quicksearch
Tastings: April 2018
30 April 2018
93PTS
Jean Bourdy Galant des Abbesses NV
Jura, FranceThis magic elixir is said to be one of the hardest to get wines in the world. Crafted from a centuries old recipe passed down by the Lady Abbesses of Chateau-Chalon, "Galant des Abbesses" is a heated, spiced wine fortified with Marc de Franche-Comté and aged a minimum of five years. The recipe goes something like this: free run must flowing from the press is put in a copper cauldron, to which 25 spices, weighed to the nearest gram, are added. It is then heated at low temperature to reduce it, perhaps for a day or so. When thick with concentration, the syrupy juice is tipped into barrels with 1/3 old Marc de Franche-Comté, where it merges for at least three years. Of course, in the hands of Jura's iconic Jean Bourdy, this is biodynamically farmed chardonnay making up the base. Caves Bourdy are the oldest producer in the region, with a direct family line going back to the 16th century. Their cellars contain the oldest collection of vintage Château Chalon and Cotes du Jura in existence, with some wines going back to the 18th century. This golden wine exudes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, wormwood, seville orange, tobacco, golden raisins, flakey pastry, ample wild meadow herbs, rancio notes over a thick, smooth palate that is lined with golden maple, cardamom, nutmeg. Acidity keeps pace, stringing this out along a very lengthy meringue enveloped finish. This amazing wine has in innumerous layers and incredibly intensity, hauntingly glorious now, but will last - oh - longer than you.Prices:| BC | $89.99 | 700ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Cháteau de Beaulon Pineau des Charentes Rouge 5 Years in Wood NV
Cognac, FranceBuilt in 1480, Cognac producer Chateau de Beaulon, like most in the area, also produce a range of Pineau Des Charentes. The Château was built in 1480, and has passed through the hands of many owners through the years from the original Vinsons family, the de Beaulon family, the Bishops of Bordeaux and various others until Christian Thomas acquired the Chateau in 1965. Few people know of or drink Pineau des Charentes, and fewer still the rouge version (most is bleanc). This rouge is a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot juice added to cognac, and then aged for five years in cask. It remains remarkably fresh, with pressed strawberry, raspberry cordial, dark caramel on a silken, lengthy palate. A rub of warm spices gathers on the finish. This is a lovely drink for after dinner, especially with sharp / aged cheeses. Serve chilled.Prices:| BC | $35.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Cháteau de Beaulon Pineau des Charentes Blanc 5 Years in Wood NV
Cognac, FranceBuilt in 1480, Cognac producer Chateau de Beaulon, like most in the area, also produce a range of Pineau Des Charentes. The Château was built in 1480, and has passed through the hands of many owners through the years from the original Vinsons family, the de Beaulon family, the Bishops of Bordeaux and various others until Christian Thomas acquired the Chateau in 1965. Honeyed, lemon curd, orange oil, Marcona almond, salts on the silkened palate of this semillon / sauvignon blanc blend.Prices:| BC | $35.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
27 April 2018
89PTS
Stoneboat Pinot House Pinot Noir 2014
Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaForest berries, raspberry, dried leaves, earth, well worn wood fill this southern Okanagan pinot noir. The ripe, sun-warmed fruit is brightened by Stoneboat's calcareous-studded soils, which is a boon. The soft palate is framed with slender, but strong tannins and time in both stainless and oak has resulted in freshness, plus peppery spiced structure. Of course this is now four years along, and showing the better for it, settled confidently into itself. A generous, fresh and medium-bodied pinot, Sonoma Coast-esque, drinking very well now.Prices:| BC | $21.39 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Sperling Vineyards Pinot Noir 2016
East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaBright, lively and lifted: exactly what you'd expect from biodynamically farmed, limestone-soiled pinot noir from the high Okanagan Valley. This is a blend of three Dijon clones, all planted in 2008. Perfumed raspberry, fresh cherries, fragrant strawberries are centered on a kirsch jam-cushion, and textured by 40 percent whole cluster, native ferment and barrel aging in large format French oak (a small part new, which is unnecessary). I appreciate the lighter crimson hue and moderate alcohol here; a huge improvement over the 2015, and a direction I hope the winery continues in. Best expressed with a light chill. Fantastic value.Prices:| BC | $22.59 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Blue Mountain Reserve Pinot Noir 2015
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaAmple sweet smoke pervades this reserve pinot noir, a mix of four French clones from 9-31 years of age. A small part of whole clusters were employed before ample punch down prior to this being pressed into French oak barrels, where it remained for 16 months. Alongside that sweet smoke, this pulls salami, forest floor, dried cherry, ripe raspberry, ripe cherry and mulberry spicing along a plump palate. Soft tannins guide this to a peppery, cinnamon, smoked, warming finish. This has Sonoma pinot softness, but lacks Okanagan acidity, which weighs the whole down. Missing the vibrant acidity here to match the ripe fruit.Prices:| BC | $39.90 | 750ml |
| AB | $44.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Moraine Pinot Noir 2016
Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaHow much do I like this 2016 pinot noir that springs from 18 small batch ferments? A lot. The nose is a mashup of Oregon and New Zealand but with perfect restraint. The single-site, clone 777 pinot is juicy and bright. It seems to float out of the glass on a bed of black cherry fruit, dried herbs, and earthy forest floor. Cool delicate, persistent, balanced and delicious; this is real wine with a genuine pinot ethos and finesse at a mere 13.3 percent alcohol. A bit of ageing will add that final note of complexity to take it to another level. Impressive. It’s 100 percent oak-aged for 19 months but only 25 percent of the barriques are new.Prices:| BC | $26.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Arterra Pinot Noir 2016
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, CanadaArterra Wines Canada, nee Constellation, nee Vincor, has put its moniker on a pair of labels: this pinot noir and a chardonnay. It’s all Niagara fruit, and some have suggested a portion of it may be from the old Le Clos Jordanne vineyards, although the style has nothing to do with the former CJ. In this case, the wine is young and exuberant, with bright, ripe, almost sweet pinot fruit and a fair bit of oak pushing the rough back end. Not terribly pinot, but many will enjoy this as it is. Serve this with some grilled chicken and mushrooms to best effect.Prices:| CDN | $29.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
85PTS
Vina Casablanca Cefiro Cool Reserve Pinot Noir 2016
Valle de Casablanca, Region de Aconcagua, ChileSuper cool style with a resiny, earthy, twiggy, spicy forest floor nose. The attack is soft and equally earthy / spicy / rooty in nature with not a lot of fruit and a peppery rhubarb finish. Ready to drink, and best with food. A challenging year for many Chilean reds.Prices:| BC | $12.19 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
26 April 2018
88PTS
50th Parallel Estate Pinot Noir 2015
Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaIt's surprising that this pinot noir, harvested from various sites on their estate and vinified at the winery way up at the 50th Parallel (high Okanagan) has much more in common with Sonoma Valley than the Okanagan Valley. Deep in hue and expansive in the mouth, this is a blend of young vine Dijon clones (six in all), fermented wild before 14 months in barrel. You can taste faint staves through the richer plum, stewed mulberry and autumnal leaves. There's a smokiness edging to cinnamon and bitter espresso on the very warm (14.5 degrees) finish. Drink now, preferably with thick cut pork or duck.Prices:| BC | $29.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Singletree Rosé 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThough Singletree Winery sits in the Mt. Lehman area of Abbotsford, in the Fraser Valley, the organic pinot noir grapes that make up this deeper-hued sweeter rosé come from Westbank. Juicy strawberry, candied cherry, mixed berry jam fill the medium palate, one slicked with sugar. Requires a good chill and a sunny patio for best effect, or have as a sweet treat alongside afternoon tea.Prices:| BC | $22.50 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Time Syrah Rose 2017
British Columbia, CanadaDeep, shining pink, this is an off-dry and fuller rosé with candied strawberry, raspberry jam and grapefruit spicing. Seven percent cabernet franc is added in to this pink syrah, certainly not a usual rosé blend. There's a big swell of warmth on the finish here that needs a chill and / or some food to work. Older school style for those missing it.Prices:| BC | $29.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Evolve Rosé 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaOff-dry and glossy on the palate with strawberries and cream, all wrapped in a shiny, delicate-pink hued rosé. Watermelon, peach and strawberry jam all chime in on the round palate, nipped in with a little spice. This is an approachable rosé for chilling well and enjoying on the patio.Prices:| BC | $17.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Quails' Gate Rosé Lucy's Block 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaMuch paler than the standard Quails' Gate Rosé, this dry rose is a single vineyard blend of young pinot meunier and pinot noir from their East Kelowna's Westpoint Vineyard. Wild raspberry, pear, pink grapefruit, sage blossom on a slick, lees-lined palate, finishing with fine spicing. This is their grown-up rosé, and a welcome new comer to the legendary Quails' Gate family.Prices:| BC | $24.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
JoieFarm Re-Think Pink! Rosé (iii) 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis year's JoieFarm Rosé is a departure from styles we've been charmed by in the past. The 2017 pours a dark pink colour, and opens with a deep, candied strawberry nose. The attack is slightly drier than you expect but the palate is creamy and soft. The blend is 80/20 pinot noir / gamay, with ample strawberry, rhubarb, pear butter, spiced with light pepper and sagebrush. Easy-drinking fun style, best served poolside and on ice.Prices:| BC | $23.90 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Quails' Gate Rosé 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis pours a deeper orange-salmon hue, and opens with ripe candied wild strawberry and mandarin. A blend of gamay, pinot noir and pinot gris, this is just off-dry but with a soft, juicy, cranberry, orange, peach mid-palate before a dusting of dried herbs in the back end, suggesting spicy food or generous chilling. Ready to drink on a warm patio.Prices:| BC | $16.99 | 750ml |
| NB | $19.29 | 750ml |
| ON | $19.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Quails' Gate Rosé Lucy's Block 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaQuails’ Gate winemaker Nikki Callaway's Lucy’s Block Rosé is named after the Stewart family's grandmother, Lucy Mary Whitworth. It’s a dry rosé with a twist of Provence colouring, made from a 50/50 blend of single vineyard pinot noir and pinot meunier. The grapes come off younger vines from the Westpoint Vineyard in East Kelowna. The colour is spot on in my opinion this year, and so is the wine. The nose is floral with subtle, red fruit nuances that sail across citrus-drenched watermelon and red fruit. Balance, balance, balance. Any number of fresh seafood dishes work here as well as pakoras, chicken kebabs, grilled vegetables and more. A delicious bottle of rosé and one they should consider getting behind. Club members only.Prices:| BC | $24.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Fort Berens Pinot Noir Rosé 2017
British Columbia, CanadaNo surprises here. Off-dry and juicy, with sweet pear, strawberries, and just enough acidity to keep it from cloying. While it is sweet, the style is not muddled, and if served at the right temperature this could be fun to explore with heavily sauced barbecue or even soya glazed salmon steaks.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Cirro Pinot Noir Rose 2017
Marlborough, South Island, New ZealandTechnically sound cool climate pink with savoury infused cherries and smoky dried herbs. The attack is silky soft with juicy red berry and citrus-lined fruit and just a touch of forest floor to bring it back to ground, so to speak. I suggest mushroom pasta dishes, pork belly, or tuna sushi rolls. Drink all summer.Prices:| BC | $19.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Belle Glos Pinot Noir Blanc Oeil de Perdrix 2016
Sonoma County, California, United StatesThis Sonoma pinot was specifically planted and picked for rosé. The Wagners aren't new to the game; they've been making pinot noir into delicate-hued rosé like this for 40 years. Partial ferment in French oak barrels adds richness and toasty spice to the full bodied, glycerol-bedded fruit. Orange blossoms scents strawberry jam, creamsicle, crystallized violets, candied citrus with a bump of sweetness and an expansiveness to the palate. After the sweetness, the finish is bitter petal, blunted and short, and best remedied with a brisk chill.Prices:| BC | $23.49 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Marqués de Cáceres Rosé 2015
Rioja, SpainThis generously juicy rosado is tempranillo-based, with a splash of four percent garnacha, and sourced from the slopes of Cenicero and Rioja Alavesa from 15-20 years old vines. The deeper hue reflects the skin time and bleeding of this rosé before fermentation in stainless and prevention of MLF. Primary raspberries, red currant, cherries ride a wave of gushing acidity to a spiced, crunchy but sun warmed finish. This is meant to be drunk young and fresh, so this 2015 is ready to go now, with a chill, and chorizo or vegetable paella.Prices:| BC | $19.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $12.75 | 750ml |
| MB | $15.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $14.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $15.25 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Domaine de la Rosiere Jongiuex Rose 2016
Savoie, France#GoGamayGo. This is a lean, light-bodied rosé of gamay from limestone and clay Savoie soils. Pale pink in hue, reflective of a short time on skins before before pressing into tank and 90 days on fine lees. The final wine remains light in body but with a slight lees to blanket the palate. Subtle raspberry, roses, to a spicy finish. Bone dry, with a bright acidity, this was built for food.Prices:| BC | $20.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Clos Siguier La Malice Rosé du Siguier NV
Cahors, Sud-Ouest, FranceUnlike most of Cahors, planted on the flat plains, Clos Siguier is on the highest limestone plateau 500 meter high on the hilltop village of Bagat. Clos Siguier was founded in 1779 and it has been in the Bley family ever since. From youthful malbec vines, this deeply hued rosé is gently pressed with skins and native fermented. Bley allows this wine to do as it pleases; some years it is bone dry, other years it has a swing of residual sugar. This year is the latter, with a bump of strawberry jam coring pink florals, chamomile, baby wipes and some sweet candied orange. There is a swing of balsamic in this natural wine, along with a tightened finish. All in all, disjointed vintage that works less than his other wines.Prices:| BC | $22.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
La Kiuva Rosé de Vallée NV
Aosta Valley, ItalyLa Kiuva is a tiny co-op in the Vallée d'Aoste, and Arnad is a small village in the DOC. This dayglo Coho salmon hued rosé is a blend of nebbiolo, gros vien and neyret from 380 – 500 m and sandy soils. After a 12-hour maceration, this saignée method rose completes fermentation before six months in stainless steel tank and a 2 month stint in the bottle before release. Gushes of watery and youthful raspberry, strawberry, red currant on a medium, bright palate, ending with an appropriately bitter, salty rasp. Cured meats, salty alpine cheeses, lardon-laced salads would welcome this wine. Not overly complex, nor does it need / pretend to be. It's ideal just as it is.Prices:| AB | $14.50 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Lock and Worth Cabernet Franc Rosé 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaPink grapefruit and fresh rhubarb fills the plucky, youthful palate of Lock & Worth's cabernet franc rosé, always one of my highlight wines of summer. This year's version is crunchy when tasted upon release, with bright, brisk cranberry, pomegranate, lemon verbena and lime peel on a shining, joyous, juicy palate. Orange zest shines on the salted, lingering, campari-esque finish. Slender and energetic, this low-interventionist wine was planted 2008 on the Naramata Bench .... . No fining or filtration was employed, and the resultant cloudiness / sediment in the bottom of the bottle is testament to their hands-off approach. Bigger and fruitier than last vintage, this is a joy to drink, and will be consumed liberally this summer at the Trevehouse.Prices:| BC | $22.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Heidi Schrock Rosé Biscaya 2015
Biscaya is a bisque, and this savoury wine takes its name from the hardy regional dish. This is a co-fermented field blend of organic lagrein, teroldego, petit verdot, syrah, merlot, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon from the low hills of Lake Neusiedl, near Rust, and from vines averaging 25 years in age. The palate is thick with glycerol, enabling this streamlined wine to glide with pomegranate, red currents, pomegranate, cherries to a tangy, spiced finish. This is confidently idiosyncratic, serious with a bump of sugar, and it works.Prices:| BC | $25.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
50th Parallel Estate Pinot Noir Rosé 2017
Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaCentral and Southern Okanagan fruit, farmed for rosé, makes up this pale pinot noir-based pink. A long cold soak gives it a slightly funky nose while watermelon, strawberries, cherry gummies and a touch of brown spice coat the palate with a touch of bitterness in the finish. Chill this down and drink on a warm day, or serve with grilled salmon.Prices:| BC | $19.90 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Joseph Mellot Sincérité Pinot Noir Rosé 2015
Loire, FranceThe Mellots have been growing vines and making wine in the Loire Valley since 1513. The investment has paid off; today, Joseph Mellot is the only estate that owns vineyards in every appellations of the Loire. Wines in their second line, Sincerité, are sourced from numerous estate vineyards across the region. Medium coral hue and medium body, with dried florals, red berries, green raspberry spicing and brisk acidity carrying this herbal-hued wine to a snappy finish. Friendly for food, and solo sipping too.Prices:| BC | $27.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Synchromesh Cachola Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc Rosé 2017
Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe Cachola Family vineyard is just north of Oliver in the base of the hills, and winemaker Alan Dickinson uses their cabernet franc in this rosé as well as a red wine. This is picked early and purposeful for this wine, and whole cluster pressed with time on the skins before pressing. Ripe and juicy, with a bump of residual sugar bedding strawberry jam, red grapefruit, orange on a rounder palate (rounder compared to '15 and '16). This is a textural and ample palate, intense with fruit and glycerol on the palate, and surprisingly intense for its 9.8 degrees alcohol. I'd love to see lower sweetness here, so the acid and fruit can shine. Salted melon here through the finish. Comes together with some time in the bottle. Fresh and savoury. 9.8 percent = smashable.Prices:| BC | $23.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Bartier Bros. Rosé 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaA mix of Oliver, Black Sage Terrace and Summerland fruit achieves the perfect, pale colour. The ‘17 is a slightly richer style with the addition of 18 percent muscat to 40 percent chardonnay, 31 gewürztraminer and 11 cabernet franc. It’s all whole cluster-pressed an aged five months on the lees. A mouthwatering citrus, melon, orange tea affair with a clean, floral finish. Very food friendly; simply chill and serve.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
25 April 2018
86PTS
Fort Berens Pinot Noir Rosé 2017
British Columbia, CanadaPouring a deep, day-glo rosy pink, this is a sweet, full rosé of 80/20 pinot noir/gamay. The sugar is matched with prickly acidity and a sprinkle of spice on a round and juicy palate thick with strawberries and cream. Old school style, requiring a brisk chill for best effect.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Bodegas Baron Xixarito Manzanilla NV
Sherry Jerez - Manzanilla, SpainBodegas Baron has a tradition of winemaking dating back to the middle of the 17th century. This is a Manzanilla Pasada en Rama, with Rama indicating it was bottled with very light filtration, straight from the cask. Pasada tells us this is a richer, older Manzanilla, in which the flor has faded. This particular wine has an average age of ten years. This still carries ample pre-oxidative freshness, with salted Marcona almonds, tight lemon pith and showers of chamomile. There's a weight here that reflects its extended age, with a layer of worn wood to a bitter nutshell finish, lingering along with salts. This has the oily body to match with oily fish, like sardines, beautifully.Prices:| BC | $30.00 | 500ml |
Read Full Note
93PTS
Hidalgo El Tresillo Amontillado NV
Sherry Jerez - Manzanilla, SpainEl Tresillo was a card game that older generations of the Hidalgo family played in the bodega. Participants in this leisurely rite would sneak a taste or two from the solera before dealing each round, enough so that the solera eventually adopted the name of the game. Today it is one of Hidalgo’s oldest soleras, and its bottlings are considered a family treasure. This solera was started in 1874. The wine started life as a Fino, matured for more than ten years underneath the flor. It then spent an additional five years in contact with oxygen, changing its characteristics from that of pure Fino to something special - both marked by biological evolution and influenced by the oxidation. Roasted almonds, salted pistachios, subtle smoked peat, some dried tea leaves, dried seville orange, are threaded with a line of caramel and dosed amply with sea salts. Length is fantastic.Prices:| BC | $66.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla NV
Sherry Jerez - Manzanilla, SpainLa Gitana, with the iconic gypsy girl (gitana) on the label, is the most popular Manzanilla on the Spanish market and is the top selling wine in Seville. Its dry delicacy, sea salt freshness and lingering tanginess make it a natural pair for almonds, olives, sardines and cured meats (hola Jamon). The light body and vibrant acidity and salinity also make it a beautiful pairing for sushi. An ideal aperitif.Prices:| BC | $14.00 | 375ml |
| BC | $25.50 | 750ml |
| MB | $17.55 | 750ml |
| QC | $22.30 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Alvear Pedro Ximénez de Anada 2014
Montilla-Moriles, SpainA pierce of piney resin, orange oil, scrubby rosemary on this unctuous golden PX, one that bathes the palate with thick marmalade and auburn maple syrup. Golden raisins and honeysuckle are flecked with walnuts and rancio notes through the exceptionally long finish. Acidity keeps this aloft, even with a staggering 435 g/l RS. This sweet, youthful wine is made with pedro ximenez grapes that were sundried on mats before aging in the traditional earthenware “tinajas”, for at least 12 months.Prices:| BC | $30.00 | 375ml |
Read Full Note
24 April 2018
89PTS
Painted Rock Red Icon 2015
Skaha Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaI’m told they tried to manage the record heat in 2015 at PR but one sip of this giant wine would suggest it was a losing battle. This is a blockbuster red, albeit with a French sensibility, but it's not Skaha this year. The good news is if you love the Napa Valley style this is a poster child, from its rich dark cherry/black raspberry fruit to its roasted earth, cracked pepper and brown spice flavours that mark a sweet and bitter palate, as if the vines shut down too many days due to heat to physiologically fully ripen. Merlot, cabernet franc, malbec, petit verdot, cabernet sauvignon went into 30 percent French oak for 18 months. There will be a willing market for this style but after such a magnificent 2104, I long for the finesse and freshness that is an Okanagan hallmark. Hold mid-term, say five years, or drink now with a favourite cut of steak.Prices:| BC | $47.79 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Château Canada 2015
Bordeaux, FranceChâteau Canada is on a bit of roll, like a lot of the lesser-known Bordeaux properties that are getting their act together. The Château has been around for 155 years and makes wines from 30-year-old vines spread over the rolling hills of Cubzac-les-Ponts. This mix is a 70/30 blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon, averaging 30 years in age, and the style is fresh and modern. The attack is juicy, the fruit much riper than previous editions, with classic dried cherry, earth, cedar and tobacco with a twist of balsamic in the back end. You could drink this now or through 2020 for best results, Steak frites anyone? Solid.Prices:| BC | $19.49 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Oak Bay Vineyard Gebert Family Reserve Meritage 2014
East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaIn what the family terms ‘special years’, the Gebert clan selects their best lots for reserve ageing in French oak. I must say I’m impressed with the recent winemaking and grapes going to the reserve program and the 2014 might be the best yet. Linear but with a modicum of richness, this black cherry-scented red offers up a wealth of tobacco, wet earth and coffee flavours with a few young aggressive tannins drying out the back end. This needs another two to three years in bottle, or if you must, open it with roasted meats.Prices:| BC | $20.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Stag's Hollow Heritage Block 2015
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaA salute to the Bordeaux blend from the south Okanagan involving a 44.5/27/12.5/8.5/7.5 mix of merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and malbec from a very warm year. Each variety is harvested separately and sent to the fermenters as 50 percent whole, uncrushed berries. The ferment is pressed off to finish in a combination of two, three and four-year-old American and French oak before it is racked off and returned to the wood for 18 months. The style is supple and ripe in 2015 with lifted, juicy meaty, almost reductive flavours, punctuated by a strong, savoury, sagebrush thread running from front to back. As I have said, more California than BC this year. Three years of ageing should be sufficient here but you could drink this now with grilled meats, especially spicy sausages, meat pies or richer charcuterie.Prices:| BC | $25.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
80PTS
Augey Bordeaux Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Bordeaux, FranceBitter coffee, dried wood, branch and tar notes dry out quickly and assertively. The palate feels flat and pressed so. Whiffs of sweet cassis waft in, but never materialize. This merlot / cabernet sauvignon is pinched and painful; look elsewhere.Prices:| BC | $13.29 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Hester Creek Character Syrah Petit Verdot Malbec 2016
Golden Mile Bench, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaCharacter Red is an unusual mix of syrah, merlot, petit verdot and malbec that spends 6-8 months in a mix of French and American oak. The nose is improved this year, with less oak and more savoury, brighter fruit intensity. The attack is soft thanks to similar tannins with heaps of black fruit, dried herbs, cocoa and vanilla and roasted meats. Ready to drink with grilled lamb chops or beef kebobs.Prices:| BC | $20.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
23 April 2018
90PTS
Stag's Hollow Renaissance Merlot Stag's Hollow Vineyard 2015
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaA 95/5 merlot/cabernet sauvignon mix, all perfectly ripe in 2015. Expect rich, black cherry fruit aromas and flavours in a structured, soft frame. Rich, plummy Bing cherries fill the glass with chocolate, spice and sagebrush that run through a long finish. Youthful but well structured in a style that is drinkable. This will earn extra complexity with three to five years bottle age. Some 50 percent of the berries were left whole and uncrushed. After a 3-day cold soak the wine is fermented and the juice run off. Then the must is lightly pressed to 2/3 new French oak barrels to finish the ferment before ageing undisturbed for 15 months in wood. Impressive.Prices:| BC | $34.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
92PTS
Lock and Worth Merlot 2017
Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThat's right, a 2017 BC merlot, tasted in March 2018. It's amusing to me that this tiny independent winery, so very much apart from BC's wine politics (no VQA here) and trends, and marketing, consistantly sums up what I love about the potential of Okanagan wine: purity. Merlot is the most planted red grape in BC, but it's not even close to being the best red grape for this province. That said, there are none like this one: lighter bodied, cloudy, textural and singular. From low interventionist producer Lock & Worth, this unfined and unfiltered merlot was planted in 1995 on a sandy 2 acre site on the Naramata Bench. Destemmed and with five days on the skins, this was basket pressed, fermented and aged in neutral French oak for seven months. This vintage shows a sun-warmed dark plum core, wrapped with a dusky web of smoked stone, pipe tobacco, thorny wild blackberry and subtle violet perfume. Tannins are slight, bittersweet cocoa dusted, and supple, and acidity keeps pace to the fruit, holding to the prickly cracked peppercorn finish. This vintage is plumper than last year's greyhound sleek model, and may gain wider appeal because of it. I prefer this with a slight chill.Prices:| BC | $22.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Bartier Bros. Merlot Cerqueira Vineyard 2016
Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe Bartier Merlot comes off the home Cerqueira Vineyard along the Black Sage Terrace in Oliver. The vineyard has a gentle west-facing slope. The soils are dense loam topsoil above gravel with limestone (calcium carbonate) covered granite, quartz, and basalt cobbles throughout a deep profile. The mix in 2016 is 96/4/ merlot/cabernet franc fermented in tank where it was pumped over twice a day for four weeks. There is freshness and nimbleness to the front end, a result of its ageing in neutral French barrels for fourteen months. The nose is a mix of blue/red fruit with a savoury mineral undercurrent. The finish is bright with pleasing stony/silky, black cherry, salty fruit free of any obvious oak with just a brush of tannins to facilitate another five years of bottle aging, if you like your merlot mature. Perfect now with most any of your favourite steak cuts. Super value. Real wine.Prices:| BC | $21.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $21.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
The Velvet Devil Merlot 2015
Columbia Valley, Washington, United StatesAs the name suggests, this is a velveteen and plush merlot, with ripe blackberry jam, cushy plum and cherry blossom. Tannins are soft and nubby at the finish, closing out the dry palate and ending on a short, pinched blueberry note. This everyday merlot requires meat to show its best; think about burgers or ribs.Prices:| BC | $19.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $21.00 | 750ml |
| NS | $19.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $20.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $19.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Hester Creek Terra Unica Old Vines Merlot 2015
Golden Mile Bench, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe Old Vines Merlot is allocated to HC Bench Club members. First planted in 1968, the merlot vines of Italian descent are sourced from Block 13 in the middle of the estate. There is no pressing, leaving only free-run juice eventually aged in three, used, 225-litre French and American oak barriques. There is some old vine concentration here with a mix of earthy/herbal cherry aromas, rich soft round textures and more black cherry fruit wrapped in savoury Okanagan sagebrush through the finish. Perfect for grilled lamb chops or Italian sausages and pasta.Prices:| BC | $32.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
20 April 2018
91PTS
Diamantakos Naoussa 2013
Naousa, Makedonia, GreeceNaoussa is famous among Greek wine regions and home to this xinomavro, one with an amazing mix of power and finesse. If you were to hide this stylish red in a Barolo tasting it would be hard to find. Look for a fragrant nose of red fruits, black cherry, tar and spice. The tannins are slippery in a finish full of dusty, meaty, savoury red fruits, cocoa powder and fresh acidity. Elegantly structured, it seems it could age for ever. Very refined and made with only 13.5 percent alcohol. Production is about 5500 cases.Prices:| BC | $50.34 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Domaine Skouras Nemea Aghiorghtiko 2014
Nemea, Peloponnese, GreeceGermany has nothing on Greece when it comes to wine and grape names as evidenced by this mouthful of a red grape name: agiorgitiko. The fact is it’s about the only struggle you should have with this wine. It’s fermented and macerated in stainless steel vats before ageing in 50 percent used French barrels and 50 percent stainless steel for 12 months, followed by a few more months in bottle at the winery. Old-ish vines (31 years) are grown over clay soils at various altitudes from 250-1000 meters, shaping a generous, soft, round red that fills the mouth. Think pinot noir structure and dusty red fruits with bits of raspberries, brown spices and licorice. A light, quaffable style that would be a versatile luncheon red or party wine.Prices:| BC | $34.69 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Diamantakos Preknadi White 2016
Naousa, Makedonia, GreeceThere is very little white wine made in Naoussa, but one of the best is made with a local variety called preknadi. It has a similarity to northern Rhone whites, yet despite its rich, fruity nature it has a sense of refinement and balance that keeps the wine from spilling all about your mouth. The floral fruit is organically grown and spends only a brief time in oak to stay fresh and clean. Yellow fruits and red apple and peach notes ride out the finish. It’s the restraint and balance that makes this wine so inviting and food friendly. Serve with a seafood risotto, or lemon-roasted chicken.Prices:| BC | $43.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Domaine Skouras Moscofilero 2016
Peloponnese, GreeceFrom Peloponnese, this 100-percent Moscofilero overdelivers in the glass. It gets some short skin contact, a stainless-steel ferment and a bit of mouth building lees contact, but it doesn’t go through any acid flattening malolactic fermentation. The nose is floral with spicy jasmine notes, honeysuckle and roses. The palate is a crisp with a mouthwatering attack of acidity mixed with white flowers and orange, all with purity and length. The 33-year-old vineyards in Mantinia sit at 2,400 feet above sea level, basking in cool afternoon breezes. Understated opulence. Marquis Wine Cellars only.Prices:| BC | $32.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
19 April 2018
89PTS
JoieFarm Pinot Blanc 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaBack on form after the bloated 2015, the 2017 is awash in freshness and bright acidity from front to back. The fruit comes off a 40-year-old Kelowna vineyard located in the Mission District of Kelowna. Green apple skin notes preview a tightly wound white with a lovely balance of ripe, melon fruit and a delicate minerality throughout the long juicy, almond-flecked finish. A super wine for seafood.Prices:| BC | $24.90 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Nichol Vineyard Two Barrels Pinot Gris 2017
Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaOrange, mandarin fill this youthful pinot gris, kept tight with apricot fuzz and green apple, and tightly gripped with citrus sherbet fountain. Lighter in hue than their infamous and iconic pinot gris, this is bottled with the older Nichol label and with frosted glass to differentiate it. Minerality rings through this crunchy wine to a salty, snappy, mouthwatering finish.Prices:| BC | $30.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Domaine Rolet Crémant du Jura 2013
Jura, FranceCreamy red and brisk green apple, white flowers, mountain herbs, grapefruit and a kiss of vanilla pod perfume lines the lees bed of this chardonnay / poulsard / pinot noir blend from Jura. Twenty months on the lees builds creamy depth, while the soils and altitude contribute to the brisk acidity. Lighter fizz with a little edgy interest.Prices:| BC | $33.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
92PTS
Nichol Vineyard Pinot Gris 2017
Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis iconic orange-hued wine steals hearts every year; it's one I look forward to tasting, and then stocking up on. The idiosyncratic hue show's the grape's gris side, and is the result of 36 hours on the skins in open tops fermenters before pressing for fermentation in old French barriques and two-tonne open top fermenters for a few months before being bottled with gentle filtration. Valencia orange, tangerine, apricot fuzz streams the length of this long wine, gripped on the sides by mineral salts and propelled with a grapefruit-laced acidity. There's a skim of lees cushioning the palate and a snapy orange citrus on the lengthy finish. Mouthwatering and welcoming now in youth, but with the structure to deepen with a few years' age (trust me). Once again, stock up.Prices:| BC | $23.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Niepoort Dialogo Douro Branco 2016
Douro Superior, Douro Valley, Northern Portugal, PortugalThis youthful white may show a comic on the label, but make no mistake, this is a serious wine, from one of the world's top winemakers, Dirk Niepoort. From schistous, mica-flecked vineyards on the right bank of the Douro, between 550-700m, this blend of indigenous Portuguese white grapes is native fermented in a split between stainless and older French barriques (30 percent), no MLF, where it remains for eight months. In 2016, the blend is 20-50 year old rabigato, códega do larinho, gouveio, dona branca, viosinho, bical and others. Tight, mineral-laced green fig, lemon thistle, meadow herbs and fine salts over a creamy bed of lees, all youthful and highly quaffable. This line of Fabulous Wines (Branco and Tinto) are sold worldwide, the scale of which makes this wine even more impressive -- especially considering the price.Prices:| QC | $17.00 | 750ml |
| BC | $25.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Barone di Villagrande Etna Bianco 2016
Sicily, ItalyThis is a wine that benefits from time, and not over chilling; let this relax and unknit in the glass some before drinking (liberally). The pixellated minerality will spill out of the glass, carried with subtle and alluring reductive notes, pine nuts, lemon thistle, meadow herbs, quince blossom and pear skin. Etna Bianco Superiore can only come from the village of Milo, embracing and facing the sea breezes, and from 700m altitude. This is forty-year-old carricante (with ten percent other autochthonous grapes) that is harvested early and spends ten months in stainless. The finish lingers with seawater freshness and salted citrus. Serious wine; best enjoyed at cellar temperature and with octopus, scallops or white fish now, or better yet, your cellar.Prices:| BC | $35.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Vincent Caille Gros Plant du Pays Nantais 2014
Pays Nantais, Loire, FranceIt's lovely to see Nantais through a different lens than melon de bourgogne, the grape of Muscadet. In the hands of 5th generation winemaker, Vincent Caillé, along with wife Sylvie and two younger brothers, they farm 26ha biodynamically and organically, across three terroirs (orthogneiss, gabbro and granite). This is folle blanche, aka gros plant, from the same special mineral-rich soils of his memorable Muscadets. This wine is made in underground concrete tanks, glass lined at the top, where it remains for eight months. Like Muscadet this is driven by acidity, however the concrete gives this tart, tangy wine some texture and body. Green, tight, herbal, and sour grapefruit on the tight and lean palate. Acidity prickles on the spiced finish. With its herbal twang, this matches well with pickled / fermented foods, with like matching like. I would prefer to taste a more recent vintage, with a closer capture of fresh fruit.Prices:| BC | $16.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
18 April 2018
88PTS
TintoNegro Limestone Block Malbec 2015
Tunuyán, Central Region, Mendoza, ArgentinaNot the best vintage to assess this wine, opening with a slightly reductive, meaty, red fruit nose. The colour is red black, the latter referring to its Tinto Negro moniker. Limestone Block is grown at the 4000-foot mark over limestone outcrops. The attack is a mix of sweet cassis and black fruit with a soft chalky smoky finish. A bit lean and representative of the year, but overall a solid mid-week red for beef or hard cheese.Prices:| BC | $23.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Christophe Pacalet Cote de Brouilly 2016
Côte de Brouilly, Beaujolais Villages, Beaujolais, Burgundy, FranceChristophe Pacalet is the nephew of revered biodynamic and naturalist wine pioneer Marcel Lapierre, and with advice and support from his uncle Marcel, he took a leap of faith in 1999 and opened his own boutique winery. He raises all his crus in neutral Burgundy barrels, employs minimal intervention and makes wines from various Beaujolais crus, expressing the distinct terroir. This Cru Bojo comes from the distinct granite, diorite (volcanic rock) and schist soils of Côte de Brouilly. This was carbonically macerated at cool temperatures, fermented wild, before 6-9 months on fine lees, without any sulphur inputs. Pouring a dusky, cloudy hue (hinting to its unfined and unfiltered heritage), this has a pure core of bright, natural plum. There's a youthful wrap of wild blueberry, brambleberry and pink peppercorn spicing that is hemmed in by fine, tight tannins, and kept aloft with pixellated acidity. A thread of perfumed blue/purple florals weaves throughout this light on its feet wine (12.5 percent). For drinking now, liberally, with a slight chill.Prices:| BC | $32.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
La Pause 2016
Loire, FranceWhen young Frenchman-turned NYC chef turned-vigneron Laurent Saillard was offered to purchase half of the organically farmed Clos Roche Blanche vineyard in the Loire Valley's tiny village of Pouillé in 2015, he jumped at the offer. He's been busy transforming the estate, uprooting diseased vines, and focusing on small-yield quality. This is gamay grown on limestone over clay, with eight months in old vats before unfiltered bottling (expect harmless sediment). From first whiff, there's a stony clay thread running through the medium body, pushed up with perfumed cherry, raspberry, and sea salts. A brisk and frisky acidity streams a fine thread to the lingering white pepper dusted finish. A simple, uncomplicated joy, especially with a light chill.Prices:| BC | $32.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
92PTS
Jean-Marc Burgaud Cote du Py Reserve 2014
Beaujolais, Burgundy, France#GoGamayGo. Jean Marc Burgaud is one of the starlight young guns of new Beaujolais, founding his eponymous winery with his wife Christine in 1989. They farm only their own vineyards, the heart of which are clustered in Morgon's famed Cotes du Py (13ha). His youngest vines are 50+ years old. Youthful plum, wild, thorny / grippy blackberry is braced with acidity and finely grippy tannins. Orange peel is prominent, as is astringent black tea, as is acidity. All this deftly sets off a youthful, medium-bodied and tight palate. 7 barrels made, ready for drinking now, but certainly structured for aging. Real wine.Prices:| BC | $35.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Oak Bay Vineyard Gamay Noir 2015
East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe vineyard is in year two of its final transition to certified organic. This is a very friendly style of gamay, soft in tannins and rich in lightly smoky notes, black cherry fruit aromas and flavours. The texture is very silky and inviting glass after glass before it finishes up with the perfect amount of acidity mixed between a dusty, peppery finish. A warm year has given this wine an extra layer of flesh that it wears well. Planted in 1964, 1990, 1999 at 350-440m on clay, sand and gravels, it is fermented in stainless steel tanks and French and American oak.Prices:| BC | $18.50 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Jean-Paul Brun Le Ronsay Beaujolais 2016
Beaujolais, Burgundy, France#GoGamayGo. Brilliant value for this young Beaujolais, an "entry tier" wine composed of young vines (still 20+ years) and made through the same low-interventionist philosophy that governs all of legendary Jean-Paul Brun's wines. Rock roses, wild raspberry, white peppercorn, sapid herbals rush through this lean, charming, light bodied and highly quaffable wine. Tannins are bamboo fine, housing this to a peppery finish. Honest, characterful, authentic; I challenge anyone who says they don't like gamay to not like this real wine.Prices:| BC | $22.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Blue Mountain Gamay Noir 2016
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaOpen, somewhat meaty, reductive nose with plum and black fruit. The attack is soft and fleshy with an odd combination of skinny, fleshy, floral, raspberry that dissipates quickly in the aftertaste. A blend of estate vines from 9 to 27-years-old, it was aged 16 months in French barriques and two 500L puncheons. Unexpectedly ordinary this year. Ready to drink.Prices:| BC | $22.90 | 750ml |
| AB | $26.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Blue Mountain Gamay Noir 2016
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaDeeper crimson in hue, reflective of the deeper plum, black raspberry, violet fruit filling this fleshy palate. This youthful wine requires a decant to blow off some reduction now. A blend of 9-27 year old estate vines, this saw 20 days maceration and native ferment before 16 months in French oak and two 500L puncheons. Like last year, I'm left wanting more snap in this gamay. Soft, lightly smokey and somewhat soupy / hollow on the palate, this lacks the juicy vibrance that makes gamay so effortlessly charming.Prices:| BC | $22.90 | 750ml |
| AB | $26.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
17 April 2018
90PTS
Le Macchiole Bolgheri Rosso 2015
Bolgheri, Tuscany, ItalyThe Macchiole Bolgheri Rosso begins its second decade of production in 2015, performing a role it was created for, working with highly vetted select blocks of the youngest fruit on the 26-hectare property. The ’15 is a 60/30/10 blend of merlot, cabernet franc/sauvignon and sangiovese. Some 80 percent is aged in older three to five-year old barrels, and the remainder goes in concrete, both of which help to release the fruit into the glass. The goal was drinkable wine, but not a simple wine, and the family insists it’s not a second choice. Expect a classic, savoury Bolgheri nose with more red fruits than black. They pick the merlot earlier to maintain its acidity and leave the other varieties to provide ripeness and weight. In fact, the wine is both silky and stylish with a complex finish of black olives and spice. The Bolgheri Rosso is the Macchiole “calling card” at 130,000 of the 170,000 bottles produced.Prices:| BC | $46.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $45.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $33.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $34.95 | 750ml |
| NS | $44.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
94PTS
Le Macchiole Messorio 2012
Bolgheri, Tuscany, ItalyMessorio (the workers who harvest the grain) is the flagship red of Le Macchiole. It’s one hundred percent merlot and each year it is fussed over from bud break to bottling. The yields are low, the fermentation is done in wooden vats while the ageing runs 18 months in 75 percent new French oak barrels and 25 percent second year wood. Production is limited to approximately 10,000 bottles per vintage. The 2012 has a certain elegance that reminds us of owner Cinzia Merli who has poured her heart into this project. Texture is something you expect from merlot but it’s the structure that sets Messorio apart, adding a framework to showcase its many layers of flavours and nuance. Messorio is wine that bucks the merlot trend in that it needs time to reach its apex. Don’t be fooled by its supple, silky textures or inviting savoury red fruit flavours; there is still plenty to come. What’s remarkable about Bolgheri reds is their ability to mimic the exquisite scents of the Mediterranean coast.Prices:| BC | $292.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $325.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $232.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
93PTS
Le Macchiole Paleo Rosso 2009
Bolgheri, Tuscany, ItalyPaleo is 100 percent cabernet franc, a variety seemingly made for Bolgheri. The ’09 Bolgheri vintage gave us a rich, hedonistic Paleo although some of that exuberance and fruit has thankfully dissipated over the last nine years, leaving a more complex wine of mixed red plums and cherries with a spicy, smoky, dried herbs undercurrent and a long, silky elegant finish. Not as complex as most years but a sheer delight to drink now. Try this with a favourite steak cut.Prices:| BC | $149.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $135.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
16 April 2018
89PTS
Giovanni Rosso Barbera d'Alba Donna Margherita 2015
Serralunga, Cuneo, Piedmont, ItalyOwner-winemaker David Rosso runs the 40-acre, family-owned estate in the heart of Serralunga d’Alba with the philosophy that his wines should reflect their origins. The family was growing vines for more than a hundred years when Giovanni Rosso began an estate-bottling program in 1995 exploring 11 separate parcels that include blocks in the prime Barolo vineyards of La Serra, Vigna Rionda and Cerretta. Rosso switched from stainless steel tanks to concrete for his Barolo production and has gone down a natural path with yeasts as well as moving to unfined and unfiltered at bottling. Expect an attractive, fresh, cherry-scented and flavoured red with savoury, earthy undertones streaked with dried herbs and a classic hint of toasted almonds. The freshness masks some of its structure but you can be sure this will age handsomely for a decade or more. A very food-friendly red; think mushroom dishes, beef pastas, and sausages. Real wine at a fair price.Prices:| BC | $25.93 | 750ml |
| ON | $30.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
0PTS
Elio Filippino Barbera d'Alba Vigna Veja 2013
Piedmont, ItalyCorked. Try another.Prices:| BC | $32.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Elio Filippino Barba Cesco Barbera d'Alba Superiore 2014
Piedmont, ItalyBarba Cesco is a nod to the family’s Uncle Francesco the original owner of the vineyard. The bouquet is floral with a subtle mocha, vanilla, undercurrent. The entry is crazy soft and round yet with an inviting texture and fine length. Less acidic than the norm and with more oak then you might expect but in the entire picture it is well-crafted and balanced. Savoury pastas, roasted meats and or turkey all work here. It is 100% Barbera selected from the best vineyards on the hillsides of Serra Capelli and San Cristoforo in Neive. Post ferment the wine ages in barrique for 18-20 months and then rests in the bottle for another 10 months. This family-run winery sits in the heart of the District of Neive, among the rolling hills of the Langhe zone. Elio Filippino is the current winemaker employing traditional winemaking techniques along with biodynamic vineyard practices. Impressive.Prices:| BC | $47.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
13 April 2018
90PTS
Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2016
Aconcagua Costa, Valle de Aconcagua, Region de Aconcagua, ChileThis wine has impressed me from the day it was launched. It’s first class Chilean sauvignon, and should be widely available in BC, but for some reason it’s off the radar of retailers and restaurants. The vines are grown at the Manzanar Vineyard, Aconcagua Costa, only 12 kilometers from the cool Pacific Ocean. Very little pre-maceration has led to a beautifully structured, aromatic, complex white wine that dances across the palate with herbal, mineral, guava, passion fruit flavours. Delicacy and tension is the story. This wine was made for oysters. Even if it can’t make the cut in local private wine shops (Chilean bias is my guess), it does reside on the reserve wine list at Earls across Canada, at a very modest price. Delicious. Real wine.Prices:| BC | $24.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Vina Casablanca Nimbus Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Valle de Casablanca, Region de Aconcagua, ChileNimbus is a reference to the clouds that mark the valleys of Chile and the vineyard located in the coolest, westernmost area of the Casablanca valley. The soil is granite over bedrock, providing the perfection foundation for roots to go deep. Morning fog keeps the heat in check, slowing maturation throughout the growing season. The nose is a muted tropical fruit affair with floral, litchi and passionfruit, but with no aggressive esters. The attack is fresh, balanced and with creamy, mineral, grassy, fruit flavours. Most any seafood works here. Real wine.Prices:| AB | $14.25 | 750ml |
| BC | $27.95 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Loveblock Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Awatere Valley, Marlborough, South Island, New ZealandThough you may not be familiar with Loveblock, the winery based in the Lower Awatere valley of Marlborough, you most certainly have heard of its owner and winemaker, Kim Crawford. After achieving sizable success with his eponymous label, Kim and his wife Erica sold that winery, and after some well-deserved rest, opened this personal wine farm. Their estate vineyards grow on the hills of the Awatere, collecting freshness via altitude and breezes. Organically farmed, most of this wine spent its time in stainless, with seven percent aged in neutral French oak for six month (also undergoing MLF). Unmistakably Kiwi savvy, and inherently Awatere, with its cooler, fresher profile of white grapefruit, lemon pith, starfruit, pineapple rind and lime. A fine layer of lees coats the palate and buffers the intense acidity and fruit. Shy, this is not, but balanced it sure is.Prices:| BC | $29.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Capture Tradition Sauvignon Blanc 2016
United StatesThe Captûre motto is 'classic Bordeaux winemaking in the rugged Mayacamas Mountains'. Established in 2008, Captûre is working in remote high-elevation vineyards in Sonoma, Napa, and Lake Counties. Captûre targets vineyards within Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Spring Mountain District, and Lake County, all appellations at the untamed edges of mainstream wine regions, and ones that see more wildlife visitors than human ones. The flagship label is the Tradition Sauvignon Blanc, it’s stainless steel fermented and aged on its lees for ten months. The style is bright with citrus, lime pith and peach and just that hint of richness that comes from the California sun. The fruit is 76/24 Sonoma County/Lake County.Prices:| BC | $50.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
12 April 2018
93PTS
Champagne Pierre Gimonnet Brut Cuis 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs NV
Côte des Blancs, Champagne, FranceThis understated 1er cru is impressive time immemorial. Didier, third generation of the Gimonnet family, oversees this small Côtes des Blancs grower champagne house. This wine, like all of their chardonnay-centric wines, is crystal crisp and bright, with driving linearity through to the lingering finish. Five different harvests in the cuvée provide depth and complexity to this 1er cru, though the base is youthful, keeping the freshness and the piercing acidity of Cuis prominent. This bottle was disgorged in January 2015, and showing notes of maturity. Nougat, green apple, sea salt, elderflower and lemon open onto schisty complexity, showing a base of brioche dough, with chalky purity, vivacious intensity and a shimmery, saline-laced lemon pith to the finish. Chardonnay’s pure elegance and finesse, with a shadow of bottle age, perfectly expressed.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
11 April 2018
89PTS
Meyer Family Vineyards Méthode Traditionnelle Extra Brut NV
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaMakes perfect sense that one of the Okanagan's chardonnay and pinot noir specialists has turned their hand to traditional method sparkling wine. MFV's Méthode Traditionelle Extra Brut sees 70 percent Chardonnay and 30 percent Pinot Noir remain for two years in stainless, undergoing full MLF, before blending and bottling for secondary fermentation under crown cap in the summer of 2014. The bottles were then aged on lees for 20 months and were disgorged from May 2016 through to June 2016. In lieu of dosage, this was topped up with 2014 blanc de blanc base wine, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Shining green apple leads this firm frame, with bright mineral, salts, citrus trailing across a bed of river stones. The lees is ever present on the creamy base, and carries an aged sheen of gingerale and spice on a prickly palate to the sharp finish. Good intensity, great acidity, and drinking well now. 550 cases made.Prices:| BC | $34.88 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Jaillance Crémant de Bordeaux Brut Rosé Cuvée de l'Abbaye NV
Bordeaux, FranceThree years down the road, the Crémant de Bordeaux Appellation, established in 1990, has upped its game. It’s all merlot and its aged for 18 months in a cool cellar carved out of a quarry. It’s the texture and elegance here that attracts. There is an ethereal, herbal, red fruit character that barley penetrates the outer layers of the wine but overall, it’s a very acceptable bubble well suited to food. Try this with a mixed charcuterie plate or seafood fritters. Ready to drink.Prices:| BC | $23.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Varichon & Clerc Privilege Blanc de Blancs NV
Savoie, FranceThe official proclamation of the small AOC Seyssel in 1973 (only 220 acres under vine) was the first sparkling wine AOC in France after Champagne. This was très bon for Varichon & Clerc. Winemaking in Seyssel was recorded for the first time in the 12th Century (1145), and further developed under the monks from the 14th century onward. Seyssel is where Varichon & Clerc was established in 1901, making them one of the region’s oldest and most important wine houses making Traditional Method fizz. They were purchased by the Boisset family in the 1990s. This wine is a blend of ugni blanc, colombard, chenin, chardonnay and jacquère, aged for 15 months on the lees, and given a dosage of 12 g/l. Though brut, the sugar sticks out here, first on the nose (fruit loops) and then on the palate, slapping candied peach, light toast, dried mango on a sharp, crunchy palate. Acidity is high, intention is valid, and the framework is good, but this falls a bit on the bittersweet orange finish. I'd love to see some of their drier fizz, where the fruit isn't jockeying for position with the RS. Best enjoyed with a good chill.Prices:| BC | $24.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Rinaldini Pjcol Ross Lambrusco Brut NV
Emilia-Romagna, ItalyForget about the sweet and candied Lambruscos of your past. This is serious, dry, handmade metodo classico (traditional method) from the ancient, rare and endangered original Lambrusco grape: pjcol ross. The Rinaldinis are the only producer of pjcol ross varietal wines today, a grape that exists in only three vineyards. It was rediscovered by Rinaldo Rinaldini in the 1970s when he took over the vineyard. This tiny family owned winery is between Reggio Emilia and Parma in Emilia-Romagna at the foothills of Matilda de Canossa. This Metodo Classico is full of balsamic imbued black plum, pitchy thorns, with a tight fist of stony spice from the core to the brisk finish. Bubbles are slight, acidity is high, tannins are grippy, and the feel is rustic authenticity. This spent one year on the lees, and is a solid match for wild pork or boar.Prices:| BC | $38.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Caves São João Bruto Reserva 2015
Bairrada, Northern Portugal, PortugalCaves São João was established in 1920 by brothers José, Manuel and Albano Costa. After initially specializing in selling Douro wines, they turned their focus on their home region of Bairrada. This reserva bruto is a classical method dry, toasty blend of bical, chardonnay, maria gomes and arinto, fermented in stainless before a year on lees in bottle. Ripping acidity lifts bitter lemon, pear skin, green fruits, dried chamomile flowers, with a finish verging on harsh due to the bracing acids. Suitable for an aperitif with olives, anchovies or bacalao croquettes with aioli.Prices:| BC | $23.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Casebianchi La Matta Vino Spumante Blanco Dossagio Zero Fiano 2016
Campania, ItalyBitter lemon, elderflower, pear fill this light, natural, biodynamic pet nat from Campania. Brusque acidity lifts fiano's soft palate to a faintly humming, sour citrus finish. No sulfur, undisgorged and unfiltered, the winery recommends mixing the lees into the wine (tilt upside down gently a few times) before opening. La Matta means 'the crazy one' in Italian; perhaps a few folks thought Elisabetta and husband Pasquale were a touch crazy to leave their home in Naples to take over her aging father's farm in Torchiara. But the couple wanted to raise their children connected to the land, and now are in charge of farming the 5.5ha of biodynamic vines on the 14ha property.Prices:| US | $17.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
10 April 2018
88PTS
Barone di Valforte Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2015
Abruzzo, ItalyThis wine surprises with its gushing mulberry, black cherry, black plum fruit that spills across the palate. Medium bodied, it jumps to life with some lively mid-palate acidity touched with a bit of smoke and tannin. Grilled pork or lamb chops would be the ticket here or a meaty pizza. This was vinified in stainless before spending ten months in French oak. The Sorricchio family has owned the baronial fief of Valforte since the 13th Century and the Tenute Barone di Valforte vineyards cover 42 hectares in various communes in the Teramo hills, a prized place for the montepulciano grape.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
92PTS
Azienda Agricola COS Nero di Lupo 2015
Sicily, ItalyCOS is a joint project between three friends, the initials of which make up this iconic naturalist winery's name. Their dedication to Sicily, and their inherited bush vines around the city of Vittoria, province of Ragusa, enabled them to make the first ever DOCG wine of Sicily. Nero di Lupo is 100 percent nero d'avola, grown at 230m on the red soiled, limestone laced soils. Native fermented on skins in concrete, this is liquorice lashed black plum, wild blackberry, thorns, truffle, oregano, streaming through a surprisingly light-bodied, gentle palate, lined with iron. There's a very salty snap uprighting the soft tannins, bourne of the soils and formed through the time in concrete. Sweet spices close out the haunting finish. Authenticity rules all; this is a real wine of place and time.Prices:| BC | $48.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Azienda Agricola COS Frappatto Terre Siciliane 2016
Sicily, ItalyCOS is a joint project between three friends, the initials of which make up this iconic naturalist winery's name. Their dedication to Sicily, and their inherited bush vines around the city of Vittoria, province of Ragusa, enabled them to make the first ever DOCG wine of Sicily. This is frappato di vittoria, grown at 230m on the red soiled, limestone laced soils. Native fermented on skins in concrete, this captures frappato's delicate and ephemeral perfume, with effortless herbal scrub, bergamot, dried florals, wild raspberry, fine rasped pink pepper to a savoury, very lengthy finish. The limestone-laced soils lend to the minerality and brightness here. Tannins are whisper fine and persistent. Exactly what I want to drink, copiously, cellar-temperatured, now and for the next few years.Prices:| BC | $45.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Odjfell Armador Estate Selection Carmenère Organic Wine 2016
Region del Valle Central, ChileA blend of Maipo and Maule 20-year-old fruit, this is a round, soft, ripe, carmenère (with 14 percent malbec) with big aromas and flavours. There was a 4-6 day whole-berry maceration prior to fermentation. The resulting juice went to tank and 25 percent into used oak barrels for four months. An intensive mix of peppery, black fruits that spill onto a palate of licorice, dried herbs, tobacco, black pepper, chocolate and black cherry. A solid red made with certified organic fruit. Good value.Prices:| BC | $16.49 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Torrevento Torre del Falco Nero di Troia 2015
Puglia, ItalyThe fruit grows at 350 to 450 metres above sea level on the hills of Apulia. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel for ten months. The nose is Mediterranean fragrant with vibrant black raspberry and cherry notes. The attack is soft and juicy with round sweet tannins and a push of acid at the back end. A grilled chicken pasta or a favourite meaty pizza is the match.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Luccarelli Primitivo 2016
Puglia, ItalySolid most years, negroamaro is the zinfandel of southern Italy, offering spicy, plum/prune/fig fruit and savoury dried herb aromas and flavours. The palate is soft, ripe and warm with black cherries, chocolate, balsamic notes with a touch of acidity poking through a low tannin finish. Order up a pizza and twist off the cap.Prices:| BC | $14.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Mountain Fish Agiorgitiko 2015
Nemea, Peloponnese, GreeceOpening with a prickle of spritz, this agiorgitiko is bright sour cherry, plum and blackcurrant on an eager palate. The palate is silky, though tannins are powdery and dark cocoa dusted to a snappy, shorter finish. Sourced from deep clay soiled mountainous vineyards in Asprokambos and Psari, in Nemea, this was whole cluster fermented with two weeks on the skins, prior to six months in tank before bottling.Prices:| BC | $18.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Masseria Surani Heracles Primitivo 2015
Puglia, ItalyOne of the Tommasi family estates, they have purchased 80ha of land in Manduria, in the Salento area, for this primitivo-driven project. Heracles is 100 percent primitivo, fermented in stainless before ten months in oak. Rustic, ripe and compact, with ample ragged tannins housing black, sinewy fruits, dark chocolate cherry, olives, and bitter anise. The finish is drying, and you can feel the burning heat of the sun even in a surprising 13.5 degrees alcohol. Best matched with hearty ragu or red meat stews.Prices:| BC | $25.99 | 750ml |
| NS | $20.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $19.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Feudi di San Gregorio Sirica 2014
Campania, ItalyBrooding dark plum, boysenberry is infiltrated with black pepper, tobacco, and subtle sapid resin in this alluring, medium bodied red from Campania. Tannins are slender, but astringently raspy, finishing with an herbal/medicinal echo. This is from the centuries-old sirica grape, rediscovered by the winery's agronomists. They found three giant plants, 200-years-old, growing in Taurasi, and quickly determined they were not agliancio, the dominant red in the area. DNA testing showed traces of refosco, teroldego and syrah, and the newly known grape was determined as sicira (a name that Pliny the Elder refers to in ancient Roman times). The viticultural team did a selction to reproduce the plant, and now the winery has near to two ha of sirica vines. The wine is aged in barriques for twelve months, followed by a nine-month stint in bottle. This blends the newly planted six-year-old plants with those growing for 200 years.Prices:| BC | $44.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Stag's Hollow Dolcetto Shuttleworth Creek Vineyard 2016
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaDolcetto is Italian for the "little sweet one." The moment this juicy, dark-berry scented red hits your palate it pulls at your heart. It's fresh, earthy, black raspberry/cassis fruit finishes with a twist of kirsch in a bed of soft tannins. A classic from winemaker Dwight Sick in what is a fresh look at a quirky Italian grape that will have you running to a wine guide to investigate. A soft, red-fruited style, it is well-suited to charcuterie, mushroom & sausage pasta and or root vegetables. Harvested by hand over 4 separate dates due to desiccation. Fermented in small 1-ton open top fermenter and a 5-ton sidekick using a combination of both wild and selected yeasts. Punch downs are limited to two to four times a day for 15-18 days; press and racked into a concrete tank and neutral oak barrels and bottled without fining or filtration.Prices:| BC | $21.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
J. Hofstatter Lagrein 2015
Trentino- Alto-Adige, ItalyThe 50-hectare J. Hofstätter estate vineyards are situated in South Tyrol, with vineyards along the steep slopes of both sides of the broad valley. They are one of the largest family estates in the region, now run by 4th generation. Lagrein is indigenous to Alto Adige, and in their estate vineyards and this wine, was planted more than thirty years ago. Grapes are destemmed and crushed before ten days fermentation in contact with the skins and solids, warming at the finish to extract additional dark florals and grip from the lagrein grape's leathery skins. Chewy tannins are ample, but handled well and integrated, very smartly suited to the black plum, damson berry, forest floor that coats the soft, downy, low acid palate, with persistent nutmeg and five spicing to the cola finish. I expected, and craved, more freshness here.Prices:| BC | $32.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Contrada Santo Spirito di Passopisciaro Etna Animardente 2014
Sicily, ItalyContrada Santo Spirito is a project of Antonio Moretti Cuseri, the owner of iconic properties Tenuta Sette Ponti and Podere Orma in Tuscany, and Feudo Maccari in Sicily. Morretti fell in love with the 14 ha estate planted to autochthonous grapes between 500-700m, located between Passopisciaro and Randazzo, on the slopes of Mount Etna. This nerello mascalese is crafted from 60+ year old ungrafted vines, fermented in wood and stainless, where it rested for six months. Anise, red liquorice, red florals, dried strawberry, worn leather, tobacco and walnut shells fill the textural, lighter-bodied palate, scented with raspberry, wild cherry, thorns, and gripped with herbal, fine hewn tannins. Subtle soil salts linger on the finish, brightining the finish, and contreyveying the 14.5 degrees alcohol. Rabbit, wild mushrooms would make an excellent pair.Prices:| BC | $79.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Lake Sonoma Zinfandel 2014
Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California, United StatesI love this round, friendly Dry Creek zin and its savoury, black fruit nose that draws you into the glass. The attack is juicy with lively red and black cherry with smoky, bramble, cinnamon dust. The finish is smooth, round and refreshing. Good value barbecue red. There's 11 petite sirah in the blend, and it spends two years in French and European oak barrels (17 percent new).Prices:| BC | $24.49 | 750ml |
| AB | $25.50 | 750ml |
| QC | $26.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $29.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $29.79 | 750ml |
| PEI | $30.25 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Meinklang Zweigelt 2015
AustriaMeinklang is one of the darlings of the natural / hipster / sommelier set, and this wine lives up to its darling reputation. Biodynamically grown (Demeter certified) estate zweigelt was native fermented in neutral oak and small tanks. Highly perfumed black raspberry, downy thorns, underbrush, mushrooms, wild strawberry, potent white peppery channels down a medium bodied, streamlined palate. There's a slim mud of tannins around the sides that houses all this earthy, forested savouriness to a dusky cherry finish. Zweigelt is a friendly, bright grape, and here shows all of its earnest charm.Prices:| BC | $30.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Barone di Valforte Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2014
Abruzzo, ItalyCrushed boysenberries, mulberries, black plums, medicinal cherry sides this montepulciano from Abruzzo. Medium bodied, with a swell of acidity and finely gritty tannins to a smoked, bitter cherry finish, welcoming lamb or pork loin. This was vinified in stainless before ten months in French oak. The Sorricchio family has owned the baronial fief of Valforte since the 13th Century and the Tenute Barone di Valforte vineyards cover 42 hectares in various communes in the Teramo hills, a prized place for montepulciano.Prices:| BC | $17.79 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
09 April 2018
89PTS
Tedeschi Lucchine Valpolicella Classico 2016
Pedemonte Valpolicella, Verona, Veneto, ItalyFrom the Lucchine vineyard at the foot of the Pedemonte hills of the heartland of Valpolicella, this is a 25-year-old clay and limestone rooted blend of corvina, corvinone, rondinella, molinara, rossignola, negrara, and dindarella. Stainless fermented, then rested, for a brief two months, this is a humble, charming Valpo with bright, sapid red fruit, perfumed florals, smoked stones, tobacco leaves, and fine, taut tannins to an alluring salt snap finish. Lower in alcohol (12.5 degrees), this red is eager for a slight chill and to be paired with your pork or game birds.Prices:| BC | $0.00 | 750ml |
| BC | $21.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Pra Morandina Valpolicella 2016
Pedemonte Valpolicella, Verona, Veneto, ItalyMorello cherry, wild raspberry on this charming, light/medium bodied Valpo, with pretty florals, a tuggy tension around the sides and a juicy, buoyant acidity on the palate. The finish is light bitter cherry and savoury sapidity. Lovely confidence and finesse here from Prà, one of the region's most progressive and interesting producers (and this is their "entry-level" red). This wine welcomes a chill and wild mushroom dish now, though is easily cellar-worthy short term.Prices:| BC | $29.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
06 April 2018
88PTS
50th Parallel Estate Gewurztraminer 2017
Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaI like this juicy style of gewürztraminer: long on flavour and fruit and a little less focused on the heavier, oily style. The nose is fresh and aromatic with a bright floral rose/orange/citrus theme. The palate is similar with bits of fresh litchi, ginger, spice and honeydew melon. Balanced and clean, this is a food magnet. I like it with fish tacos, spicy tuna sushi rolls, fresh crab or a spicy pork rice dish. Good value.Prices:| BC | $19.90 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Meyer Gewurztraminer 2016
Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaSweet perfumed pear, lime blossom, starfruit fill this lean framed but voluptuous gewürztraminer, a grape that struggles in the Okanagan. Here, however, gew's lushness meets Okanagan Falls acidity, via this single McLean Creek vineyard wine. Planted in 1994 on sandy and gravel loams, this was picked in stages, partial whole bunch, partial skin contact, and entirely native fermented, long and cool in stainless and older French oak where it was left on lees for a further three months post ferment. Mid-sweet, but with lime-laced acidity to counter, this is a level of attention not oft seen in gew in Canada, and it shows. I've found Meyer Family Vineyards' wines need time in bottle after release to really shine, and this is one example.Prices:| BC | $18.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Jason Parkes Customs Crown + Thieves Gewurztraminer DOC Guernsey 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaEvery wine has a story, but few can top this gew from Jason Parkes. The fruit is grown by the family vet on a small, two-acre overlooking the lake at Summerland. Parkes claims there would be hell to pay if he upset the vet, so two, old, French puncheons were conscripted to store the wine on its lees for 10 months, with daily stirrings. The thing is, it’s bone dry, so rather than sipping it on the patio, pull out the roast chicken, or an onion tart, and prepare to be stunned. Floral, dried apricot, orange, pepper, ginger and more. It’s a bit geeky, but in a good, real wine way.Prices:| BC | $29.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
05 April 2018
89PTS
Chateau de Nages Vieilles Vignes 2015
Costières de Nîmes, Languedoc, Sud de France, FranceThis organic blend of roussanne, clairette, grenache blanc and bourboulenc is grown in the iron-rich clay soils of Costieres de Nimes. This blanc is half native fermented in old oak, with the rest fermented in concrete, where both remained for eight months on the lees. Yellow florals (acacia dominant) and yellow fruits (Bosc pear) fill this generous, expansive wine, with a sweep of wax and ample sprinkling of spices on the creamy palate. Vanilla lingers on the finish. This can take on richer foods, like sablefish, lobster, or heady pea risotto.Prices:| BC | $26.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Quails' Gate Pinot Noir Richard's Block 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaRichard’s Block is a special bottling honouring Richard Stewart, who purchased the original family vineyard in Westbank back in 1956. Winemaker Nikki Callaway made 14 barrels in 2016 and she nailed the texture. It’s a blend of old vine Dijon clones that are vinified separately using native and cultivated yeasts, in stainless steel before spending 11 months in French barrels. There’s touch of Russian River hear with a savoury, smoky, spicy QG/BC flavour mixed with inviting ripe plummy, strawberry, cherry fruit floating on a dense silky palate. Rich enough for duck, mushrooms and aged soft cheeses. Well done. Real wine.Prices:| BC | $54.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Quails' Gate Pinot Noir 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaNow a product of older vines, this pinot has a subtle, laid-back style that doesn’t shout at you. The nose is a smoky, spicy affair, with black cherries dusted in sage. The texture is silky and perfectly weighted, if more on the drier, spicy, forest floor side than an exuberant, fruity story. The finish is firm and dry suggesting another year or two in bottle will help the tannins and the fruit better marry. Solid now and will get better. Serve with grilled pork chops or a mushroom pasta dish.Prices:| BC | $26.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $30.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $26.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $29.10 | 750ml |
| NS | $30.00 | 750ml |
| PEI | $30.09 | 750ml |
| YK | $27.00 | 750ml |
| SK | $30.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $27.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Quails' Gate Chardonnay Stewart Family Reserve 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay is one of three chardys released, and the one the winery considers its flagship. The fruit is sourced from their chardonnay blocks on the volcanic slopes of Boucherie Mountain, just above the winery. The bright 2016 vintage helps this big wine. Full and rich, reflective of its fermentation and aging in French oak, plus full MLF. Nutmeg spices the creamy palate, structured and built for aging. Ripe green apple, pear, French cream and perfumed white blossoms fill the fuller palate. Impressively built, and while you can enjoy now, this is one for the future.Prices:| BC | $39.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $39.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $43.95 | 750ml |
| QC | $36.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Quails' Gate Chardonnay 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaBright, ripe pear and yellow apple, vanilla-kissed and cream-bedded fill this BC classic chardy. Fine wood spicing brackets the lees-lined palate, one keot aloft with mouthwatering acidity, and reflective of the split between time in stainless and in oak. This is a blend of French clones grown across the estate, and the entry-level of the three chardonnays released this year. Friendly and approachable now, with the ability to age short term.Prices:| BC | $22.90 | 750ml |
| AB | $24.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $23.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $23.95 | 750ml |
| NS | $23.00 | 750ml |
| MB | $22.99 | 750ml |
| NB | $23.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $22.35 | 750ml |
| NL | $24.98 | 750ml |
| PE | $24.20 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Quails' Gate Pinot Noir Richard's Block 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaOne of three pinot noirs released from the stellar 2016 vintage from pinot specialist Quails' Gate, this wine is named after the Stewart family's father, Richard, instrumental in bringing the grape to the Okanagan Valley in the early ‘70s. The fruit comes from the Boucherie slopes, ancient volcanic soils, just above their West Kelowna winery. A blend of Dijon clones, each block was vinified separately (native and cultivated yeasts) in stainless steel before aging in French oak barrels for 11 months. Warm cherry, ripe plum, savoury strawberry jam on a tight, mineral-driven palate. Puffs of smoke and cinnamon texture and spice this medium bodied wine.Prices:| BC | $54.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Quails' Gate Stewart Family Reserve Pinot Noir 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaQuails' Gate has long been respected for their pinot noir, and this Stewart Family Reserve (the flagship) is one of three releases from the excellent 2016 vintage. The mix of clones is grown from twenty-plus-year-old vines rooted on the ancient, volcanic soils of Mt. Boucherie Bench. SRF is cold soaked to reveal a light cherry hued wine that is native fermented and gently pressed into French barrels where it rests for ten months. The 2016 has finesse and elegance in spades (a trademark of winemaker Nikki Callaway), with gentle cherry, fragrant dark raspberry, forest suboir, housed by tobacco and sweet smoke. Tannins are polished, the palate silken, through a long, peppery and sweet cinnamon finish. Impressive and one of the best we have tasted by QG.Prices:| BC | $49.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $49.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $50.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $54.95 | 750ml |
| QC | $48.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Quails' Gate Pinot Noir 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaQuails' Gate has long been known for their pinot noir, and the quality of this "entry-level" tier aptly demonstrates why. Most of these vines are older than twenty years now, and after cold soak were partially native fermented, before gentle pressing into French oak, where it remained for ten months. Though juicy and bright, this remains elegant, with ripe black raspberry, plum, cherry and ample alluring perfume streaming throughout waves of light smoke and fine ground pepper. Friendly, serious, classic BC pinot, drinking well now and into the short term.Prices:| BC | $26.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $30.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $26.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $29.10 | 750ml |
| NS | $30.00 | 750ml |
| PEI | $30.09 | 750ml |
| YK | $27.00 | 750ml |
| SK | $30.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $27.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Quails' Gate Riesling B.M.V. 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaBMV, or Boucherie Mountain Vineyard, is the origins of Quails’ Gate Family Estate winery, nee farmgate, and some of its earliest riesling plantings. Winemaker Nicki Callaway was looking for something special and different than her regular ‘dry’ offering and BMV was it. It’s a mix of clone 21B off the original Westbank site mixed with clone 49 grown in East Kelowna. It was fermented for two months with indigenous yeast in neutral oak barrels, leaving the wine weighty yet nimble, with intense lemon lime fruit and a touch of residual sugar to counterbalance the acidity and electricity that runs through the wine. BMV is part of the highly successful Collector Series, which means there isn’t very much to buy. Club members and winery direct is your best bet. Impressive, real wine.Prices:| BC | $29.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
04 April 2018
91PTS
Domaine Bobinet Les Gruches 2014
Saumur, Loire, FranceSebastien and Emeline Bobinet organically farm seven hectares in Saumur (along with their horse plow), and with vines ranging from 25-80 years of age. Wines are wild yeast fermented, additive-free, and aged in old 300L wood before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Crushed stone, honeysuckle, green fig, rambutan, Mirabelle plum on a creamy, waxy base. Now four years along this wears the golden sheen of age, with dried pear, fresh hazelnuts, laced with perfumed grapefruit oils and large flake salts. Throughout, chenin's hum holds a tight line to a lengthy finish. Lovely vintage, drinking very well now.Prices:| BC | $35.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
ColleStefano Verdicchio di Matelica 2016
Marche, ItalyHerbal, dusty stone, melon, green fig, lemon verbena flow through this streamlined organic verdicchio from the mountains of Matelica. Whole bunch pressed, this was fermented at cool temperatures before ageing in stainless to preserve the pristine mountain fruit. Compact, with a treble of acidity, to a tightly spiced finish, this is best enjoyed with spring veg or seafood dishes.Prices:| BC | $25.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorées Roussanne 2014
Beaujolais, Burgundy, FranceRoussanne from Beaujolais? Mais oui, if you're iconic naturalist Bojo producer J-P Brun. This Rhone Valley grape has a whole new lens on the iron-laden, yellow limestone terres dorées (golden stones) in his vineyards. In place of roussanne's characteristic expansive mid-palate this is a sleeker, serpentine white, with bright lemon zest, lemon curd, yellow fruits, dried herbs, meadow flowers, all wound up in a 12 degrees alcohol package. Alluring.Prices:| BC | $33.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
A. A. Badenhorst Secateurs Chenin Blanc 2016
Stellenbosch, Coastal Region, South AfricaAdi Badenhorst is a champion of the Swartland, the region his family has family has been rooted in and growing in for generations. This wine is mostly from the family farm, Kalmoesfontein, on the granite soiled northern side of the Paaardeberg Mountain. Old unirrigated bushvines planted in the 60s-70s is picked over nearly two weeks, with fresh juice added to the already native ferment. Whole bunch pressed, 25 percent was fermented in older casks and large foudres, where it remained for seven months on full lees with occasional stirring. A splash of SA's rare and historic palomino is splashed in here, as is another historic and "secret" grape. Herbal lees lines the waxy palate, thick with herbal cream, fennel, honey roasted almonds, and brightened with meadow florals, lemon pith through a savoury, salted finish. Not about fruit, all about place, and amazing value for authentic wine.Prices:| BC | $26.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $24.00 | 750ml |
| MB | $23.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Bartier Bros. Semillon 2016
Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe Cerqueira Vineyard is one of those magical spots in the Okanagan that speaks to place. The land slopes gently to the west collecting the late day sun on the lower side of Black Sage Road between Oliver and Osoyoos. Winemaker Michael Bartier speaks lovingly (and long) on the granite cobbles coated with calcium carbonate dictating his main job, namely to let the site’s distinctive character shine through the wines. Semillon is an outlier in BC but when it's done right, it shines. Bartier employs a wild yeast, partial concrete fermentation to coax the complexity from this ‘oily’ grape. The nose in '16 is strikingly fresh yet infused with that south Okanagan medicinal herb-laced, yellow fruit, with grass, fig, nectarine skin, and mineral, salty notes. The structure is tight, the acidity firm and the length long. It’s still youthful but it will no doubt flip over to the nutty, honey, quince affair with time. I love this style now but you can forget this in the cellar for twenty years too. Real wine.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Ameal Loureiro 2016
Vinho Verde, Northern Portugal, PortugalThis single variety loureiro is from the Vinho Verde subregion of Ponte de Lima. Pedro Araujo focuses on serious, long-lived wines, farms organically, and specializes in the ancient and elegant Louriero grape. Yields are very low from the sloping granitic soils, and the grape is handled gently from picking to pressing. Up to six months in stainless steel, and low oxygen exposure, preserves the delicate freshness of the grape, one usually blended into Vinho Verde wines. On its own here, the wine is light and crisp, with subtle pear blossoms, shining grapefruit acidity and a lick of anise. What shines brightest is the lime pith and minerality on the finish. Light bodied (11.5 percent) and vibrant, and perfectly suited to to light white fish and shellfish.Prices:| BC | $16.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Ruffino Moscato d'Asti 2014
Veneto, ItalySweet light and floral, just as Moscato d'Asti is to be. On the palate this version however is less ethereal, more thick and weighted with sugar ripeness. Orange blossoms, pear cordial and elderflower finish with a light spritz and a snap. Best enjoyed on a warm patio well chilled, even on ice.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
| NB | $17.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $17.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $17.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $17.99 | 750ml |
| NS | $17.99 | 750ml |
| NF | $19.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Arrowleaf Wildblume 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaArrowleaf's first sparkling wine, Wildblume (German for wild flower) is a light, bright and delicate charmat method bubble of vidal. Pretty white and pink florals, pear blossom, melon, lifted peach is aloft with citrus acidity to a shining finish. Gently sweet (11.6 g/l RS), and plenty fresh (8.6 g/l TA) this is a beauty wine for brunching. Love the new look packaging as well.Prices:| BC | $22.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
Elio Filippino Gavi 2016
Piedmont, ItalyThere is nothing too complicated about this Gavi. It is cortese (it’s a varietal wine whose identity is focused on place), hand-picked and aged three months in stainless steel tanks. The result is a fresh, fruity style cloaked in a nutty, mineral, citrus, orange-flecked cloth. It’s seafood friendly and the more delicate the dish the better. Real wine at a fair price. Gavi di Gavi or Cortese di Gavi is a 1200-hectare DOCG zone that surrounds the city of Gavi itself near the Ligurian border southern Piedmont.Prices:| BC | $29.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Clos de Dia 2016
Terra Alta, Catalunya (Catalonia Cataluña), SpainGentle peach, pear gummies, melons, orange blossoms fill the fleshy, soft palate of this garnatxa blanca (white grenache). Typical of the grape, this is wide and low in acidity. Twenty year old grapes from Terra Alta, in northern Spain, are kept in stainless and meant to be drunk young and fresh. White grapefruit and bright orange is strung throughout to the snappy finish.Prices:| BC | $17.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Meinklang Gruner Veltliner 2016
AustriaSubtle perfumed elderflower, pear blossoms, delicate green apple on the lighter palate of this biodynamic gruner. Thin and fine on the palate, with a riff of white pepper spiciness and etchings of apricot fizz and grapefruit peel lingering on the sour-swinging finish. Tight and light, this is best suited to tender spring vegetables or lighter risotto.Prices:| BC | $21.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
03 April 2018
89PTS
50th Parallel Estate Pinot Gris 2017
Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe fruit is hand harvested and whole bunch pressed before it’s cold settled in an oxygen-free environment to up its aromatic expression. The ferment is an 80/20 split of stainless steel / three-year old French oak barrels. The wood adds texture to this exuberant, bright orchard fruit with peach, nectarine and citrus notes. The palate is round and ripe with just the right amount of sweet figgy quince fruit and acidity to bring you back the glass. Salmon, chicken, seafood: it all works here.Prices:| BC | $19.90 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Arrowleaf Pinot Gris 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFull, off-dry and super ripe, with peach, pear, lemon blossom and lemon curd filling a shorter, snappy palate. This finishes with a candied lemon/lime note and ample dose of RS, requiring a good chill and summer sun.Prices:| BC | $17.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
92PTS
BK Wines Ovum Pinot Gris 2016
Lenswood, Adelaide Hills, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide, South Australia, AustraliaBrendan Keys makes low-intervention, naturalist, non-input, single vineyard wines in Adelaide Hills. This is from Lenswood's One Ball Vineyard. After BK empties his pet nat from the Sonoma concrete eggs, he tipped in this pinot gris, leaving it for one month on the skins, but with a CO2 cover on it, so the colour is clear and paler. It remains in the egg for one year on the lees. Slightly grippy, with a slick of salts and nut shells texturing a honeyed quince, yellow plum base. There's a well timed cut of green apple and an alluring and fleeting herbal honeysuckle floral. Lees is ample, but gentle, effortlessly integrated, through the lingering five spice finish. This wine has weight and lightness, breadth and linearity, neither pair a common find, but a special one. Smashable, easily. Real wine.Prices:| BC | $35.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
86PTS
Hester Creek Pinot Gris 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFresh, floral, candied fruit nose. The attack is similar with sweet pear yoghurt and melon fruits mixed with a resiny undercurrent and sweet spice. Chill down and serve with spicy foods or on a warm sunny patio.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
87PTS
Poplar Grove Pinot Gris 2017
Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFlood and drought-plagued the valley in 2017, and smoke was a summer constant in Naramata, but after all, was said and done, the fall was long and warm, and the fruit ripened to perfection. The Poplar Grove Gris is always ripe and fruity with sweet nectarines, lime zest, honeysuckle on the nose. The palate is lush apricot and fresh peach with just enough acidity to keep it in line. It is a winner on a sunny patio, which is most days in the summer at Poplar Grove’s Vanilla Pod Restaurant. Made with almost all Naramata fruit plus four percent from Osoyoos.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
89PTS
J. Hofstatter Pinot Grigio 2016
Trentino- Alto-Adige, ItalyA classic northern Italian style, that springs from simple, almost ancient winemaking techniques, save for the stainless-steel ferment. The nose is expressive, offering pear, mineral, citrus fruit aromas with a dusting of almonds. The palate is similar with more pear and honeydew melon up front and fresh acidity in the back end. This would be perfect with grilled chicken salads or a Margherita pizza.Prices:| BC | $28.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
02 April 2018
89PTS
St. Hubertus Riesling 2015
East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaIntense open nose with kerosene, bright peach, red apple and a fair bit of peppercorn. The attack is juicy with plenty of orange and honey splashed apricot, cut with a wet stone minerality that tightens up the finish. Impressive at 12.8 in a super warm year, it should be sensational in a normal cooler growing season. Pick your favourite curry. Real wine real value.Prices:| BC | $16.75 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
91PTS
Oak Bay Vineyard Gebert Family Reserve Riesling 2013
East Kelowna Slopes, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis is the second look we have had at this wine, whose vines were set down in 1978 in East Kelowna. The nose is a cross between Rheinhessen and Australia’s Clare Valley. Concentrated and rich, this bone-dry offering is overflowing with minerality, lime, tangerine pith, white honey and green apples. Treve correctly denotes ‘a parmesan-scented lees’ that carries the palate through to a snappy, dry, tart finish. This is a special bottle that will live for many more years. Well done and a fine example of real wine in BC. Pick your food this wine is up to it.Prices:| BC | $26.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
50th Parallel Estate Riesling 2017
Lake Country, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe 50th Parallel style is fresh and drinkable. The nose and palate are awash in bright apple fruit and lime pith that reflects the cool northern site (at the 50th parallel). The style is bright, with a tug of dryness, but really this is an open, pour and drink riesling that is magic with chicken, curries, seafood. Good value and no rush to drink.Prices:| BC | $19.90 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2015
Columbia Valley, Washington, United StatesThis riesling sells freighters-full every year, so popular throughout the States for its juicy flush of off-dry limey fruit, memorable name (built-in food pairing bonus) and extremely reasonable pricing. Light honeysuckle, perfumed white peach and orange blossom scents yellow apple, with the whole rasped with a spicy cider spritz edge. This is from Evergreen Vineyard in Columbia' Valley's cooler Ancient Lakes AVA.Prices:| BC | $19.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $25.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $25.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $25.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
90PTS
Kung Fu Girl Riesling 2015
Columbia Valley, Washington, United StatesEvergreen Vineyard was planted in 1998 and stretches along steep cliffs above the Columbia River in the state’s newest AVA, Ancient Lakes. This wine is consistently well made, but I must say the 2015 is best yet. It’s both fresh and tangy, with a very pure fruit nose with fine minerality and fresh apple/nectarine skin. The palate is equally lively with plenty of acidity to carry the fruit and define the wine’s edges in the mouth. Apples, pears and limes dominate its sweet fruit flavours. Best with a favourite curry or barbecue ribs.Prices:| BC | $19.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $25.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $25.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $25.00 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
88PTS
CedarCreek Platinum Block 3 Riesling 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaHistorically, the Platinum Block Riesling gets two picks, with the second trier getting a few extra weeks of hang time before harvest. In 2016 however, the first pick, all fresh and bright, felt right to winemaker Taylor Whelan and was fermented (ten percent in French oak) for 30-45 days. Post ferment the juice spent five months on its lees in stainless steel. The result is a bit of buttery lime curd, with a crisp lime playing against a light, creamy palate. There is a candied citrus note, again led by lime, that textures the white peach, tangerine palate and clings to the finish. Very youthful still, as well as angular - this is mostly elbows and knees at this point. A welcome 10.5 percent, making this shine with dishes like Thai green curry. Drinkable now, but a few years could add some complexity.Prices:| BC | $22.99 | 750ml |
Read Full Note
May 2018