Bachelder, `Wismer-Parke` 20 Mile Bench Niagara Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2022
| Vintage | Product Code | Format | Closure | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | BA806A22 | 12 x 75 | Natural Cork | Available |
Producer
Thomas Bachelder and his wife, Mary Delaney, are masters of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. After a career making wine in Burgundy and Oregon, while dabbling in the Niagara Peninsula, they returned to their native Canada full-time in 2015, determined to discover its best vineyard sites.
The Niagara Peninsula’s viticultural heritage is relatively young, with the first wineries established in the mid-1970s. As a result, producers are still exploring which areas are best suited to specific grape varieties. This is at the core of Bachelder. Drawing upon lessons learned in Burgundy and Oregon, Thomas and Mary have identified sites across the region that allow them to make wines with a true sense of place. “They (Burgundians) never spoke about grapes, just places”, explains Thomas, who seeks to do the same with Canadian wine.
Years of making Chardonnay in renowned areas, including Meursault and Corton–Charlemagne, have shaped Thomas's commitment to a low-intervention approach to best express a vineyard. As a result, the Bachelder wines are made using gentle pressing and indigenous yeast fermentations. Malolactic fermentation occurs in specially selected oak barrels, followed by an extended ageing period to create a wine with beautiful elegance and well-integrated flavours.
The Les Villages ‘Bench’ Chardonnay is made using grapes sourced from benchlands along the Niagara Escarpment, which comprises the sub-appellations of Short Hills Bench, Twenty Mile Bench and Beamsville Bench. The resulting wine is delicately perfumed with a beautiful, textural quality on the palate. The single-vineyard ‘Wismer-Parke’ Twenty Mile Bench Pinot Noir is beautifully poised and expressive, with notes of plush red berry fruit, silky tannins and bright acidity.
As a long-time admirer of Beaujolais, Thomas has recently turned his attention to Gamay and has now produced a single-vineyard expression. The Wismer-Foxcroft Twenty Mile Bench Gamay is made with 33% whole-bunch fermentation. Lightly oaked, the resulting wine is brimming with bright red fruit, soft acidity, and subtle, elegant tannins.
Vineyards
Wismer-Parke is a single vineyard in the Twenty Mile Bench sub-region of Canada's Niagara Peninsula. The cool climate and limestone soils of the area are extremely well suited to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, producing rich and fruit-driven wines. The Pinot Noir vines were planted at Wismer-Parke in 1999. They are planted on well-drained silt, clay and limestone soils. According to winemaker, Thomas Bachelder, this plot would qualify as one of Niagara's 'Grand Crus' for Pinot Noir.
Vintage
The 2022 harvest was smaller than average due to an overly wet Autumn and a sudden cold snap at the end of 2021. Spring remained mostly cool, and despite some ranges in temperatures until June, summer was warm and dry. There was little humidity or risk of fungal growth, ensuring the grapes were healthy and reached full ripeness.
Vinification
Thomas Bachelder has a hands-off approach to winemaking. The grapes were hand harvested and gently pressed, in order to retain delicate aromatics. Indigenous yeast fermentation took place in French oak barrels, a small percentage of which were new, and the remaining between one and five years old. The wine was aged for 19 months in barrel and then rested for an additional eight months in bottle to allow the nuanced floral bouquet to develop.
Tasting Notes & Technical Details
Aromas of cranberry, raspberry and bright cherry, complemented by subtle savoury nuances and silken spice. The palate is medium-bodied and finely textured, with lively acidity framing refined red berry flavours, gentle earthy complexity and a hint of saline minerality reflective of its reddish, dolomitic limestone soils. Fine, ripe tannins lend structure and drive a long, lifted finish that balances elegance with depth.
Alcohol (ABV)
12.5%
Other wines from this producer
Producer | Wine | Product Code | Features | Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelder | `Les Villages` Bench Niagara Chardonnay | BA808 | W | ||
| `Wismer-Foxcroft` Gamay | BA809 | R |