Le Clos Jordanne to return with original winemaker

Exciting news for those like me who enjoyed these wines…surely some of the finest Niagara Pinots and Chardonnays ever crafted, especially in the glory years of 2004 to 2006 (they started to fall off for me in the hot 2007 vintage and I think left Bachelder left shortly after that - was probably stretching himself thin with other projects at that point). I think the last vintage produced was 2012.

Slated to return with the 2017 vintage this fall, with Bachelder again at the helm. Le Grand Clos only, Pinot and Chard. Under screwcap this time, and at a much reduced price ($45 is what I heard).

Thomas is one of the best chardonnay winemakers around. I have not had any of his pinot noirs. My last check on Thomas was that he had his 3 terroir wines under his own name and was helping a new Ontario winery Domaine Queylus get started. Does he still have both of those projects going or did those end to work with Le Clos Jordanne again? If he left Queylus that was a short stint.

He is still with Queylus, went there 4 months ago. Very nice and distinctive pinots and chards. Great stuff! Queylus is definitely a boutique label. Will be interesting to see if the Clos Jordan will be more of a value brand, especially if under stelvin and priced at 40 cdn. If you are after his personal style, go for the Quelyus. Priced somewhere in the 50’s or 60’s??? Cannot recall right now

This will be very interesting. I really wonder if the Le Clos only decision is wine-based or marketing based. Personally I always preferred the Claystone Terrace Chard over the others, including the Grand Clos. (But that’s just a personal preference, maybe related to the fact that I don’t usually “get” Grand Cru Chablis (compared to other burgundies in that price range) versus 1er Cru Chablis most of which I adore. )

And in Pinots, the Village Reserve had to be one of the best $25 Ontario Pinots around.

My point is that the old lineup covered several bases as it were and it was great fun comparing the different Crus. This sounds more commercial. But maybe that’s what is needed to survive.

I’m quite curious as to how they will make money selling the Grand Clos 2.0 wine $20 a bottle less than the Grand Clos 1.0. Corks aren’t that expensive are they?

I’ve lost touch with Niagara, spending more time in the County, what is happening with the other vineyards? Are they still producing and if so where are the grapes going?

I’m with Richard, I always liked the single vineyard expressions even better than the Grand Clos. La Petite Vineyard & Claystone Terrace pinots, lovely stuff, those days are likely gone forever though. I think the fruit goes into one of the other big brands the owners bottle (Inniskillin?). What a waste of those sites.

Grand Clos is back at least, so that’s something. Apparently Bachelder had been trying to buy the fruit for years, but the owners kept turning him down. Maybe when it recently changed hands to become Canadian owned again (by the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund!), it was a turning point?

In any case, while I’ve enjoyed Bachelder’s other wines (especially Wismer Chards), they’ve never quite reached those old heights. The other sites just don’t compare to the Clos, potential is immense, and the vines are 20 years old now.

One thing I think Bachelder deserves credit for is boosting the drive to have Chardonnay taken seriously in Niagara. Temkin & Paskus blazed a trail, their ‘98 was killer and opened my eyes to Ont Chard, but it often seemed that people were looking elsewhere - Riesling, Pinot Noir - for THE Ontario grape. Bachelder was one of those who showed what can be done on a less niche approach. Great wines andno slouch as an advocate either!

Edited…
I should have probably added more explicitly that of course there are several other advocates for Ontario wine generally.

I asked the writer of the op’s article about Claystone when he broke the news.
Bachelder & Artessa are planning to re-integrate Claystone and the other vineyards into the portfolio asap. We’ll see. I just found an old note I wrote on the '05 LCJ vnyd Pinot and I note price was $35. I know they raised prices up over the years, but I never thought they were worth more than the $35 or 45 for the last Claystone. '04 remains the benchmark. They must have put some real $ behind that vintage.

05 Claystone Chard was great.

Yes fair value at $40 for the sub single vineyards, which is what I paid iirc. ($25 for village reserve). Grand Clos was $60 ($65?) so this is a price drop for that vineyard.

Will be good to see the other vineyards reappear.