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Tastings: May 2026
07 May 2026
92PTS
Gérard Bertrand Château L'Hospitalet La Clape Grand Vin Rouge 2023
La Clape, Coteaux du Languedoc, Languedoc, Sud de France, FranceChâteau de l'Hospitalet sits 100 metres above the Mediterranean Sea on fossil rich marl limestone and red Mediterranean soils. The grapes are cultivated biodynamically, resulting in a GSM anchored by Syrah that blends Mediterranean ripeness with windy seaside freshness. The 2023 is a serious La Clape red that announces itself as the flagship property pour, shouting the New Languedoc. Look for classic garrigue and florals, with rich black cherry, strawberry, and licorice, streaked with roasted pepper. The acid-fruit balance is magic, displaying the freshness and balance biodynamics can bring to the mix.Prices:| BC | $55.99 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Lourens Family Wines Lua Ilse 2023
Western Cape, South AfricaFranco Lourens got his start working with Chris Alheit before opening his small family owned winery in January 2016. Every thankful and humble, Franco names his wines after his family members, such as Lindi Carien (wife), Howard John (father), and Lua Ilse (daughter). This bush vine grenache was planted in Piekenierskloof's decomposed sandstone in 1988. After a native ferment, this spent 10 months in old 500L barrels. Perfumed crushed florals, wild strawberry jam, fragrant cherry blossoms, and crushed stones are woven through the palate, with a gentle grenache generosity balanced by brisk acidity. Franco aims to harness grenache's inherently generous fruit and succeeds smartly here.Prices:| ON | $38.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Honoro Vera Garnacha 2024
Calatayud, Aragon, SpainThis garnacha comes from old dry farmed vineyards in Calatayud's slate and gravelled clays, up to 900m. It was fermented in stainless, and aged for 2 months in oak barrels. Spicy ripe plums and blackberries fill a juicy, round, silken palate, with supple, lightly sticky tannins, and ample fresh cracked pepper on the finish. Friendly and smart, drinking now with sausages or mushroom burgers on the grill.Prices:| BC | $23.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $20.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Honoro Vera Garnacha 2024
Calatayud, Aragon, SpainThe Honoro Garnacha is regarded as one of the best values in Spanish wine, particularly in 2024. It features a refreshing and well structured profile that highlights its vibrant red fruit and minerality. This wine is not only easy to enjoy but also simple to pair with food. Consider serving it with a charcuterie board or a mushroom pasta dish. Be sure to look for this label in private wine stores.Prices:| BC | $23.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $20.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Nathalie Bonhomme El Petit Bonhomme Tinto 2023
Jumilla, Valencia and Murcia, SpainEl Petit Bonhomme's organic fruit is sourced from Jumilla, Murcia. The mix is 55/30/15, with 30 year old bush vines of monastrell, garnacha, and syrah in what can only be termed a harsh climate. Winemaker Natalie Bonhomme makes this introductory red blend with the same zeal she applies to all her wines: approachable high-quality that overdeliver for the price. Yields are naturally low in Jumilla due to limited water availability, lending the wine a concentration you seldom see at this price point. It is hand harvested, cold macerated, and fermented for two weeks in small stainless steel vats. It goes through malolactic fermentation in 225L French oak barrels for the monastrell and syrah, and 300L American oak for the garnacha. In all, it spends six months in French oak. The good news in the 2023 vintage is that it is fresher than 2022 and has better balance, trading off structure for drinkability. Good value.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $19.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $17.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $18.99 | 750ml |
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05 May 2026
92PTS
Istine Mezzapiaggia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2022
Tuscany, ItalyThe inaugural Mezzapiaggia is sangiovese grown on warmer, deeper soils on the southern Chianti Classico slopes at Vagliagli. The site gives this wine a broader palate and perhaps a slightly wider appeal, with greater ripeness and flavour than most of the other tighter Istine labels. Look for ripe dark cherry and black plum with hints of sweet spice. On the palate, a rounder shoulder announces the wine's richness and warmth, with dark cherry mixed with savoury forest floor and sweet plums. More muscular than Radda or Lamole, yet balanced by a firm structure and a savoury undercurrent. Think mushrooms or beef dishes here; it can handle them with ease. Best through 2027-2030.Prices:| BC | $98.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Istine Vigna Casanova dell’Aia Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2022
Tuscany, ItalyVigna Casanova dell'Aia is a selection of the best sangiovese bunches from the single vineyard Casanova dell'Aia, grown on marl and limestone at high elevation in Radda. The lively red currant and blood orange results from gentle maceration and élevage in large format neutral oak to protect and reveal its structure and aromatic lift. This intellectual skinny sangiovese announces Radda with hints of alpine herbs, red fruits, an earthy underbelly, and peppery notes. Cool, stylish, and mineral rich, it is a gastronomic wine to contemplate with dinner.Prices:| BC | $85.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $82.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Istine Vigna Cavarchione Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2021
Tuscany, ItalyCarvarchione presents in a more serious manner, with deep, savoury tones of black cherry and forest floor streaked with balsamic and a touch of iron. The tannins are firm but polished, supported by several layers of flavours. A serious wine from a warm, rich vintage showcasing Sangiovese from the Galestro rich soils in Gaiole.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $82.00 | 750ml |
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94PTS
Istine Vigna Istine Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2021
Tuscany, ItalyVigna Istine is the flagship vineyard adjacent to the winery in Radda. It's planted at high elevation, resulting in a long growing season and a prized slow ripening period. This wine is all about precision and restraint, especially with the oak. The fruit is tightly wound along the cranberry and red cherry road, with bright acidity and a wealth of crushed rock minerality. Built for ageing, it will reward your patience over the next seven years.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $82.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Istine 550 Merlot 2021
Tuscany, ItalyThe Merlot, grown at 550 metres above sea level, is a cool climate take on the grape. The goal is to present a wine shaped by altitude rather than ripeness, which aligns with the Istine winemaking mantra. Fermentation is done in French oak and completed with restraint, using only a portion of new oak. Look for darker cherry than you might find on Sangiovese labels. There is a touch of chocolate, but mostly mineral and crushed stones filling the back end. It is a very polished, finessed, gastronomic version of Merlot for the Tuscan red aficionado.Prices:| BC | $75.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Istine Elle Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2022
Tuscany, ItalyAltitude and precision in viticulture and winemaking spell success for this Gran Selezione label, which opens with intense red cherry, sour plum, and dried rose, supported by notes of minerality, crushed stones, and savoury herbs. Fresh yet full flavoured, the acidity and fine, chalk dust tannins complete a long finish. Built for the long haul, this will age well into the 2030s. Elle is the pinnacle of the Istine range, sourced from the finest Radda parcels and crafted to reveal complexity and depth in every glass. Elegance is the aim over power.Prices:| BC | $98.00 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Istine Chianti Classico 2022
Tuscany, Italy2022 was warm and dry in Chianti Classico, but Radda's elevation helped preserve freshness. Still, there is a touch of oxidation here, suggesting you need to drink it sooner than later. This organic sangiovese is a blend of four sites in Radda in Chianti, Gaiole in Chianti, Tibuca, and Le Noci, averaging 500 metres above sea level on marl, limestone, and clay. It opens with perfumed, bright red fruit, and acidity. Cherries and raspberries fill the palate before the earthy forest floor and scrubland take over the finish. Simple yet polished, in a way Chianti aficionados will approve of. It spends a year in a mix of vessel sizes and compositions, including Slavonian oak barriques, concrete, and vats.Prices:| BC | $37.99 | 750ml |
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01 May 2026
91PTS
Ghost Rock Supernatural Pinot Noir 2024
AustraliaIn northern Tasmania's Cradle Coast, Ghost Rock has been instrumental in shaping the region over the past two decades, and the winery is now in the capable hands of 2nd generation Justin Arnold and his wife Alicia Peardon. The Supernatural labels reflect that nothing is added, and nothing is taken away = Super Natural. This estate pinot blends 9 clones, all individually picked based on ripeness. All were native fermented and cold soaked, before being pressed to French barrel (25% new) for 7-12 months, depending on the lot. After blending, this was bottled unfired and unfiltered. Fragrant dark plum, thorny wild blackberry, perfumed boysenberry is seasoned with sultry baking spice and cracked pink peppercorn on a fleshy, juicy, fresh palate. Tannins are smooth and long, finishing with crushed stones and purple petals. A lovely darker shaded pinot for glazed duck or wild mushroom dishes.Prices:Read Full Note
91PTS
Roland Lavantureux Les Fauconniers Bourgogne Épineuil 2022
Burgundy, FranceThe 2022 vintage is a complete and generous pinot noir, immediately noticeable for its rich dark cherry and raspberry that leap from the glass. Juicy cherry and wild strawberry, with vibrant cranberry flecks, penetrate the fleshy midpalate and carry through the finish on smoother tannins. Balanced and supple, this is a solid pinot noir ready for the dinner table. Here on the West Coast, that could mean grilled salmon or a mushroom galette. Lavantureux’s deft hands yield a wine that bridges village Bourgogne and classic Côte d’Or sensibility.Prices:| BC | $74.99 | 750ml |
| BC | $170.00 | 1500ml |
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91PTS
Roche Pinot Noir Artist Willamette Valley 2024
Willamette Valley, Oregon, United StatesThis is an elegant replacement pinot noir, a collaboration between the Naramata-based Roche family and longtime friends who grow grapes in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The colour is medium pale, with darker threads of blue/black fruit, subtle oak spice and light, silky tannins. The tannins are refined, the palate silky, favouring elegance over power. The finish is lively and super Oregon savoury, with enough uniqueness to merit a place in the Artist Release. Food pairings include game birds with sage stuffing, or Morel mushroom ravioli.Prices:| BC | $26.90 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Roche Pinot Noir Tradition Dundee 2024
Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, United StatesThis is a top 2024 replacement wine made in BC, with fruit purchased by the Roche family from the famed Dundee Hills in Oregon. There is lovely richness here and a rare combination of ripe fruit and fresh forest floor that speaks to Oregon’s volcanic Jory soils. Red fruited and lively, you get clarity of fruit with slippery tannins and savoury bright acidity, all of which makes it very easy to drink.Prices:| BC | $26.90 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Blue Grouse Pinot Noir 2023
Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, CanadaBlue Grouse continues its steadfast march into the future, now backed and buoyed by Jackson Family Wines. This Cowichan Valley pinot noir comes off estate and neighbouring fruit, and was fermented in amphorae and stainless before resting 18 months in a mix of new and neutral French barrels and puncheons. Arriving at a slight 11.5% alcohol, this slender pinot streams crushed raspberry, cherry blossoms along a saline laced palate, with fine, sticky / sapid tannins pinning in the sides to a stony finish. Haven't seen this level of finesse from Blue Grouse before, and it's a welcome change. Enjoy now with anything salmon or wild mushroom.Prices:| BC | $39.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Radford Dale Freedom Pinot Noir 2023
Elgin, Overberg, South AfricaWell known for their Radford Dale and The Winery of Good Hope brands, sourcing special vineyards throughout the Cape, this Freedom Pinot Noir comes off their organic estate in Elgin. From 5 estate blocks planted 2008-2015, and Dijon clones 115, 667, and 777, this was native fermented as whole berries in open-top fermenters, with 15 days maceration, before being basket pressed to barrels (10% new) for 1 year. Fragrant strawberry, sour cherry, crushed florals, and subtle forest teem through this medium bodied red, with gentle, ripe tannins sticking to the sides, and a lingering smoked stone on the finish. A useful partner for grilled mushroom dishes.Prices:| ON | $48.00 | 750ml |
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