Thursday, October 8, 2026 white wine review is a lovely Chardonnay from Niagara that was featured in the LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection as part of the thematic on "Local Wines You'll Love" from Ontario. This wine is also a VINTAGES Essentials product that is always (and widely) available at LCBO outlets across the province.
Like the excellent 2023 Le Grand Clos Chardonnay and 2023 Le Grand Clos Pinot Noir wines I enjoyed a couple of weeks ago, this white wine is produced by Domaine Le Clos Jordanne (DLCJ), a unique joint-venture winery project that was first established in 2000. The goal of the project was to establish a 'domaine' in Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and produce ultra-premium Canadian VQA wines from Burgundy's classic grape varieties – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Le Clos Jordanne released its first wines in 2007, with Thomas Bachelder as the winemaker. While the project was paused in 2016, it was revived in 2019 by Arterra Wines Canada in a new partnership with Thomas. The signature style of cool-climate wines produced from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was also revived, along with the philosophies of low intervention and terroir expression. The wines of DLCJ are crafted using sustainable winemaking practices, with a focus on delivering the best and most authentic expression of Burgundian-style wines through the lens of Niagara terroir.
After years of nomadic winemaking, Domaine Le Clos Jordanne established a permanent home in 2024 by opening its doors at the former Angel's Gate property on the Beamsville Bench sub-appellation in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula. Today, DLCJ uses innovative New World practices combined with time-honoured Burgundian techniques, such as harvesting and sorting the grapes by hand. Every step of the process, from vineyard to bottle, receives careful consideration. Alongside Thomas, the winemaking team consists of Phillip Brown (Associate Winemaker) and Kerri Crawford (Assistant Winemaker).
First crafted in the 2019 vintage, the Jordan Village Chardonnay is made with fruit from selected parcels in all three estate vineyards – Claystone Terrace, Le Clos Jordanne, and Talon Ridge – into one terroir blend. The older vines are now deeply rooted and produce exciting wines with clarity, intent, nobility, ageability, and a sense of place. While the Le Grand Clos Chardonnay offers a snapshot of a hyper-localized expression of place, the Jordan Village showcases place on a macro approach that captures Jordan's Escarpment region as a whole. The Claystone Terrace and Le Clos Jordanne vineyards are a mere two hundred metres apart from each other (near King St. and Jordan Rd.) on the first rise of the Twenty Mile Bench, while the Talon Ridge Vineyard is located on the final rise and at the top of the plateau of Vinemount Ridge (off 17th Ave. in Jordan Station). Although each of these vineyards provides its own special characteristics, there is a throughline that connects each vineyard and its blocks to each other and their shared home in Jordan.
For this vintage, this 100% Chardonnay is crafted with 38% Talon Ridge Vineyard, 37% Claystone Terrace Vineyard, and 25% Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard fruit. All the grapes were hand-picked when they felt the flavours were "there" – with thick skins, ripe, starting to soften, and in good sanitary condition. They wanted the seeds to be completely brown, an indicator of true phenolic ripeness. The grapes were manually sorted and gently whole-cluster pressed. After the juice (or 'must') settled in tank for a couple of days, the naturally clear juice was allowed to start wild yeast fermentation in tank before being transferred into 228 L French oak barrels (approximately 20% new) to complete the long and slow fermentation. The wine remained in barrels for 20+ months, after which it underwent malolactic fermentation. The barrels chosen for Domaine Le Clos Jordanne wines are specifically selected to deliver and express the terroir of the wines, not mask it. Each lot is tasted systematically, barrel-by-barrel, over the course of many months, and only those truly representative of the terroir of each individual parcel are selected, blended, and then bottled and aged for a minimum of six months prior to release.
In 2023, the growing season in Niagara was a classic vintage with no major curve balls. It began with a slightly mild winter followed by a relatively warm spring, which resulted in early bud break. Summer was classical, with occasional heatwaves followed by big thunderstorms, which meant being vigilant in the vineyard. Harvest was hard and fast, with a beautiful, dry, and warm fall. From a great vintage, let's see how this 2023 Chardonnay from Niagara is tasting tonight...
Screw cap enclosure. The medium+ intensity nose takes some coaxing to reveal ripe golden apple, pear, lemon, and melon aromas nuanced with vanilla, butter, and spice, plus whiffs of flinty mineral and mealy notes. Quite complex. On the dry, medium-full to full-bodied, creamy palate it has lovely ripe apple, lemon, vanilla, buttered toast, and sweet spice flavours, plus some earthy minerality that appears on the mid-palate. It is good structure with fresh, juicy, and mouth-watering acidity. Savoury with earthy and flinty mineral notes linger on the long, and very juicy finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91+ pts
A few other wines by Domaine Le Clos Jordanne are available at the LCBO, while the full range can be ordered direct from the winery or through Arterra Wines Canada.
Like the excellent 2023 Le Grand Clos Chardonnay and 2023 Le Grand Clos Pinot Noir wines I enjoyed a couple of weeks ago, this white wine is produced by Domaine Le Clos Jordanne (DLCJ), a unique joint-venture winery project that was first established in 2000. The goal of the project was to establish a 'domaine' in Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and produce ultra-premium Canadian VQA wines from Burgundy's classic grape varieties – Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Le Clos Jordanne released its first wines in 2007, with Thomas Bachelder as the winemaker. While the project was paused in 2016, it was revived in 2019 by Arterra Wines Canada in a new partnership with Thomas. The signature style of cool-climate wines produced from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was also revived, along with the philosophies of low intervention and terroir expression. The wines of DLCJ are crafted using sustainable winemaking practices, with a focus on delivering the best and most authentic expression of Burgundian-style wines through the lens of Niagara terroir.
After years of nomadic winemaking, Domaine Le Clos Jordanne established a permanent home in 2024 by opening its doors at the former Angel's Gate property on the Beamsville Bench sub-appellation in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula. Today, DLCJ uses innovative New World practices combined with time-honoured Burgundian techniques, such as harvesting and sorting the grapes by hand. Every step of the process, from vineyard to bottle, receives careful consideration. Alongside Thomas, the winemaking team consists of Phillip Brown (Associate Winemaker) and Kerri Crawford (Assistant Winemaker).
First crafted in the 2019 vintage, the Jordan Village Chardonnay is made with fruit from selected parcels in all three estate vineyards – Claystone Terrace, Le Clos Jordanne, and Talon Ridge – into one terroir blend. The older vines are now deeply rooted and produce exciting wines with clarity, intent, nobility, ageability, and a sense of place. While the Le Grand Clos Chardonnay offers a snapshot of a hyper-localized expression of place, the Jordan Village showcases place on a macro approach that captures Jordan's Escarpment region as a whole. The Claystone Terrace and Le Clos Jordanne vineyards are a mere two hundred metres apart from each other (near King St. and Jordan Rd.) on the first rise of the Twenty Mile Bench, while the Talon Ridge Vineyard is located on the final rise and at the top of the plateau of Vinemount Ridge (off 17th Ave. in Jordan Station). Although each of these vineyards provides its own special characteristics, there is a throughline that connects each vineyard and its blocks to each other and their shared home in Jordan.
For this vintage, this 100% Chardonnay is crafted with 38% Talon Ridge Vineyard, 37% Claystone Terrace Vineyard, and 25% Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard fruit. All the grapes were hand-picked when they felt the flavours were "there" – with thick skins, ripe, starting to soften, and in good sanitary condition. They wanted the seeds to be completely brown, an indicator of true phenolic ripeness. The grapes were manually sorted and gently whole-cluster pressed. After the juice (or 'must') settled in tank for a couple of days, the naturally clear juice was allowed to start wild yeast fermentation in tank before being transferred into 228 L French oak barrels (approximately 20% new) to complete the long and slow fermentation. The wine remained in barrels for 20+ months, after which it underwent malolactic fermentation. The barrels chosen for Domaine Le Clos Jordanne wines are specifically selected to deliver and express the terroir of the wines, not mask it. Each lot is tasted systematically, barrel-by-barrel, over the course of many months, and only those truly representative of the terroir of each individual parcel are selected, blended, and then bottled and aged for a minimum of six months prior to release.
In 2023, the growing season in Niagara was a classic vintage with no major curve balls. It began with a slightly mild winter followed by a relatively warm spring, which resulted in early bud break. Summer was classical, with occasional heatwaves followed by big thunderstorms, which meant being vigilant in the vineyard. Harvest was hard and fast, with a beautiful, dry, and warm fall. From a great vintage, let's see how this 2023 Chardonnay from Niagara is tasting tonight...
Tasting Note:
DOMAINE LE CLOS JORDANNE JORDAN VILLAGE CHARDONNAY 2023 - VQA West Niagara, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#20455) (XD) - $30.00Screw cap enclosure. The medium+ intensity nose takes some coaxing to reveal ripe golden apple, pear, lemon, and melon aromas nuanced with vanilla, butter, and spice, plus whiffs of flinty mineral and mealy notes. Quite complex. On the dry, medium-full to full-bodied, creamy palate it has lovely ripe apple, lemon, vanilla, buttered toast, and sweet spice flavours, plus some earthy minerality that appears on the mid-palate. It is good structure with fresh, juicy, and mouth-watering acidity. Savoury with earthy and flinty mineral notes linger on the long, and very juicy finish. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91+ pts
A few other wines by Domaine Le Clos Jordanne are available at the LCBO, while the full range can be ordered direct from the winery or through Arterra Wines Canada.
Blogarama
