Saturday, December 9th: Thomas Bachelder came by the house to taste his ten single-vineyard Chardonnays from the 2021 vintage. He put them in geographic order of sub-appellations, from West to East: Niagara-on-the-Lake, 20 Mile Bench, Beamsville Bench, Lincoln Lakeshore and Grimsby. This was a real exploration of terroir – very much in the Burgundy model.
Bachelder Bator Chardonnay 2021 (Four Mile Creek)
Straw colour; spicy apple and pear nose with toasty oak notes and a thread of minerality; medium to full-bodied, dry, green apple and lemon flavours; great balance and very elegant. Shows Thomas’s Burgundian training. (92)
Bachelder Willms Chardonnay 2021 (Four Mile Creek)
Golden straw in colour, rich, minerally, spicy bouquet of toasty oak, apple and stone fruit; medium-bodied, dry, lovely mouth feel; well-integrated oak, with an intense, round peachy-apple flavour. (93)
Bachelder Bai Xu Chardonnay 2021 (Four Mile Creek)
Straw colour with a greenish tint; lightly floral nose of toasty, spicy apple with crushed limestone notes; medium-bodied, dry, mouth-watering acidity, voluptuous mouth feel, rich and powerful on the palate. (94)
Bachelder Wismer-Foxcroft Chardonnay 2021 (Twenty Mile Bench)
Bright straw in colour; minerally, toasty, oyster shell and citrus nose; medium-bodied, dry, tightly wound but still generous on the palate; beautifully balanced apple and lemon flavours. A wine that will age well. (93)
Bachelder Wismer-Wingfield Chardonnay 2021 (Twenty Mile Bench)
Deep straw colour; lifted toasty, minerally nose of citrus fruit and apple, a touch volatile; medium-bodied, lean and sinewy with a green apple flavour. (90)
Bachelder Hill of Wingfield Chardonnay 2021 (Twenty Mile Bench)
Golden straw in colour; toasty, apple nose with vanilla oak spice and a thread of minerality; medium to full-bodied, dry, fresh and lively on the palate with apple and green peach flavours. Will age well. (92–93)
Bachelder Ivy & Warren Chardonnay 2021 (Beamsville Bench)
Light straw in colour; apple and lemon bouquet with toasty oak and stone gravel notes; medium-bodied, dry, spicy, minerally green peach flavours; reminiscent of a Grand Cru Chablis. (92)
Bachelder Laundry Chardonnay 2021 (Lincoln Lakeshore)
Pale straw colour; toasty, spicy apple with vanilla oak notes; medium-bodied, dry, apple and pear flavours; great mouth-feel and perfectly balanced. Great length in the mouth. (93)
Bachelder Red Clay Barn Block Chardonnay 2021 (Grimsby Hillside Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore)
Bright straw colour; toasty, spicy, vanilla, peach bouquet with a thread of minerality; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, Meursault style; great concentration and lively acidity. A beautifully seamless wine. (94)
Bachelder Frontier Block Chardonnay 2021 (Grimsby Hillside Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore)
Bright straw in colour; toasty, minerally, apple bouquet; full-bodied, richly extracted apple and pear flavours; very elegant – a wine of great charm that caresses the palate. (92)
Other wines tasted (with dinner):
Yalumba Y Series Riesling 2021 (South Australia, $15.95, Vintages #32555, to be released January 6th)
Straw colour with a hint of lime; floral, citrus nose with a petrol note; light-bodied, crisply dry, grapefruit and lemon flavours with a suggestion of honey on the end taste. Great value. (91)
Henry of Pelham Sauvignon Blanc “The Shadow Rock” 2022 (Short Hills Bench, Niagara, $21.95)
Bright straw in colour; grassy, gooseberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, beautifully balanced lanolin and green plum flavours. Long finish rounded out with oak spice. (89)
Henry of Pelham “The Dry River” Estate Riesling 2022 (Short Hills Bench, CSPC #557165, $21.95)
Pale straw colour; honeyed grapefruit nose; medium-bodied, just off-dry, elegant, grapefruit flavour with lively acidity. (89)
