All grapes at J are hand-harvested into small quarter-ton bins and placed as whole clusters, without de-stemming, into our special Coquard press for a gentle pressing cycle. Grape juice from the various vineyard lots is fermented and kept separately until blending decisions are made in mid-November. The cuvee (blend) was assembled and cold stabilized to remove excess tartrates, then bottled in the spring. The cuvee included 5% oak-cask aged non-vintage wines that were carefully selected for this blend.

Tasting notes

The non-vintage J Cuvee 20 “Anniversary Label” gracefully opens up with crisp lemon peel, honeysuckle and delicate yeast aromas. Upon entry, these notes are followed by a mix of Fuji apple, grapefruit and a sweet hint of angel food cake. The mid-palate flavors are interlaced with toast, caramel, warm pear, and almond. The acidity adds just enough liveliness and the citrus zest leads to a lingering lush finish. This is the perfect celebratory wine. Try it with an apricot-glazed country ham over the holidays or pair it with a fresh spring salad of mixed greens, topped with toasted walnuts and drizzled with a light vinaigrette dressing.

Technical notes

Harvest: August 28 - September 30, 1998 Harvest Analysis: Average sugar level 19.2° Brix Final Analysis: Alcohol 12.4% by volume Final Blend: 53% Chardonnay 44% Pinot Noir 3% Pinot Meunier 100 % Russian River Valley, Sonoma County 25,000 cases produced