2013 Failla Chuy Vineyard Chardonnay

Failla is on the Sonoma Coast. It was founded in 1998 by the husband-and-wife team of Ehren Jordan and Anne-Marie Failla and it was known as Failla Jordan. Three years later they were legally required to change the name of their winery because of an already existing winery called Jordan Vineyards. Failla Jordan shortened their business name simply to Failla with the 2002 vintage. Winemaker Ehren Jordan worked in winemaking in the Rhone Valley and then became winemaker at Neyers Vineyards and Turley Wine Cellars. Failla makes primarily Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Robert M. Parker Jr. has generally rated Failla wines in the 90s, and notes that Ehren Jordan “continues to exhibit a French-inspired sensitivity to winemaking….Failla is an excellent source of elegant, flavor-filled, complex wines…”

Sonoma Valley AVA is Sonoma County’s original winegrowing district. Designated as an AVA in 1981, it includes 14,000 vineyard acres in a long, narrow valley that runs north-south. Rather romantically, the valley is also called The Valley of the Moon. The oldest winery in the AVA, and one of the oldest in California, is Buena Vista Winery, founded in 1857 by a Hungarian count who planted vineyards in Wisconsin before moving to California. Today there are nearly 60 wineries in the AVA producing a variety of wines, from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer. The appellation is bordered by mountain ranges on the east and west, which partly account for Sonoma Valley’s unique terroir. The mountains protect it from the cooling weather of the Pacific Ocean and fruit ripens well.

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.