One of the outstanding bubbles houses in California, J Vineyards was founded by one of the pioneering women in wine, Judy Jordan. It is quite remarkable that Jordan launched J all the way back in 1986, when she was 26 years of age. Jordan studied geology at Stanford and her father, Tom Jordan, founder of Jordan Vineyards, wanted to help her launch her own brand. The wines became marvelously successful as there were few premium bubbles houses at the time and the wine also offered considerable value at their entry level position.
I fondly recall visiting J Vineyards roughly 20 years ago and they had used a room towards the back of the facility as a very glamorous, club-like experience to taste wine. This was quite remarkable at the time and it shows what kind of innovation that Jordan created. In her early 50s, in 2015 Jordan decided to embark on a new adventure and she sold J Vineyards to Gallo. Today the winery remains an incredibly popular wine tasting location and the wines have been consistently great.
Tasting through the J wines I was very impressed with the entry level wine, the NV J Vineyards ‘Cuvee 20’ Sparkling Wine (OB, 90) which has lovey finesse and weight and offers really nice value at under 40 dollars. I love the new 2018 J Vineyards ‘Blanc de Noirs’ Sparkling Wine (OB, 93) which shows plenty of weight and beautiful underlying tension. Learn more about these outstanding wines at https://www.jwine.com/ and here are the outstanding new wines by J Vineyards.
NV J Vineyards ‘Cuvee 20’ Sparkling Wine- The NV ‘Cuvee 20’ comes from the Russian River Valley and blends 51% Chardonnay, and 41% Pinot Noir, with 8% Pinot Meunier. It is very round and generous on the palate with ripe red raspberry and melon fruits that combine with citrus blossom water on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2023-2028- 90
2018 J Vineyards ‘Blanc de Noirs’ Sparkling Wine- The 2018 ‘Blanc de Noirs’ is really thriving now at the five year mark. 100% Pinot Noir, his delivers lovely weight on the palate with shades of quince, Yakima cherry, white peach and ginger, with salty accents. The refined bubbles and silky mousse both awaken the senses, as this is marching on nicely right now. Enjoy over the next eight to ten years. Drink 2023-2033- 93
2016 J Vineyards ‘Brut’ Sparkling Wine- The outstanding 2016 J Vineyards ‘Brut’ Sparkling Wine spent roughly 5 years on the less before disgorgement. This comes off wonderfully yeasty with sourdough bread notes that combine with nectarine, starfruit and suggestions of marzipan on the palate. Showing good underlying richness and finesse, this is beautiful stuff to enjoy now and over the next eight plus years. Drink 2023-2033- 93