By Rick VanSickle
There’s no question Ontario makes world-class Chardonnay, but just how far can the top wineries push it?
I did not attend the recent International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration, but by all accounts, it shone another bright light on how Chardonnay has evolved into a signature variety in both Niagara, Prince Edward County and most emerging regions in Ontario as far away as the Ottawa Valley.
This is not breaking news; Chardonnay has deep roots in Niagara. Inniskillin (Montague Vineyard), Chateau des Charmes, Cave Spring Vineyards, the Lenko Vineyard (the vines planted in 1959 is thought to be the oldest Chardonnay planting in Canada, pictured below), and a handful of others led the way early into the start of the modern wine industry in Ontario.
As it became more popular and more wineries populated the region, premium Chardonnay became a staple variety at wineries such as Southbrook, Malivoire, Ravine, Peninsula Ridge, Stoney Ridge, Lailey (and later, Stonebridge), Hillebrand/Trius, Stratus, Tawse, Domaine Queylus, and many other wineries.
But a lot the credit for really taking Chardonnay to lofty heights and giving it international status goes to Domaine Le Clos Jordanne and its winemaker Thomas Bachelder. Le Clos’s unique Franco-Canadian partnership between Boisset, La Famille des Grands Vins, of Nuits-St-Georges, France, and Ontario-based Vincor Canada was announced in February 2000. The first wines — only Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, a first for Niagara — were released in 2007.
In May 2009, the Le Clos 2005 Claystone Terrace Chardonnay captured the top spot for Chardonnay in the “Judgement of Montreal” experts tasting, bringing global attention to the Niagara Peninsula and to the super and ultra-premium wines it can produce. Now, there have been bumps and pauses along the way with the venerable brand (now owned by Arterra Canada), but today Le Clos has its own domaine on the Beamsville Bench and has increased its production to include the recently released first sparkling wine with more single vineyard expressions coming.
The success of Le Clos — and the three single-vineyard expressions of Chardonnay from one of Niagara’s top estates, Hidden Bench (founded around the same time) — encouraged an entire cohort of virtual winery pioneers who were laser-focused on Chardonnay and Pinot. Think Leaning Post, Cloudsley Cellars, 2027 Cellars (all three of those have their own homes now, with Leaning Post now an estate winery), The Long Way Home and others to varying degrees.
It was Bachelder (above), with his own virtual brand (at the time) and Harald Thiel’s gem of winery on the Beamsville Bench, who set the tone for the others above by carving up the terroir of Niagara with their extraordinary range of single-vineyard expressions of both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Grimsby. The success of Bachelder and Thiel has sparked yet another layer of Chardonnay producer in Niagara.
Joining the Chardonnay bandwagon and doing it at a high level are the likes of newer, smaller premium wineries that include Stonebridge, 16 Mile Cellar, Kelly Mason’s personal project from her Mason Vineyard and the super-premium Dobbin Estates.
And let us not forget that other mecca for Chardonnay — Prince Edward County. Such wonderful, terroir specific wines from Closson Chase, Rosehall Run, Trail Estate, Lighthall Vineyards, the new(ish) Last House Vineyard, Huff Estates and Exultet, among others. Even the Ottawa Valley’s KIN Vineyard is producing attention getting Chardonnay from its own estate vineyard.
And then there are these three wineries I will be focussing on over the next two posts, one firmly established and two relatively new players in Niagara — Westcott Vineyards, On Seven Estate Winery and Kirby Estate. All with very different terroirs, but a common profile courses through the veins of these Chardonnays. We will start with Westcott.
Not newcomers by any means, the husband-and-wife team of Grant Westcott and Caroyln Hurst, along with their winemaker Casey Kulczyk (above), have methodically built up a portfolio of wines from two owned vineyards — the Home Farm on the Vinemount Ridge and the historic Butler’s Grant Vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench where they now live. Their first vintage in 2012 was made in the true “garagistes” style — crafted in their equipment barn while the pair worked their way through the permit process for the main winery building.
Westcott, a former cattle farmer and Hurst from a tech background and a native of Niagara with a penchant for fine Burgundian wines, elected to combine their talents and start a winery from scratch instead of retiring. They sold their house in Toronto and have not looked back since, increasing their holdings and establishing a deep portfolio of single-vineyard, single-block Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, sparkling wines, rosés, Gamays and Cabernet Francs.
I have followed the evolution of Westcott wines for over a decade on this website and count me impressed as each new vintage exposes more secrets from the two main terroirs. Adding Butler’s Grant to the family was a stroke of genius and has added a new layer to the portfolio.
The Chardonnay range at Westcott includes sparkling blanc de blancs, a measured approach to an unoaked version, and estate Chardonnay, Reserve, Old Vines from Butler’s Grant and the Block 76 (tiny block shown above), which, to me, emerges as the top cuvee every vintage.
“I come from a Burgundy background,” says Hurst, and points to the wines of Meursault as her go-to expression. “Only in my wildest dreams did I think we could get this many expressions of Chardonnay in Niagara.”
I tasted with Hurst and Kulczyk in advance of the i4C event. Here is what I liked:
Westcott Brilliant Blanc de Blancs 2021 ($48, 93 points) — When we tasted this 100% traditional method Chardonnay, Hurst was hand labelling bottles that were to be served during i4C. The official labels couldn’t be used because the strike meant that the LCBO tasting lab was also shut down and couldn’t make approvals until the strike was over. This is the first 100% blanc de blancs from the Butler’s Grant Vineyard and it was wild fermented in used oak barrels, spending 36 months on the lees. It’s a brut nature style, which means zero dosage (less than 1.6 g/l of RS) and topped up only with its own wine. Kulczyk notes that zero dosage allows him to make a wine that’s “more representative of where it’s coming from.” The nose shows fresh lemon, toasty/leesy notes, green apple, pear, lovely saline minerality with an elegant bead in the glass. It’s persistent on the palate with a touch of flint, salinity, apple, pear and lemon cream that’s bright and fresh through the lifted finish.
Westcott Lillia’s Chardonnay 2023 ($22, 91 points) — This unoaked style of Chardonnay, all sourced from the Home Farm Vineyard, is 100% tank fermented with six months of lees contact and regular stirring. Kulczyk says “it’s a showcase for what our grapes taste like.” It has a pure and fresh nose of pear and yellow apple with zesty lemon and apricots. It’s bright and juicy on the palate, a pure expression of Chardonnay that shows pear, quince, a touch of peach, stony minerality and a lifted, fresh finish.
Westcott Estate Chardonnay 2022 ($32, 92 points) — This ended up as a blend of mostly the Westcott Home Farm and a bit of Butlers’ Grant fruit. It was hand-picked and whole bunch pressed with no sulphur added at time of crushing and aged in 100% French oak (20% new) barrels for 10 months. This Chardonnay and the ones to follow are all wild fermented. Such freshness on the nose with stony minerality, pear, bergamot, yellow apples and gentle spice notes. Turns richer on the palate with quince, lemon tart, wet stones, subtle spices and a long, echoing, crisp finish.
Westcott Butler’s Grant Vineyard Old Vines Chardonnay 2022 ($50, 93 points) — From 40-year-old vines planted at the Butler’s Grant Vineyard, this stylish Chardo was aged in French barriques (20% was new oak). This has a pretty, elegant, nose of white flowers, fresh pear, salinity, crisp apple, citrus and a veil of fine oak spice. It turns richer on the palate with ripe stone fruits, a creamy texture, a touch of flint and saline minerality, toasted spices with finesse and flair on a long, lifted finish.
Westcott Block 76 Chardonnay 2022 ($50, released this fall, 94 points) — Block 76 is a special single block of Chardonnay that is less than an acre in size in a corner of the Home Farm Vineyard. In 2022 it produced only 120 cases. It spends 22 months in French oak (no new oak) and is bottled unfiltered. “It’s about place, not process,” says Kulczyk. What makes Block 76 so special vintage to vintage is all about elegance, sense of place and freshness on the finish. The 2022 has a penetrating nose of bergamot, pear skin, yellow apple, lemon chiffon, toasted vanilla spices, pure saline and subtle savoury notes. The stony/saline notes lift the stone fruits on the palate with a creamy texture, lemon tart, flinty/savoury notes, toasted almonds and spice and a racy, persistent, finessed finish that echoes for minutes. A beautiful wine here.
We tasted the 2022 Block 76 beside the 2021 vintage, which has mellowed but is certainly in the same vein as the 2022 version. It has a bit more flintiness and spice integration, but cut from the same cloth.
Wescott Reserve Chardonnay 2022 ($50, released later this summer, 93 points) — Sourced 100% from the estate’s Home Farm Vineyard, this beautiful Chardonnay spends 10 months in French oak puncheons (20% new). This has a pretty nose of white flowers, ripe pear, yellow apple, a touch of nectarine and peach, with saline and sweet oak spices. It has a creamy texture, richness and ripe apple/pear, lemon zest, a vein of fresh salinity, elegant spice notes and mouth-watering acidity through the long, lifted finish.
Note: Coming up soon on Wines in Niagara, more outstanding Chardonnays, this time from the other side of the canal, including two from Kirby Estates (plus Merlot) and two from On Seven Estate Winery.
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