This week, Le Clos Jordanne, a Niagara vineyard, introduced their Burgundian-style wines to the British Columbian market. Le Clos Jordanne is also known as the surprise winner of the Judgment of Montreal – where a blind tasting was held with 14 different white wines from California and France. Much to the surprise of the judges and the folks at Le Clos Jordanne, a 2005 Chardonnay from
Le Clos Jordanne’s Claystone Terrace was entered into the event, and won.
Le Clos Jordanne is made up of four different vineyards; Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard, Claystone Terrace, La Petite Vineyard and Talon Ridge. When combined, they produce the entry level ‘Village Reserve’ wines, on their own they create ‘Single Vineyard’ wines or ‘Grand Clos’. The vineyards are all situated on the limestone bench of Lake Ontario, similar to the terroir of Burgundy and benefiting from the lake surroundings to help the grapes survive the climate. The grapes are all organically grown, hand picked and hand sorted to minimize damage to the delicate grapes during harvest.
We were introduced to three Pinot Noirs and two Chardonnays by winemaker Thomas Bachelder, whose storytelling drew on everything from his family life to rap music, revealing a true passion for his craft. He was an entertaining host, floating between anecdotes and explanations of the traditional Burgundian methods he uses to showcase the true essence of the grapes, which is nowhere near an over-oaked, New World Wine.
The five wines we had the pleasure of tasting were all from the 2006 vintage, which happened to be a very wet year. To avoid dilution and to increase the concentration of the wine, 10% of the juice was drained to increase the ratio of skins to juice. This process is labour-intensive, but it was an important part in maintaining the quality – and did they ever maintain the quality!
We started with three Pinot Noirs:
- Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 ($30)
- Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Pinot Noir 2006 ($45)
- Le Clos Jordanne Grand Clos Pinot Noir 2006 ($70)
The chefs at the Terminal City Club were kind enough to pair with a trio of goodness, including:
- Wild Mushroom Crustini
- Fraser Valley Duck Breast with potato and black truffle slices
- Five spice-rubbed, braised beef short-rib in a tempura batter
The Village Reserve came packed with bright red fruits, cassis and some surprising floral notes that others pinpointed as ‘rose’. The Single Vineyard Claystone wine added to the Village with more pronounced notes of red berries and mineral. Finally, the Grand Clos finished with sour cherries, cranberry, tangerine and smooth minerals that evolved over the course of the tasting.
The wild mushroom crostini brought forth the herbaceous characters of the Pinots whereas the rareness of the duck enhanced the berry notes of the wine. Finally, the acidity of the wine was able to stand up to the tempura and play on the flavour of the fresh dill-garnished spareribs.
The tasting concluded with two amazing Chardonnays:
- Le Clos Jordanne Claystone Chardonnay ($40)
- Le Clos Jordanne Grand Clos Chardonnay ($65)
This flight was paired with:
- Japanese scallop with brown butter and a sunchoke puree
- Preserved lemon risotto
- Chardonnay poached lobster with black truffle slices
These two showcased the traditional tropical and minerality of a Chardonnay straight from Burgundy. The Single Vineyard had some toasty notes on the finish but nowhere did oak take over the stone-fruit flavours. Both wines packed a nice tight finish that left your mouth watering for more.
Paired with the lemon risotto, the acidity of the wine was tethered and the smoothness of the flavours was able to shine through. This risotto was one of the best pairings of the night, playing exceptionally well with both chardonnays. The black truffles with the chardonnay-poached lobster showcased the mineral components of the Grand Clos and made it seem like the truffles and the grapes had once shared a plot of land.
To quote Mr. Bachelder himself, the exceptional flavour offerings from Le Close Jordanne are very proud to be “something that comes from somewhere” and, in this case, that somewhere is Niagara…and the offerings are very, very good. The next time you see a Le Clos Jordanne on the menu or at the store, do yourself a favour and try out any of their amazing wines – you won’t regret it for a second.