Bachelder W-W “Ouest” Chardonnay 2019
Some ‘get’ "Da Wiz" right away, some suddenly find they prefer it with a little age. Always noble, closed-in, restrained when young, the ‘Wismer-Wingfield’ Chardonnay is our latest ripening parcel, furthest from Lake Ontario (6,8km!), at the highest elevation (169m at the very top). The ‘Hill of Wingfield" describes sharp slope through the shorter rows. Look back a page at the Fox’s pick dates! "Da Wiz" comes in 10 days to three weeks after that parcel! One wants to call the "Hill of Wingfield" a ‘Grand Cru,’ however, with no classification system yet in place in Niagara, one is not allowed.
WHY THIS MATTERS FROM A ‘SENSE OF PLACE’ PERSPECTIVE. Both on the Vineland Bench and on the Jordan Bench*, the majority of vineyards are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is a magic place for Chardonnay: amateurs of Niagara Bench Chardonnay from around the world (who may have never visited the region) have amply proved this point with their laurels, with their support. The secret lies in the ex-marine soils, and in the altitude and distance from the lake. In toto, it forms what could be called "Niagara’s Grand Cru strip." Vineland Bench Chardonnay?" "Nuanced, fine, scented, great length, mineral, long-lived."
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Ontario |
| Region | Niagara Peninsula |
| Sub-Ava | Twenty Mile Bench VQA |
| Producer | Bachelder Wines |
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Color | White Wine |
| Varietal(s) | Chardonnay |
Some ‘get’ "Da Wiz" right away, some suddenly find they prefer it with a little age. Always noble, closed-in, restrained when young, the ‘Wismer-Wingfield’ Chardonnay is our latest ripening parcel, furthest from Lake Ontario (6,8km!), at the highest elevation (169m at the very top). The ‘Hill of Wingfield" describes sharp slope through the shorter rows. Look back a page at the Fox’s pick dates! "Da Wiz" comes in 10 days to three weeks after that parcel! One wants to call the "Hill of Wingfield" a ‘Grand Cru,’ however, with no classification system yet in place in Niagara, one is not allowed.
WHY THIS MATTERS FROM A ‘SENSE OF PLACE’ PERSPECTIVE. Both on the Vineland Bench and on the Jordan Bench*, the majority of vineyards are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is a magic place for Chardonnay: amateurs of Niagara Bench Chardonnay from around the world (who may have never visited the region) have amply proved this point with their laurels, with their support. The secret lies in the ex-marine soils, and in the altitude and distance from the lake. In toto, it forms what could be called "Niagara’s Grand Cru strip." Vineland Bench Chardonnay?" "Nuanced, fine, scented, great length, mineral, long-lived."
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Ontario |
| Region | Niagara Peninsula |
| Sub-Ava | Twenty Mile Bench VQA |
| Producer | Bachelder Wines |
| Vintage | 2019 |
| Color | White Wine |
| Varietal(s) | Chardonnay |
| Closure | Cork |
|---|---|
| Volume | 750ml |
| Alcohol | 14% |
| Product Code | A017W00819 |
| UPC | 185729000415 |
| Inventory | In Stock (27) |
Tasting notes
From Thomas Bachelder...
The Hill of Wingfield delineates a sharp slope through the shorter rows, which makes for longer hang-time, and an intense, rich noble set of flavours, overlaid by a tight, long, tactile and flavourful finish. As well, the wine possesses a generous weight and elegant, slatey minerality. Majestic! (Ultimately, with time in your glass - on your cellar - like the great horse ‘Secretariat," this wine slowly pulls away from the pack and widens the gap with the passing of the years). We are all created equal, this is true, and wine’s beauty is certainly at least partially in the eye of the beholder, but COME ON, the Wingfield is GRANDIOSE! Writing this, I re-tasted an open bottle after three days, and "Da Wiz" was just starting to step on the accelerator! Lesser terroirs fall to the wayside with that kind of treatment!
Cellaring
Enjoy through 2032
Vintage Notes
The apparent delicacy of the vintage belies the promise of longevity coming from the small-berried grape bunches we had that fall. Interesting florality, breadth, and incredible acid balance.
Viticulture
THE GROWER
Now into the second generation, The Wismer family has been growing grapes on the Vineland Bench for 25+ years. They manage with great prowess - for themselves and others - some 300 acres. Craig Wismer, the leader/genius of it all, is a wine lover with a good palate, a man of passion and commitment, and he and I have been thick as thieves for years in our pursuit of understanding soils, terroirs, clones and viticulture. However, brothers Chris and Ken have brought nuance and precision to already excellently-run vineyards.
SOIL COMPOSITION
Dolomitic-limestone influenced clay soils with a solid silt component. "Loamy textures over clay/loam till." Executive Summary: ‘Shallow Dolostone."
Vinification
Harvested on the 29th of October, Fermentation with Indigenous yeasts; 14% alc./vol; 2 g/l residual sugar, 150 cases made.
Production Amount
1800Producer Description
In just over a decade, Thomas Bachelder has made a name for himself as a producer of world class, terroir-based, organic Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Burgundy, Oregon and Niagara. With their two young daughters in tow, Thomas and his wife Mary Delaney have unwittingly become wine gypsies, following their passion to produce terroirrevealing wines from these two most noble Burgundian grapes.
Made with intention
They make wines from local terroirs using ‘wild’ (indigenous) yeasts, using organic vineyards wherever possible. Everything goes to barrel for long ageing. The intent is to make pure, suavely-textured wines that sing lightly and clearly of their vineyard origins with as little makeup as possible – wines that are finely-perfumed and tightly-wound, offering the classic refined fruit and textured minerality of the delicate silt, clay and dolomitic limestone-laced ancient lakebed terroirs of Niagara.
A little note from Thomas and Mary
We’re inspired by the love of our spiritual home – Burgundy – where the grapes we love originally evolved, where even the tiniest of vineyards are put separately into a bottle. Our aim is to help discover, quantify and name the Terroirs of Niagara, one-by-one, from west (just outside Hamilton) to east (just outside the “Old Town” of Niagara-on-the-Lake) – and to deliver their energy and their purity of spirit to your glass! Pull the cork and dream of the vineyard from which it comes!
Santé! Cheers!
Thomas & Mary Delaney-Bachelder
“…Bachelder is evidently on a monk’s errand to map out the escarpment with Burgundian-like precision.” - John Szabo, MS
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Some ‘get’ "Da Wiz" right away, some suddenly find they prefer it with a little age. Always noble, closed-in, restrained when young, the ‘Wismer-Wingfield’ Chardonnay is our latest ripening parcel, furthest from Lake Ontario (6,8km!), at the highest elevation (169m at the very top). The ‘Hill of Wingfield" describes sharp slope through the shorter rows. Look back a page at the Fox’s pick dates! "Da Wiz" comes in 10 days to three weeks after that parcel! One wants to call the "Hill of Wingfield" a ‘Grand Cru,’ however, with no classification system yet in place in Niagara, one is not allowed.
WHY THIS MATTERS FROM A ‘SENSE OF PLACE’ PERSPECTIVE. Both on the Vineland Bench and on the Jordan Bench*, the majority of vineyards are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is a magic place for Chardonnay: amateurs of Niagara Bench Chardonnay from around the world (who may have never visited the region) have amply proved this point with their laurels, with their support. The secret lies in the ex-marine soils, and in the altitude and distance from the lake. In toto, it forms what could be called "Niagara’s Grand Cru strip." Vineland Bench Chardonnay?" "Nuanced, fine, scented, great length, mineral, long-lived."
Some ‘get’ "Da Wiz" right away, some suddenly find they prefer it with a little age. Always noble, closed-in, restrained when young, the ‘Wismer-Wingfield’ Chardonnay is our latest ripening parcel, furthest from Lake Ontario (6,8km!), at the highest elevation (169m at the very top). The ‘Hill of Wingfield" describes sharp slope through the shorter rows. Look back a page at the Fox’s pick dates! "Da Wiz" comes in 10 days to three weeks after that parcel! One wants to call the "Hill of Wingfield" a ‘Grand Cru,’ however, with no classification system yet in place in Niagara, one is not allowed.
WHY THIS MATTERS FROM A ‘SENSE OF PLACE’ PERSPECTIVE. Both on the Vineland Bench and on the Jordan Bench*, the majority of vineyards are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is a magic place for Chardonnay: amateurs of Niagara Bench Chardonnay from around the world (who may have never visited the region) have amply proved this point with their laurels, with their support. The secret lies in the ex-marine soils, and in the altitude and distance from the lake. In toto, it forms what could be called "Niagara’s Grand Cru strip." Vineland Bench Chardonnay?" "Nuanced, fine, scented, great length, mineral, long-lived."
Some ‘get’ "Da Wiz" right away, some suddenly find they prefer it with a little age. Always noble, closed-in, restrained when young, the ‘Wismer-Wingfield’ Chardonnay is our latest ripening parcel, furthest from Lake Ontario (6,8km!), at the highest elevation (169m at the very top). The ‘Hill of Wingfield" describes sharp slope through the shorter rows. Look back a page at the Fox’s pick dates! "Da Wiz" comes in 10 days to three weeks after that parcel! One wants to call the "Hill of Wingfield" a ‘Grand Cru,’ however, with no classification system yet in place in Niagara, one is not allowed.
WHY THIS MATTERS FROM A ‘SENSE OF PLACE’ PERSPECTIVE. Both on the Vineland Bench and on the Jordan Bench*, the majority of vineyards are planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This is a magic place for Chardonnay: amateurs of Niagara Bench Chardonnay from around the world (who may have never visited the region) have amply proved this point with their laurels, with their support. The secret lies in the ex-marine soils, and in the altitude and distance from the lake. In toto, it forms what could be called "Niagara’s Grand Cru strip." Vineland Bench Chardonnay?" "Nuanced, fine, scented, great length, mineral, long-lived."