. Enjoy its understated elegance now or over the next two decades and take yourself back to a time when California Cabernet was aspirational and exciting rather than jaded and overblown…..  The price, by the way, is an end of the month special from Jordan to you! I say take advantage of it while you can!

Tasting Panel:  Since its founding in 1972, Jordan Vineyard & Winery has produced just one red wine in every single vintage: a Cabernet Sauvignon. Thanks to meticulous craftsmanship, the 2019 embodies the standard set for this world-class red. Its sleek mouth- feel is dotted with white-peppered black raspberry, balsamic, and Italian herbs as well as illustrious, glossy tannins. 96 points

Wine Enthusiast: Excellent concentration and a classic flavor profile of black cherries, black olives and toasted oak give good reasons to buy and enjoy this Sonoma County icon. Firmly structured with fine-grained tannis and equally generous in black fruits, the wine is well-balanced and trim in body. 93 points