Domaine Le Clos Jordanne has been on a profound journey over the last 20 years. With the opening of its new estate winery, it has everything in place to become the pinnacle of Canadian fine wines.
Over the last two decades, Domaine Le Clos Jordanne has had a singular vision: to be the ultimate authority for Burgundian style wine in the Niagara region – and indeed Canada.
This was the founding principle of the winery, which was created through a collaboration between Boisset La Famille des Grand Vins from Nuits-St-George in France and the Ontario-based Vincor Canada in 2000.
Expertise in Burgundian-style wines
Through the appointment of their Burgundy-trained founding winemaker, Thomas Bachelder, Le Clos was in prime position to deliver on this vision. Starting in 2004, Bachelder and his team proceeded to create some of the most acclaimed Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from Canada’s Niagara Peninsula.
His terroir-driven wines, layered with distinct, complex minerality, helped to propel the young Niagara region into the global spotlight in the mid- to late 2000s. His efforts were instrumental in showcasing how Old-World, Burgundian winemaking techniques applied on New World terroir – with minimal intervention – could produce exceptional wines, right down to the smallest parcel.
Le Clos Jordanne’s vineyards have become known to many as Niagara’s grand cru, and are the foundation for an unparalleled range of coveted and rare Burgundian-style fine wines.
Le Clos Jordanne’s prized Niagara vineyards.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
The next step: A stunning new home
After the fantastic work done by Thomas Bachelder in the first two decades of Domaine Le Clos Jordanne’s life, it was ready to take the next step forward. And so, on 4 June 2024 Le Clos Jordanne opened a new permanent estate home, situated on the Beamsville Bench, right in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula.
The new estate has given the winemaking operation a physical home for the first time, and a winery experience allowing guests to discover, taste and learn more about the award-winning wines.
It has also given the winemaking team an opportunity to hone and uncover rich, new wine stories from a range of parcels that build on its portfolio of distinct, ultra-premium VQA wines from the Niagara peninsula.
And in opening the new estate, Le Clos Jordanne has also been able to purchase new vineyards, in this case in Beamsville. These new locations will accompany its three legacy vineyards – Talon Ridge, Le Clos Jordanne and Claystone Terrace.
Each vineyard has its own unique microclimate, helping to create distinct wines across the tiers, ensuring every glass of Domaine Le Clos Jordanne tells the story of its terroir.
This autumn, Le Clos Jordanne unveils the first of those new wines: mouthwatering expressions of this different part of Niagara. The wines, made using identical processes, from vineyards mere kilometres away from each other, evoke completely different flavour profiles and sensorial experiences – demonstrating the fundamental importance of terroir.
Le Clos Jordanne’s new estate winery is now open to welcome visitors.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
Top Le Clos Jordanne wines to try
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
Clos de Kew, Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2023
From a single, venerable parcel of the Kew Vineyard that dates back to 1978. The wine undergoes an extended élevage, a slow journey towards refinement.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
Clos de Kew, Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023
Grapes from the Kew Vineyard, first planted in 1978, are harvested by hand and fermented using only native yeasts. Released now for the first time, the 2023 vintage has undergone a long period of ageing, building complexity in the wine.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
Beamsville Village Chardonnay 2023
Le Clos Jordanne’s Beamsville Village wines are a poetic expression of place; this varietal Chardonnay captures the soul of the Beamsville Bench.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)
Beamsville Village Pinot Noir 2023
Le Clos Jordanne’s Pinot Noir from its Beamsville Village vineyard is a pure translation of its terroir: distinguished parcels on the western side of the Niagara Escarpment.
Panel tasting results: 30 mightily impressive English sparkling wines
Wine investment: Fine wine market stabilising
Vacqueyras 2022 retasted in bottle: 25 top wines for southern Rhône lovers
How to drink fortified wines in the summer
Corsica's wild edge: The elemental wines of the island's far south
Australia's 10 greatest vineyards
Panel tasting results: Superb St-Emilion & Pomerol from 2020
A tasting a century in the making – trying a 100 year-old Champagne forgotten in the cellar of France's most famous chef
