Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2004

There has been much hype, thus far totally deserved, surrounding this joint venture between Burgundian (Boisset) and Canadian (Vincor, now part of Constellation) wine companies. They have taken a totally Burgundian approach to their bench site on the Niagara Escarpment, splitting the vineyards up according to soil, planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir almost exclusively, and using Burgundian-trained (but born in Canada) winemakers and thus the Burgundian winemaking philosophy. And boy does it show…in every wine!They market the wines just as in Burgundy, too, with a Village Wine, then read more...1er Cru, Single Vineyard designations, and finally la crème de la crème – the Grand Cru.The Village Reserve is the entry level Pinot Noir at Le Clos Jordanne, and at $25 Canadian it's a steal. A blend of four estate vineyards, it has light, elegant forest and cherry notes on the nose, and displays ripe, almost sweet, cherry fruit in the mouth, but with firm tannins and a touch of unobtrusive French oak. It's a well-balanced Pinot Noir, making it a safe choice for matching with white and red meat. It is also high in alcohol, over 14.5%, as are all the Le Clos 2004 Pinot Noirs. Surprisingly though, this does not distract.    (hide)

I thought this was a very intresting wine. Not a wine to be drank alone.

July 2009