Bachelder, `Les Villages` Bench Niagara Chardonnay
Vintage: 2022
| Vintage | Product Code | Format | Closure | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | BA808A22 | 12 x 75 | Diam | 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
The Niagara Chardonnay is produced from fruit grown in the Saunders Vineyard on Beamsville Bench, as well as older vineyards in Vineland and Four Mile Creek, and several sites across the Niagara Peninsula. The region’s bench topography provides continuous air circulation to moderate extremes in temperature and ensure even ripening, while the vineyards’ Dolomitic, limestone-rich soils impart additional freshness in the wines.
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 employs a low intervention approach to winemaking to ensure the wines express a sense of place. The grapes were pressed very gently and fermented to dryness in oak barrels using indigenous yeasts. The wine remained in barrel for 17 months to enhance its texture. Bâtonnage was not carried out, in order to preserve the wine's crisp aromatics.
Tasting Notes & Technical Details
A floral and apple blossom start, leading to a creamy mid-palate with refreshing mineral notes, alongside flavours of apple and a hint of smoke. The finish is delicious and full of both mineral chalkiness and acidity.
Alcohol (ABV)
13.5%
Other wines from this producer
Producer | Wine | Product Code | Features | Style | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelder | `Wismer-Parke` 20 Mile Bench Niagara Pinot Noir | BA806 | R | ||
| `Wismer-Foxcroft` Gamay | BA809 | R |