Tasting Note: I tasted this nine-bottle collection at the Bachelder Bat Cave in early November, with wines presented east to west along the Niagara Peninsula, drawing a differentiating line across appellations from Four Mile Creek, to St Davids Bench, Twenty Mile Bench and Beamsville Bench. Purchasing this set and tasting this way, is the best way to appreciate the wiles and wisdom of Thomas Bachelder. The wines of course show the variations of terroir as intended, but all are expertly made and of excellent to outstanding quality. The 2023 vintage is showing classic, ripe pinot noir sour cherry, cranberry, finely tuned with subtle complexities of spice ageing in a range of new and old barrels as well as herbals and forest floor. The wines are texturally elegant, well integrated, lithe and energized, based on Niagara Dolomitic limestone. The lengths are excellent to outstanding, and they should easily age a decade.  A set of six pinots is also available at $332.50

Backgrounder: Quebec-raised Thomas Bachelder started out as a wine writer but veered into winemaking in Burgundy after a visit there in the 90s.  Pinot and chardonnay have been is calling ever since, taking him to Oregon, then to Niagara to head up a Franco-Canadian joint venture in 2003 called Le Clos Jordanne, which he still oversees. But his own venture, with partner Mary Delaney, has been to explore Niagara terroirs in detail, sourcing fine, older vine, organically farmed sited around Niagara, to prove the region’s diversity and quality potential. A set of 13 Chardonnays widens the discussion, as do the Gamay series released each spring.