I’m pleased to introduce to you the newest writer for Winebard: The Winebeard.  This guy knows how to take wine drinking seriously and fills the name with partial honesty as he recently shaved off his beard (which was probably a good thing).  He introduced wine to me at and early age and taught me how to appreciate it before I was even allowed a sip.  Yes, The Winebeard is otherwise known as Bruce Gurney, my daddy.  You may have noticed that I actually slipped him into my blog earlier, but I felt that he deserved a proper introduction so here I have him introducing a wine hailing from Niagara, an eagerly awaited arrival to British Columbia.  Without further ado, The Winebeard:

The line-up.

My daughter has let her neo-blogophyte father a.k.a. “The Winebeard” out of the closet. Yep-she cleaned him up, dusted off his taste buds, and seated him in the company of Thomas Bachelder, the principal winemaker of Le Clos Jordanne wineries of Ontario to learn of the wines and the ambitions of this remarkable operation.

So let The Winebeard first tell you what Le Clos Jordanne isn’t.

The North American/Australian “New World” palate has reinvented wine, and the marketplace has responded with ubiquitous (I have always wanted to use that word in a sentence) offerings to indulge the Colonials’ cravings for plum jam, baked apple pie and infusions with enough oak to leave you with slivers in your gums.  But hey, they’re tasty! Up against the well made traditional “Old World”wines, I feel that is like comparing Manilow to Mozart. Sorry, Barry.

Admittedly, Mozart is a hard sell for many tastes. Mozart is music that makes you think and is so complex that it is a real challenge to hum it in the shower. But for many, the music grabs you in deep and inexplicable ways.

Le Clos Jordanne endeavours to put Mozart in a bottle.  And I think they do a very credible job of it.

Winemaker, Thomas Bachelder with his 'Old World' Power Point presentation.

It was a treat to have an audience with the passionate and refreshingly unstuffy Bachelder. He spoke of the terroir of Southern Ontario on the Niagara Escarpment as if it were the Cote de Beaune. His harvesting and organic crafting of the pinot noirs and chardonnays are faithful to the time-honoured manner of the Burgundy.  Low yield, hand picked and double sorted, the grapes are barrel fermented in tight grained French oak. (We were tutored on the clear distinction between “barrel fermenting” and “oaking”). These are bottled either as single vineyard (we sampled the impressive Claystone and Grande Clos ) or the assembled “Villages”.

“A sense of place” is the recurring theme. Wines crafted from grapes grown 250 metres apart have discrete personalities These are wines that “come from somewhere”. While New World wines are all about varietals: merlot, shiraz, and the like—and blends thereof, the Old World wines are defined by terroir. The “place” is the thing. What a bottle of “Seven Deadly Zins” is stuffed with is more or less obvious. But can anyone tell me what they put in “Cave de tain Arenes Sauvages”?

The Winebard and her Daddy

That said, there is nothing gimmicky about this. The truth is, it just works. These wines are delicious. Distinct, restrained, complex, and gorgeous. They play like a symphony of flavours and nuance on the tongue. The pinots, all of 2006 vintage, have floral elements of rose petals and even a touch of citric orange peel. The chardonnays were elegant with pear and mineral notes. Subtle and restrained does not mean wussy. These wines have ‘nads. The treat is in the mid-palate and lingering finish. Indeed, the Claystone pinot gives me flashbacks.

Should you wish to add one or a few of these wines to your repertoire,  you can seek them out at BC Signature Liquor Stores or at a few select private wine retailers.  They vary in price from $25 to $60 and up.  (I’ve misplaced my notes, so I will come back and add more specifics once I can track them down!)