TasteCamp Day 2: up on the Bench Where it's Crisp

The focus of day two of TasteCamp was the Bench. The Bench is a colloquial term used locally to describe the wineries east of St. Catharines that are located along the escarpment. Higher-up, with vines on slopes and deep limestone-rich clay soils it really is a remarkably different growing area than Niagara-on-the-Lake.

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The first stop was Tawse. In its ten years Tawse has made a name for itself as a quality-focused producer. Its big coming out party was winning the Canadian Wine Awards Winery of the Year in 2010 under Paul Pender who was also recently recognised as winemaker of the year in 2010 at the Ontario Wine Awards. Pender is as passionate as he is humble. He's a firm believer that good wine begins in the vineyard and as such he has led Tawse through its organic and biodynamic certifications. The most likely spot you'll probably find him is amongst the vines so it was fitting that he led the group on an abbreviated version of a vineyard tour that he took bloggers on last year. After a tour through the gravity flow facility Pender poured a blind tasting of Tawse's two flagship Chardonnays. One was Robyn's Block from the home Cherry Ave. vineyard and the other the eponymous chardonnay from the Quarry Road vineyard. The Quarry Road Chardonnay is more linear with a tight focused minerality. The Robyn's Block is also an elegant taught chardonnay but it had a roundness and depth of flavour to go along with the pear, citrus and mineral-rich core. The wines taste quite different. Given that the winemaker and winemaking is identical it's a strong argument that terroir matters. But it's also an argument that vine age matters. Entering into its fourth decade Robyn's block is one of the oldest chardonnay plantings in Niagara. If you've followed Tawse for some time you know that Robyn's Block has evolved over time depending on who was making the wine at the time, but the current style with just enough oak to give it structure has been winning critical and consumer praise with elegance.

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Post-Tawse it was a visit to the house that Weis built—Vineland estates Winery. Under the care of the Schmidt family this Twenty Mile bench winery, located high-up on the escarpment on Moyer Rd., has a well deserved reputation for making some world class riesling. Winemaker Brian Schmidt believes that the St. Urban vineyard, where the Hermann Weis planted his Mosel Riesling clone, is a perfect place on the bench for the grape. The choice grape of Germany is a bit strong willed. As Schmidt explained when he was younger he tried tweaks to force the vines to do things he thought would make a better wine. For example, thinning down drastically to concentrate flavours. The vines just ended-up doing as they pleased anyway by doing things like growing bigger berries to compensate for the thinning. Over the years Schmidt has come to terms with fact that he's merely the caretaker for the vines and that the vineyard is truly the winemaker of the St. Urban Riesling. Now riesling is certainly a terroir-driven grape but it still doesn't make itself. One of the key areas where a winemaker shows his or her skill with riesling is in the blend. Schmidt showed this by isolating a 2010 riesling sample from a portion of the St. Urban vineyard called Field D. This sample came from fruit that was left on the vines until mid-October and had some botrytis. Made in an off-dry style it had ripe peach, apricot and tangerine flavours. The ripe flavours were balanced by mouth-watering acidity. Although this wine was brilliant on its own when it was added to the grapefruit, orange blossom, lime and minerality of the blended sample it really was on a whole other level. If you've ever done a blending session of a single variety wine the layering of flavours and complexity you can get simply by blending fruit from different blocks and sites is truly remarkable.

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Next was a trip to Flat Rock and blends were also the name of the game. The Jordan winery has always thought a little differently from passionately embracing the screw cap across its entire line (even changing the VQA rules to do so in the case of its recent sparkling) to being one of the first to promote a crisp, aromatic white blend like its Twisted. It's also taken the attitude that wine doesn't need to be pretentious as proprietor Ed Madronich likes to say. It just needs to be good. Since rain kept us out the vineyard staff did a great job with a retooled itinerary of various activities. One of the most engaging was trying to guess the blend of Twisted by tasting all the individual components. As humbling as blind tasting is guessing the composition of blend is even more. It might seem easy since you know precisely what makes it up but nailing down the proportion of the Riesling, chardonnay and gewüztraminer isn't easy.

The finish of the evening was a TasteCamp tradition—the bring your own bottle dinner. This is a chance for the group to share a special wine and stories with their fellow attendees. This year's was at Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine. Service was attentive while allowing this large group the freedom to mingle and chat. The standout dish of the meal was a cold mint and pea soup with a perfectly seared scallop. It was done well enough that the caramelisation brought out the natural sweetness of the mollusc but rare enough that it was still tender. The fresh bright flavours the of peas and mint also really complimented the scallop's inherit creaminess and the light briny ocean flavours. Between the food, the conversation and the special bottles from all over the world being shared it really is a one-of-kind experience that any oenophile would be lucky to attend.

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Mid-Atlantic Wines: Thoughts on the 2008 Le Clos
Line-up

Hearing and seeing the interest from the crowd throughout the kick-off party for the 2008 Le Clos Jordanne line-up, it's hard to believe that winery almost never released a bottle. The winery's launch in the fall of 2006 came a few months before Constellation Brands had ended its half-year long hostile take overbid with a successful purchase of Vincor. You see Constellation Brands is more famous for being in the business of buying wineries than building them. On the other hand Vincor which more or less began in the pioneering days of the Canadian wine industry with the Niagara Falls Wine Company (later T.G. Bright & Co) was built through the consolation of some the biggest, most successful and innovative wineries in Canada. Quite a contrast. But luckily for everyone the ambitious Le Clos Jordanne project was given a chance. It certainly helped that the initial critical praise resonated with consumers who overnight practically snatched-up the entire inaugural vintage when it was released through the LCBO's Vintages.

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At the time that the Le Clos Jordanne project began in 1999 many Ontario grape growers and wineries that are now known for a focus on quality Pinot Noir like Flat Rock, Malivoire and Norman Hardie had started to join early pioneers like Château de Charms, Inniskillin and Five Rows Craft Wine of Lowrey Vineyards in the exploration of producing great wine from this grape. The joint venture between Canada's largest wine company Vincor and the largest Burgundian producer Boisset came with deep pockets and technical as well as practical knowledge. Cuttings were selected from Burgundy and planted on premium land purchased on the Jordan Bench. The grapes were grown organically with tight spacing like in Burgundy with an eye on creating competition amongst the vines so fewer bunches could coax that much more character from the site. The now common premium practices of: shoot positioning, leaf removal, careful hand-harvesting and sorting were used before the grapes were allowed to ferment on their natural yeast and age in premium French oak barrels. All of the above were all proven and long established in Europe with many Ontario wineries now using all or at least some of these techniques. But Le Clos Jordanne was really the first to bring them all together and apply them with the focus of producing the best possible Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. In a fitting mirror to the Franco-Canadian partnership of the venture the vines were initially under the watchful eye of Montreal-born Burgundy-trained Pascal Marchand. The winemaking duties were then passed on to Montreal born, Burgundy-trained Thomas Bachelder who has been face of Le Clos Jordanne through its rise to prominence, including many of its recent accolades. Most notably the 2005 Claystone Terrace Chardonnay winning the Judgement of Montreal and Bachelder taking Winemaker of the Year honours at the 2009 Ontario Wine Awardsfor his work at the winery. But starting with the 2010 vintage the winemaking duties have been entrusted to Sébastien Jacquey. The Burgundian has “a degree in terroir—I can't believe that exists,” according Vincor's National Hospitality Director Del Rollo. After his schooling he got experience at key cool climate French regions like the Loire valley, Bordeaux and Burgundy before spending the last three years learning the intricacies of the Le Clos Jordanne's vineyards as Bachelder's assistant. Although Bachelder will be staying on as a consultant he's very confident that the wines will be in good hands under Jacquey. “It's not a force fit. He's Burgundian born with the Burgundian thought,” Bachelder said addressing the topic of his successor. You got the feeling the transition was complete when Jacquey was given the task of speaking about the wines and the conditions in the 2008 vintage.

At best the 2008 vintage has been spoken of with trepidation or qualified optimism and at worst it's been maligned after following 2007–the dry and hot previously declared the 'vintage of the decade'. So it was interesting to hear Jacquey's thoughts. Overall his philosophy is to “identify the vintage and show that character in the wines.” He pointed out that Pinot Noir doesn't like to be overripe. So 2008 in Niagara was arguably a year that was more suited to the variety than 2007 which was so dry and hot that it caused vines in vineyards throughout Niagara to shut down and stop the ripening process at the peak of summer —they like many of us just couldn't take the heat. He also added that the grapes in 2008 had enough acidity to allow the wines to “hold and reveal fruit”.

From Le Clos

But that didn't mean 2008 was easy. In fact it was far from it. With the rain and colder than usual temperatures 2008 was probably the winery's most challenging vintage just behind 2006. Regardless of site specifics or growing methods all Ontario growers/winemakers who were in the vineyards daily as harvest approached and were on top of critical quality practices like leaf stripping, shoot positioning and cluster thinning are seeing the dividends in the bottle right now. Given its thin-skinned and tight disease prone clusters it seems counterintuitive that growing Pinot Noir organically (Le Clos Jordanne was certified in time for the 2005 vintage) could be an asset in a wet year like 2008. But not having the option to spray with a synthetic herbicide, fungicide and insecticide that targets a problem forces you to be vigilant about the leaf stripping, shoot positioning and cluster thinning if you want to keep the largest amount of fruit as ripe and healthy as possible. Of course having the resources of two large wine companies certainly helps make that labour intensive task easier over Le Clos Jordanne's 138 acres. But even with all those quality focused vineayrd practices when it came time to harvest there was sorting and resorting of the the fruit to eek out the best quality results in a tough vintage. Hand harvesting, hand sorting, hand-labour and organic farming practices are certainly not the only way to achieve quality grapes but Boisset and Vincor believe these practices are key to producing the best quality grapes that express the terroir of Le Clos Jordanne's vineyards.

For those who have never tasted a wine from Le Clos Jordanne Bachelder sums up its wines as "mid-atlantic". By that he means they are an amalgam possessing some new world flavours but also the old-world style of terroir derived flavours that got Boisset so excited about growing on the Niagara Peninsula.

Overall I found the entire 2008 line-up of both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir tight with the wines drinking well right now but many certainly not reaching the maturity needed to begin to show everything they have to offer. When you're looking to taste the impact and subtitles that the different vineyards bring it is much easier when wines are clearly showing their true character. When asked staff acknowledge that the wines are tight and that begs the question why not wait a little longer before releasing the wines? As Rollo explains Le Clos Jordanne likes to release the wines in late fall as it gives their customers a regularly timed event to try the wines in their youth. Many, who were taking notes while tasting, could compare to previous vintages when they first tasted them and compare the single vineyard ones with more mature vintages to get an idea of how they might develop. Production isn't as scare as it was when the project started but it also allows long time customer to purchase what they would like before widespread sale begins.

The 2008 tasting was organised with each of the bottlings given their own separate tables (manned by Le Clos Jordanne staff who were happy to answer questions) throughout the room the room guests were free to sample and mingle at their leisure amongst themselves or Bachelder and Jacquey who welcomed questions. Mini bites like steak tartare, canopies, were offered by staff which circulated throughout Panorama.

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The more resilient Chardonnay grape is a little easier to work with than Pinot Noir. Acid is the key to good Chardonnay says Jacquey. He describes the 2008 Chardonnays as elegant with the wines achieving good acid levels and balance—something that was challenging for many a year earlier when sugar levels quickly soared with the heat at the expense of acid.

The Village Reserve Chardonnay was the wine drinking best that night. Made from the wine that didn't quite make the cut for the single vineyard bottlings this blend of vineyards has flavours and aromas of yellow apple, a little peach and butterscotch and vanilla notes from the barrel. The finish lingers with strong acidity and a nice warming sensation. By contrast the 2008 Talon Ridge was a little tighter with the barrel notes primarily showing through citrus and green fruit aromas and falvours. Where wine distinguished itself was in its fuller mouthfeel. It was the high-lauded Claystone Terrace where things really started to get interesting. Despite being just east of the Le Clos Jordanne vineyard the site is on a darker heavier soil and is known to produce more masculine wines. Overall well integrated with a good bit of golden apple and melon there was also some intriguing minerality and complexity with the slightest spice and sweat notes. Still tight it exhibited nice strong mouth-watering acid and a superbly rich mouth-filling texture without feeling overly heavy. It's amazing to think that the flagship Le Clos Jordanne vineyard used to be a hay and corn field. But that's the beauty of Niagara there's still plenty of prime parcels of land just waiting to be discovered by someone with a sharp eye. Leading first with a mineral zing, apples and slight bit of licorice follow with some warm barrel notes revealing themselves next. Although the finish isn't quite as long and pronounced as the Claystone Terrace it shows a restrained elegance. Finally the Le Grand Clos. Made only from the best sections of the Le Clos Jordanne vineyard this is a wine that has bit of poker face wanting to give away as little as possible on the nose right now. Very tightly wound I could only get the the merest hints of barrel, apple and peach aromas. But in the mouth these layers of beautiful crisp apple, juicy peach, and barrel spice all fill the palate. The mouthfeel is full and elegantly balanced by the mouth-watering acidity. The finish just lasts teasing you as you contemplate another sip. If there's a single way to sum the wine it is how well each element is seamlessly integrated at this point. I can only imagine how it will develop over time.

From Le Clos

Showing well at this stage despite being a little tight with tannins—the line-up of 2008 Pinot Noir from Le Clos Jordanne was just as the grape should be light in colour but deep in flavours and aromas. The Village Reserve Pinot Noir had a nose rich with the Niagara Pinot hallmark of cherries as well as a little rose and a bit of tar. The relatively small seven and half acres of the La Petite Vineyard with a sandy loam soil is without a Chardonnay counterpart. This singe vineyard Pinot Noir was fragrant with cranberries and cherries. More tannic than the Village it had a good length on the finish and strong acidity. Talon Ridge is the youngest vineyard with this being only the second vintage released. The largest vineyard in terms of acreage it provides the majority of the fruit that goes into the Village Reserve. Compared to the La Petite the depth and concentration of cherry flavours and aromas was fuller and it had a stronger sense of minerality. Hints of vanilla and cranberries also showed through. The Claystone Terrace sitting on heavier soil has even more depth. Flavours of cherries and the minerality show well but what stands at this point is the the satisfying rich mouthfeel. My favorite Pinot Noir of the night came from the Le Clos Jordanne vineyard. The layers of aromas and flavours start with cranberry and black cherries then it builds with hints of vanilla, minerality, tar and the slightest meaty animal note. With the strongest tannins and acidity of the 2008 line-up this wine should be one to lay down and revisit in a couple of years. Lastly Le Grand Clos which in word is all about balance. Although not showing as well as the Le Clos Jordanne vineyard at this point, it has an intriguing minerality with funk and tar notes beginning to peak through. Just like the Chardonnay you get the feeling that its holding back right now. Its best asset is its silky feel on the palate.

From Le Clos

Bachelder describes the vintage overall as similar to 2006 but stronger. With an extra two years for the vines to mature and a better overall growing season he believes the wines are showing even better than the 2006 vintage did at the same point in their lives. In three-five years the wines should be even better. Ideally for him you would test this recommendation by brining a bottle with you to share with friends, family or business associates abroad—especially if you're visiting Europe. Awards and the critical recognition is wonderful but nothing quite turns heads and makes new fans like a person sharing his/her favourite wine and surprising skeptical company. "You're our ambassadors" he said.