b'THE CORKBOARD|FALL 2022the estates approximately 50-hectare of vineyards. The approach is similar to the Grand Cru tier in Burgundy, the clos refers to the enclosure that is the vineyard itself, a natural plateau on theWINES THAT Jordan Bench surrounded on three sides by forest.WOWEDthe CriticsLe Clos Jordanne Le Grand Clos Chardonnay 201994/100 A five star value and a lovely effort to celebrate the planting of the Le Grand Clos site above Jordan in the Twenty Mile Bench appellation.David Lawrason, Wine AlignGiven this vision Bachelder is the perfectLe Clos Jordanne winemaker for Le Clos Jordanne. Quebecois byLe Grand Clos birth, the winemaker arrived in Niagara back in thePinot Noir 2019 late 1990s straight from Oregon where he had been94/100practicing his craft. A stunner. Produced from master of the genre, The winemaker, recognized as an expert inThomas Bachelder, this cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, also hasmedium-bodied, lush, Burgundian winemaking experience. Wine expertelegant and silky David Lawrason of venerable online wine resourceexudes charm, Wine Align calls the winemaker one of the mostbalance and finesse. passionate terroir hunters at work today in the Natalie MacleanNiagara region.Lawrason explains why this matters: The terroir Le Clos Jordanne hunters are important because they are accelerating 2019 Pinot Noir,the process of defining sub-regions that regulators,Jordan Village such as in the VQA of Ontario, eventually recognize 4/5 as being different enough to have their names onThis Pinot is a juicy the labels. As is the case in Europe where there arenumber with a lovely hundreds of appellations, large and tiny. This isfruit core plus notes of the future, and says the critic, efforts like Bacheldersfloral, black raspberry are an ideal chance to taste the progress. Its thisand cranberry plus a bite progress that is getting Le Clos Jordanne winesof peppery-spice on the noticed around the globe. Theres so much potential,finish; but theres also a says Bachelder. Hes excited to ramp up marketingsilkiness here that makes to get the word out about the winerys amazingit a pleasure to sip. products and to develop online sales, which will Michael Pinkusall ultimately help enable the next vintages at Le Clos Jordanne and more future award winners.WINERY PROFIlE|15'