Pinot Matters

By / Magazine / July 29th, 2009 / 1

A honeymoon can set you off on a life you never imagined. I’m not talking about marriage here, but in a way I am. For Montrealer Thomas Bachelder it was his honeymoon in Burgundy in 1989 that ignited his passion for cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and made him want to be a winemaker. (Long-time readers of Tidings will remember Bachelder’s engaging columns in the early 1990s.)

Undoubtedly, the best thing that has happened to the Ontario wine industry in the new millennium is Bachelder’s arrival as steward of the vineyards and cellar at Vincor’s Le Clos Jordanne. This journey followed a winemaking career that began in his beloved Burgundy, moved to Oregon (at Ponzi) and then onto Meursault (Château Génot-Boulanger) before returning to Oregon (Lemelson) and subsequently landing on the Niagara Peninsula.

Since his return to Canada six years ago, Bachelder has crafted the most exciting locally grown Pinot Noirs I have tasted. Using the Burgundy model in which he was trained, he has fashioned three levels of quality for the Le Clos Jordanne label — a Village wine (Village Reserve from the young Talon Ridge Vineyard), three single-vineyard wines that correspond to Burgundy Premier Cru level (Petite Vineyard, Claystone Terrace and Le Clos Jordanne) and a Grand Cru wine selected from a favoured block of the home vineyard (Le Grand Clos).

What is remarkable about these wines in the four vintages I have tasted is the individual sense of place that each wine delivers. The soil speaks through these wines on the nose and on the palate in refined and elegant accents that are unmistakably their own.

Bachelder calls it “terroir winemaking.” Letting the vineyards and blocks within vineyards express themselves. This is how he does it: “Natural yeasts and malolactic fermentations — long, unhurried gentle ferments. Don’t punch down too much and don’t ‘flip’ the vats; use them once, not twice, and don’t get in the way with too much new wood. But do use Burgundy wood: tighter grain equals less interference from vanilla and butterscotch flavours. In fact, get out of the way of the wines. Let them do their thing, but watch them closely throughout, and then select carefully afterwards. Ferment everything separately and keep it that way in barrels. Look for the single-vineyard parcels within the vineyards. Listen to what the soil is saying. Sounds ridiculous and effete? Even wine beginners can see the differences during barrel tasting at Le Clos Jordanne when they are pointed out.”

And not only is Bachelder working his magic on Pinot Noir but his Chardonnays from these and other vineyard holdings have the same Burgundian inspiration. Yet they have something that Burgundy does not have — a true sense of Niagara Peninsula terroir.

Bachelder’s performance is beginning to influence other winemakers in Ontario. Norman Hardie, who has an equal amount of overseas winemaking experience — mainly in South Africa and New Zealand — is making delicious Burgundy-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the fruit of his eponymous estate in Prince Edward County. Add to this the single-vineyard Pinot Noirs of Coyote’s Run (Black Paw and Red Paw) made by David Sheppard (who worked with Karl Kaiser at Inniskillin) and the Gravity Pinot Noir that South African winemaker Marlize Beyers is crafting at Flat Rock Cellars. Jean-Martin Bouchard is a Montrealer who has made wine in Australia, Alsace and Germany before returning to Canada, first at Sumac Ridge in BC and now at Hidden Bench in Niagara. He’s making great Pinot Noir as well; as is Shiraz Mottiar at Malivoire, who trained in Pinot Noir at Coldstream Hills in Australia’s Yarra Valley.

This critical mass of talented young winemakers will consolidate Ontario’s potential as a region where you can grow world-class Pinot Noir and, what’s more, priced significantly lower than its Burgundy yardstick.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tony Aspler, Order of Canada recipient, has been writing about wine since 1975. He is the author of 18 wine books, including The Wine Atlas of Canada and three wine murder mystery novels. The best concert he ever attended was Rush with the Tragically Hip as the opening band. His favourite comfort food is milk chocolate and his cocktail of choice is a Kir Royale. At home, he drinks wine (lots of wine).

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