Next event - Wines of Le Clos Jordanne

On March 17, we are very excited to have the chance to sample 8 wines from Le Clos Jordanne - three Chardonnays and five Pinot Noirs - all except one from the 2006 vintage. This is an opportunity to compare different vineyards and production techniques of the same grape varieties. Some of these wines need more time but this is a unique occasion to taste products from an up- and- coming winery so you can stock your private cellar for the future!

Event: Wines of Le Clos Jordanne
Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Time: 6:00 PM (Reception Wine); 6:20 PM (Formal tasting)
Where: Toronto Board of Trade, 1st Cdn Place (Entrance off Adelaide St. between Bay & York)
Directions: How to Find the TO Board of Trade
Costs: TVC Members: $52; Guests $65
Register: Register/Buy Ticket

Lots has been written and blogged about Le Clos Jordanne and its chief winemaker, Thomas Bachelder, but some of it is worth repeating.

The winery has received no end of accolades about their wines, particularly their Pinot Noir, since the release of its first wines. Why is their wine considered so good? First and foremost, the vineyard was well planned and laid out at the beginning. The winery employs Burgundian traditions of mixing clones within planting blocks, spacing vines tightly and employing the Guyot pruning system or Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) to position the shoots towards the sun to ensure optimal photosynthesis, air circulation and ripening. Secondly, the best Burgundian clones were used on the best grafts possible for the soil underneath the vineyard. Thirdly, Organic/Bio dynamic farming is used. There are no synthetic fertilizers and pesticides used. Fourthly, allowing the expression of terroir to come through in their wines is very important to Le Clos. Wild yeasts are used in their wine making; the fermentation process is gentle and unhurried; and they minimize fining and filtration to preserve the flavour compounds that can be removed through such procedures. Fifthly, they concentrate on only two types of grapes/wines - Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Lastly, but not least in importance, the winery engaged a very good winemaker, Canadian-born Thomas Bachelder, who spent several years making wine in Burgundy. TVC members who attended our 2000 Premier Cru Burgundy tasting in January 2007 tasted a couple of Le Clos wines and may recall Thomas as our guest speaker. In fact, the group loved the mystery wine and ranked it their 2^nd favourite over the premier crus. What was it? The Le Clos Jordanne, 2004 Pinot Noir, La Petite Vineyard!

We will be tasting the following wines from Le Clos Jordanne:

Chardonnay 2006, Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard $40
Chardonnay 2006, Village Reserve $40
Chardonnay 2006, Le Grand Clos $65
Pinot Noir 2005, La Petite Vineyard $35
Pinot Noir 2006, La Petite Vineyard $40
Pinot Noir 2006, Village Reserve $40
Pinot Noir 2006, Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard $40
Pinot Noir 2006, Le Grand Clos $70

Which wines were the favourites?

Just waiting to obtain the rankings of the Chateauneuf du Pape wines from our Feb 17th tasting. Since the Blog author was in Arizona at the time, she wasn't at the tasting but from all the reports, the wines were fabulous and the speaker, Jacques Marie, was great!