This is the last in my series of articles looking at the 2007 vintage of one of Ontario’s premier wineries, Le Clos Jordanne. Here are my tasting notes for their complete range of Chardonnay — just like a winery in Burgundy, this is the only white grape they grow.

Le Clos Jordanne 2007 Village Reserve Chardonnay ($25.00, Vintages #33936)
The Village Reserve is once again an excellent value, especially since the increasing production of the vineyards has led Vincor to lower the price from $30 to $25. It has an intoxicating nose with plenty of blossoms, bruised tropical fruit and musk. The palate is lush and slightly sloppy: baked apple, yellow plum and papaya swirl around the glass. This is a luxurious and complex species of Chardonnay. 90/100

Le Clos Jordanne 2007 Talon Ridge Chardonnay ($37.00, Vintages #143974)
This is for lovers of fruit-driven Chardonnay: it has a generous hit of citrus and tropical flavours, all wrapped in a moderate layer of characteristic Le Clos oakiness. The nose is gorgeous and buttery, with a pleasing hint of candied ginger. It is a beautifully articulated wine: generous but also outrageously vivacious. 93/100

After the jump: notes on three more Le Clos 2007 Chardonnay varieties — including one sneak peek, one snapshot of that beautiful summer and one that Matthew calls "slightly perverse and close to perfect."

This is the second part of my series on the 2007 vintage of Le Clos Jordanne. Many wine critics (Tony Aspler, Beppi Crosariol and yours humbly) have gushed about what a great year 2007 was. Warm days throughout the summer and a dry autumn meant that the grapes ripened into juicy flavour bombs. Aspler has called it “the best Ontario vintage ever.” Ra, Ra, Siss-Boom, Ba.

That’s great for most grapes, but Pinot Noir is not like most grapes. Too much sunshine and light makes it bland and boring. Pinot grapes remind me of one of my ex-girlfriends: they thrive on just a little bit of suffering.

As a result, the skilled winemaking team at Le Clos had their work cut out for them. They parlayed the too-good weather into wines that are intense, concentrated and brooding. They may not have as much finesse as 2006, but all their intensity means that they will age beautifully.

After the jump: Matthew's ratings and tasting notes for the 2007 Le Clos wines.

There’s a story in Zen Buddhism about a monk who asked his students, “When you’re balanced on top of a 100 foot pole, how can you step even higher?” Because this is Zen, I presume the wily teacher is really asking about enlightenment: once you reach the highest level of spiritual attainment, what do you do next? How do you keep yourself sharp? After all, if you get complacent on a pole, you have a long way to fall.

I thought of this story a few weeks ago at a tasting hosted by the Ontario winery Le Clos Jordanne for their 2007 vintage of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. When Le Clos first released its wines three years ago, they were universally acclaimed by critics and consumers. Wine lovers fell over each other to buy as many bottles as possible, and this first vintage (2004) disappeared from the shelves instantly. In other words, Le Clos Jordanne started life at the top of a 100 foot pole. How can they step even higher?

I’m still recovering from New Year’s Eve, a revel marked by liquor drunk in quantity without any particular concern for quality. In fact, cracking a decent wine at my New Year’s party would’ve seemed downright rude, since it could have stolen too much thunder from the other attractions: the lightning rounds of tequila shots, the oyster-liquor martinis and the rum spiked with punch just to name three.

Now that the minor symptoms of my h.-over have cleared up (i.e. hysterical blindness and spinal cramps), I’ve been fondly perusing my wine journal for the most exciting entries of the past year.

After the jump: Matthew's favourite from last year, his biggest disappointment, and the top Canadian bottle.