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Bachelder Lowrey Vineyard Old Vines Pinot Noir 2019

Canada, Ontario

On the tail-end of the St. David’s Bench, planted on the shores of the old riverbed of where the Niagara River used to run many moons ago, lies the picturesque Lowrey Vineyard. It is surely one of the great honours of our lives to work with this special place. The oldest, Eastern part of the vineyard was planted in 1984 by the Lowrey family for Karl Kaiser (winemaker and co-founder of Inniskillin). Karl used the vineyard for his groundbreaking international collaboration ‘Alliance’ series Inniskillin made with Burgundy’s Jaffelin (Bernard Répolt, now with Rémoissenet).

This bottling is a deft blend of the ‘88 & ‘93 vines and is redolent of pretty roses and slightly-corrupt red raspberries, with forest-sourced tiny strawberries and an indescribable chalky-cherried edge. Fascinating; fine; fresh; mineral; so complex, long and just-unsettled tannins suggest its ageability: A ballerina with great core strength!

Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Niagara Peninsula
Sub-Ava	St. David's Bench VQA
Producer	Bachelder Wines
Vintage	2019
Color	Red Wine
Varietal(s)	Pinot Noir

¥8,800 (incl. tax)

Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Region	Niagara Peninsula
Sub-Ava	St. David's Bench VQA
Producer	Bachelder Wines
Vintage	2019
Color	Red Wine
Varietal(s)	Pinot Noir

Data

Closure	Cork
Volume	750ml
Alcohol	13%
Product Code	A017R00119
UPC	185729000705
Inventory	In Stock (38)

Owning & Enjoying

Tasting notes

Cellaring

Enjoy through 2030

Press

95Decanter (UK)

Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW. From older vines planted in 1988 and 1993 on the shores of an old riverbed in this VQA of Niagara-on-the-Lake. One of the furthest sites from Lake Ontario, it benefits from sun and heat during the growing season. The vine age shows: wet stone combined with tart red fruit, while oak adds a hint of clove and smoke. Bracing acidity, edgy tannins similar to Volnay with delicate fruit and firm structure.

93WineAlign

John Szabo, MS. This is the brightest, sharpest and most refined Lowrey bottling from Bachelder that I've tasted. The fruit is tight and precise in the tart red berry spectrum, much fresher and notably absent the dried and leathery aspect of previous vintages. This 2019 belies the fact that this is one of the warmest areas of the Niagara Peninsula, 13 kilometers from the lake (and 5kms from the Niagara River). Here it presents with elegance and florality, and energy and vibrancy. The usual tannic Lowrey structure is still present, with abundant but fully ripened tannins, but again it's those 2019 acids that provide so much of the framework. I find the clarity and precision here impressive, as well as depth and complexity. A top vintage. Drink after 2023.

93Wines In Niagara

This Old Vines offering is a ballerina, with a pretty, floral nose of wild raspberries, cherries, elegant oak spices, chalky minerality and this lovely note of perfumed strawberries. It’s silky and smooth on the palate with forest berries, pure raspberry/strawberry notes, subtle earth, integrated oak spice with length and verve on the finish.

94WineAlign

Michael Godel From the “original Grand Cru” identified Niagara site Lowrey Vineyard. The vines were planted in 1984 and 1988 at the time by the Lowrey family for Inniskilin’s winemaker Karl Kaiser, (then once more in 1993). A clay-loam St. David’s Bench location closer to the Niagara River then to the lake. This means cold air leaving and warmer site gifting conditions for red wines that develop ripeness and concentration like few other sub-appellations. Bachelder’s ’19 takes on and full advantage of a good season’s gifts for maximum cherry-berry-metallurgy contractual distraction. Collective natural sweetness cross-referenced against equally incontestable acidity for a respectively balanced perspective through deep varietal meaning. This is in fact pinot noir from Ontario’s Niagara region in hyper clarity as seen through the seven to 10 year eyes of a studious and industrious monk. Age Old Vines Lowery for 10 years without trepidation.

Reviews & Ratings

One of the most celebrated vineyards in Canada. Lowrey Vineyard Old Vines Pinot Noir is always a memorable experience!

Production

Appellation

VQA St. David's Bench

Viticulture

THE PARCEL
A mere 5 km from the Niagara River, and under its considerable influence, the Lowrey vineyard, located on the St. David’s Bench, has complex soil variability and limestone content (due to both its glacial heritage, and the fact that the river actually used to run through the property many eons ago). The old-vine Pinot Noir is planted on a very specific two acre site on the sixty acre property, and is on a gentle slope at the foot of the escarpment. The block benefits from the air movement, which cools it in summer and also minimizes "WinterKill" of dormant buds. The rows slope gently from south to north. The slope is north-facing, which may help "cool" it a bit in the late summer and fall heat. Getting enough heat is never an issue in St. David’s, which is some 13 km from Lake Ontario and is locally considered a bit of a "SunTrap." St. David’s longer growing season is usually due to a 10-14 day head start in the spring. The clay/loam seam runs through the entire block, but the percentage of clay is progressively higher the further you go north. The block has aged gracefully over the last thirty years, and seemingly adds new layers of complexity to its wines with each passing vintage. (Some of this detail has been contributed by Wes Lowrey of the family’s "Five Rows" winery).

THE GROWER
Lowrey vineyard was initially planted in 1984 at the behest of Karl Kaiser (co-founder of Inniskillin) by the Lowrey family, and Howie, Wilma and son Wes still run the vineyards today with the utmost care and love. Their own winery is called ‘Five Rows,’ and they make wines of a purity to make one weep.

SOIL COMPOSITION
The soil is a combination of clay and loam, sitting on a limestone base layer. The theory is that the south end of the block sits just below the beach head of the glacial Lake Iroquois - avoiding the sandy soil pockets just to the north. Too much sand content would make growing a vigorous varietal like Pinot even more difficult to control.

Vinification

Fermentation with Indigenous yeasts; 12,5% alc./vol; less than 2 g/l residual sugar, 87 cases made.

Production Amount

1044

Producer

Producer 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