Domaine Queylus

About Domaine Queylus

Queylus is a recently-established domaine-style winery dedicated to a select number of varietals adapted perfectly to Niagara’s soils and microclimate. Domaine Queylus is the fruit of long years of hard work and planning, and was dreamt into existence by a group of friends passionate about wine, the land and terroir. Queylus crafts small lots of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from organically-run estate vineyards in Beamsville and the Jordan Bench. The wines, made by Thomas Bachelder since 2010, display finesse, structure, depth, elegance and minerality.

Representative Biography

Kelly Mason, Associate Winemaker

Born and raised in Montréal, Kelly ‘s love of winemaking began during a vacation in Napa Valley in 2007 that resulted in an internship at Saintsbury Winery under a Burgundian winemaker.

She then studied Winemaking at Brock University before working first at Tawse Winery and then at Le Clos Jordanne, always focused on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Kelly joined the Domaine Queylus team in the spring of 2013.

“When you get the harvest date just right and take a hands-off winemaking approach, cool climate Chardonnay will express the vineyard site beautifully. It allows Niagara to showcase different Chardonnay profiles based on our appellations – what is sometimes referred to as boring varietal becomes complex and interesting as the terroir differs from one producer to the next.” - Kelly Mason

Why We're Cool

The parcels of land selected for their Chardonnay plantings are their closest vines to Lake Ontario. With a terroir unlike the Bench, the sandier soil texture and temperate ‘Lake effect’ of the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-appellation imbues the resulting wines with a honeyed character, elegance and subtlety. The gentle warmth from Lake Ontario in autumn allows us to ‘hang’ the fruit a little longer to achieve complexity and ripeness without risking higher alcohol levels.

Both of their Chardonnays are single-vineyard wines, with the southern block (Clones 95 and 76) bringing a certain nobility, texture and citrus fruit flavour to the ‘Chardonnay Réserve,’ while the northern block (clones 124 and 548) gives the ‘Chardonnay Tradition’ a straightforward, textured fruitiness and backbone of acidity which highlights the minerality of this site. As their vines continue to come into equilibrium, they aim to craft barrel-fermented, Burgundian-style Chardonnays with understatement, subtlety and great texture, Chardonnays that showcase the potential of the relatively unknown Niagara Lincoln Lakeshore terroir.