When Ehren Jordan set up Failla with his wife Anne-Marie (it`s her maiden name), he was set on becoming one of California`s self-styled Rhone Rangers. He worked in the Rhone, though it is in his role at Turley Wine Cellars that we know him best. His track record there is indisputable. He is an autodidact who has learned more by doing rather than academic study. However the emphasis very quickly shifted to the potential of cold climate Burgundy varieties. So it has remained with a collection of vineyard sites that allow Ehren to make his airborne and marine-influenced wines that make you hungry and accompany food brilliantly. These wines are not full-throated roars of fruit and oak; they are precise and textured. Jordan farms fairly organically allowing the use of natural yeast and many of the ferments are done in concrete eggs, while you`ll see larger barrels in his cellar rather than the ubiquitous barrique. The wines are lean and lovely and well worth a look. (CW 13/08/19)