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Tastings: December 2019
30 December 2019
94PTS
Domaine Duseigneur Chateauneuf-du-Pape Catarina 2016
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, Rhone Valley, FranceThe Catarina label is a blend of fruit from round pebbles, sand, and limestone from three plots: Colombis, Bois de la Ville, and Grand Devès lieux-dits, near the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. On average, the biodynamically farmed vines are 60 years old. It is mostly grenache, with less than ten percent of syrah, mourvèdre, and cinsault. At 30hl/ha, the yields are low, and the fruit flavours intense. Each of the plots is managed separately, and the grapes are vinified independently as well. Depending on the year, not all the grapes are destemmed, but all of the juice is fermented naturally for 4-5 weeks in cement tanks. The ageing is carried out in old French oak demi-muids for 12 months, where the oxygen egress is more critical than any oak flavours. 2016 specializes in beautiful black raspberry, with a smooth, supple palate and a fresh, mineral base. A classy 2016 with a long future. The Caterina references Catherine of Siena, Saint and Doctor of the Church. She travelled to Avignon in 1376 as an ambassador of the city of Florence. She persuaded Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome to relocate the Papacy back where it belonged.Prices:| BC | $67.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $53.00 | 750ml |
| SK | $51.45 | 750ml |
| QC | $51.95 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Domaine la Barroche Signature Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2015
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, Rhone Valley, FranceThe Barroche Julian Barrot Signature is fermented in concrete eggs and aged in foudres and stainless steel tanks. The mix is 62/18/13 grenache, mourvèdre, syrah with bits of vaccarèse, clairette rosé, and cinsault. It is a drier, firmer style of Châteauneuf-du-Pape packed with dark cherry fruit, black raspberry, and stony minerality underneath. Youthful, and will need more bottle ageing to reach its zenith in 2022 and beyond. A serious bottle you could serve now with a favourite Osso Buco.Prices:| BC | $69.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $67.95 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Delas Haute Pierre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2014
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, Rhone Valley, FranceThere is a richness and a generosity in Châteauneuf-du-Pape that is part of its allure. It is quite a big Châteauneuf-du-Pape with some tannin yet to shed, with a nod to the past. The nose is spicy with a robust black plum scent, and the palate similar, with an earthy nutty undercarriage. It would be a perfect winter red with stews, casseroles, or chicken cacciatore.Prices:| BC | $45.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Louis Bernard Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, Rhone Valley, FranceThe word is out. 2016 Chateauneuf-du-Pape is special, so load up if you can. Years like this do not grow on vines; they are more the result of divine intervention. Deep, dark, and fresh, this wine attracts from the start. The fruit is bright blue with impressive creamy textures that seem to fold effortlessly into the round, silky tannins. The finish is long and complex with tea, mocha, and a light dusting of pepper, liquorice, and cardamom. You could drink it now with any lamb dish, or cellar through 2024.Prices:| BC | $43.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $39.95 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Cedres 2015
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, Rhone Valley, FranceIs 2015 better than 2016? Maybe, but either way, the wines are outstanding, and a once in a lifetime buy. Paul Jaboulet Aîné Les Cedres is produced from a 70/15/10/5/ blend of grenache, cinsault, syrah and mourvèdre. The vines average more than 50 years of age, and the grapes are partially destemmed before spending a year in new and used French oak. The grapes are grown across several different terroirs using biodynamic practices. The grenache comes off the clay and limestone terraces, the mourvèdre is on the sand, and the cinsault pokes through the large rounded galets. Expect a wild amount of black fruit with seemingly endless purity and depth. It is youthful and mouth-filling but there is a long life ahead of this red that finishes with a rift of spice and garrigue mixed with supple tannins. Drink through 2030 and beyond. Annual production is close to 11,500 cases.Prices:| BC | $49.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $39.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $43.25 | 750ml |
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94PTS
Domaine des Senechaux Châteauneuf du Pape 2015
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhone, Rhone Valley, FranceThe 2015 blend is 61/17/22 grenache, mourvèdre and syrah, with partial whole bunch in a concrete ferment. The ageing is done in a mix of vessels: 55% foudres, 30% older barrels, and 15% cement. Another tighter, drier, more serious styled Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the palate is intense with spicy, gamey, earthy, tobacco notes that, over time, should give this wine a fabulous base to age. It is a cellar candidate to be revisited in 2023.Prices:| BC | $47.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $34.95 | 750ml |
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24 December 2019
93PTS
Champagne Pierre Peters Cuvée de Réserve Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV
Côte des Blancs, Champagne, FranceThere is nothing like a well made Blanc de Blancs, which is what this sparkler is all about. Finesse, complexity, minerality and citrus play a recurring theme thanks to a blend that involves a mix of stainless steel, wood, and concrete. With 40 percent reserve wines added from two decades gone by, there is no doubt the style remains consistent from year to year. After 24 months on its lees, the wine is disgorged and bottled on a modest 7 grams per litre of sugar. There are few wines a delicious as this chalky, citrus, green apple bubble, with a saline/seawater finish. Buy, drink, or cellar, but buy.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne de Venoge Cordon Bleu Brut Sélect NV
Champagne, FranceCordon Bleu is looking good with a new look label, and the same green apple, honey, toasty, citrus nose. The attack is crisp with more citrus and green apple, with a touch of mineral seawater, toasted nuts before a light, creamy texture and a whiff of anise. Solid and perfect for seafood starters or appetizers. The fine details: 50 percent pinot noir, 25 percent pinot meunier, and 25 percent chardonnay, no oak, 36-48 months in the lees, 1.6 kilograms of premier cru grapes in every bottle, up to 15-year-old reserve fruit, and it could be as high aa 33 percent of the wine.Prices:| BC | $88.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $77.99 | 750ml |
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94PTS
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Brut 2006
Champagne, FranceThe widow (Veuve) Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot is a legend in Champagne, taking over the winery after the death of her husband in 1805 at the age of 27. La Grande Dame was launched on the winery's 200th anniversary in 1972 to pay homage to Madame Clicquot’s tireless work during trying times for Champagne, and no doubt, women. The blend is a mix of eight house-owned Grand Crus containing a 53/47 split of pinot noir and chardonnay. In general, it is aged seven to eight years in bottle and is dosed with 7-8 grams of sugar per litre. You feel the Clicquot richness underneath a refreshing mineral bright, toasted brioche nose. The texture is enticingly creamy with orange and pear and elegance that some might not think possible. A sensational Grand Marque that will age effortlessly through 2026 and beyond.Prices:| BC | $269.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $250.00 | 750ml |
| MB | $226.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $239.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $246.00 | 750ml |
| NS | $228.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Gray Monk Odyssey White Brut Méthode Classique 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaIf there is an underrated sparkling wine in BC, this is it. The mix is an unusual combination of riesling, pinot blanc and chardonnay musqué, but it works. I love the fresh nose and the chiselled northern fruit flavours led by fresh-cut green apples, lemon pith, and salty, citrus-dusted nuts. Excellent value and food-friendly.Prices:| BC | $25.99 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Ferrari Brut Metodo Classico NV
Trento, Trentino- Alto-Adige, ItalyOnly handpicked chardonnay collected from various communes across the province of Trento go into this Brut, aged on its lees for a minimum of 24 months. Ferrari has been making this wine since 1902. The nose is clean and fresh with a light leesy brioche scent mixed with apple, straw, toast and floral elements. The attack is similarly styled with nutty, honey, citrus, green apple. Excellent complexity and balance for the price in one of the best all-chardonnay sparklers and the oldest made outside of Champagne.Prices:| BC | $33.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $34.95 | 750ml |
| MB | $30.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $24.95 | 750ml |
| QC | $24.99 | 750ml |
| PEI | $31.99 | 750ml |
| NS | $30.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Filipa Pato 3B Rosé Extra Bruto NV
Bairrada, Northern Portugal, PortugalFilipa Pato’s family has been producing wine in Beiras since the 18th century. Her grandfather, João, was the first to bottle wine in Bairrada DOC after it was officially demarcated as an appellation, and her father, Luis, is credited with bringing Bairrada back to life as a viable and vibrant wine region. She has 12 hectares of vineyards scattered across Bairrada, and makes wines along with her husband William Wouters. This traditional method 3B stands for the region, along with the blend of 70/30 baga / bical, from 30+ year old vines on chalky clay. After a native ferment, and 9 months on lees, this is finished with zero sugar, unfined and unfiltered. Tart with cranberry astringency and a base of youthful rhubarb, subtle red currant and dried rose petals on a lean, lively, very mineral-driven base. Fresh and positively skipping with energy, this is a brisk, slight, savoury rosé ideal for charcuterie.Prices:| ON | $24.95 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Champagne Pierre Peters Cuvée de Réserve Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV
Côte des Blancs, Champagne, FranceThe filigree and detailing of this wine are par none. Rudolphe Peters is the current generation overseeing this estate founded in 1919, nestled in the southern Côte des Blancs' Le Mesnil sur Oger. Grapes for this cuvée come mostly from that village, with supplementing fruit from Oger, Cramant, and Avize. It goes through 75% MLF, and the base wines age in a mix of stainless, wood, and concrete. There are ample reserve wines here (40%), which have gone through a solera more than 20 vintages deep. It spent two years on lees and was disgorged with 7 g/l. Chiselled chalk is met with lemon, green apple, meringue, and finishing with a wash of mineral salts. The mid-palate is cushioned, but still slender. Quite fine.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Louis Roederer Brut Rosé Champagne 2013
Champagne, FranceThe 63% Pinot Noir comes from the steep clays of Cumieres, providing an alluring, spicy expression to fruit. The remainder is Chardonnay from north facing, chalky slopes of Chouilly. This Rosé is made differently than most in Champagne, using neither blending or saignée, but rather infusion. The Pinot Noir grapes macerate overnight in cool storage, then are destemmed and into tank for 7-10 days without fermentation or crushing. When starting to bubble, around 10-12C, the juice is racked, the Chardonnay added, and fermentation begins as a white wine, with no skins. From 35 parcels and the cool climate 2013, this is juicy and bright with raspberry, cherry, red apple and laced with grapefruit acidity. You feel a little toast on the finish (never more than 15% oak fermentation on the Chardonnay), along with a lovely floral spiciness on the finish.Prices:| BC | $96.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $102.95 | 750ml |
| ON | $104.95 | 750ml |
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86PTS
Covert Farms Sparkling Zinfandel 2018
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe last time we tasted zinfandel from Covert Farms, it was a dark, full-bodied red. This new incarnation sees organically farmed estate zin transformed into a pét-nat, with the wine starting its natural ferment in stainless, and finishing it in the bottle, under crown cap. Zippy with tight, acidic cranberry, rhubarb, and youthful raspberry, this skips across a low alcohol palate (9.8 degrees) to a bitter strawberry yogurt finish. Try this with a hot turkey sandwich.Prices:| BC | $32.00 | 750ml |
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23 December 2019
88PTS
Fort Berens Cabernet Franc Reserve 2017
British Columbia, CanadaAlways a bump up in quality from the white label range, and this year's Reserve Cabernet Franc is no exception. From the winery's Lillooet estate Dry Creek Vineyard, a portion of these grapes were vinified to raisins in apassimento style, with grapes airdried to increase concentration. After fermentation and pressing, this aged in a mix of French and American oak for 10 months. The result is a plush, soft, dark chocolate and kirsch hewn red, with pokes of franc's inherent herbal greenness punctuating the flow, and lingering on the finish. Drink this now, with richer tomato pasta dishes.Prices:| BC | $31.99 | 750ml |
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87PTS
Fort Berens Cabernet Franc 2017
Lillooet, British Columbia, CanadaThe majority of fruit for this white label cabernet franc is from their Lillooet estate, with the remainder coming from Oliver. After ferment, this aged in a mix of American and French oak for 9 months, prior to another year in bottle before release. Wild black cherry, blackberry, cracked pepper and toasty spice fill the flush palate, one warming on the finish. Tannins are soft, gently hugging this plump wine. Best taken now, with beef stew or kabobs.Prices:| BC | $27.99 | 750ml |
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86PTS
Lakeside Cellars Cabernet Franc 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFrom Desert Valley Vineyard on the Golden Mile Bench, and young vines (2011), this was fermented in French and American oak for 24 months. The youthful fruit is overwhelmed by such lavish treatments, leaving this full bodied wine redolent with toasted cedar, light smoke, some roasted cherry and plum, and lingering spice. Tannins are smoothed and easy, but the wine lacks vibrance and energy. Tame back the oak, and let this lovely fruit shine.Prices:| BC | $28.00 | 750ml |
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22 December 2019
91PTS
Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Napa Valley, California, United StatesFreemark Abbey is enjoying a renaissance under the Jackson Family Wines banner, and there is plenty of wine made under the Napa label, now at 24,000+ cases. Don’t let the production scare you. It is a reserve style red and it is fresh and vibrant with everything you want in a 2016 cabernet sauvignon. The blend is a tour of Napa soils, including valley floor well-drained loam and clay; western mountaintop soils shallow and acidic with low fertility; and eastern mountaintop soils that are volcanic based, with poor fertility and incredible minerality. Look for intense, spicy, fresh, juicy boysenberry and bing cherry with milk chocolate, cedar, and garrigue. There is plenty of life here, and there is no rush to drink this wine. The 2016 composition is 75.8% cabernet sauvignon, 16.2% merlot, 4% malbec, 3% petit verdot, 1% cabernet franc.Prices:| BC | $55.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $47.99 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Matthiasson Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Napa Valley, California, United StatesThis bigger, smokey red is a departure from Matthiasson's typical light, fresh, edgy style. Napa Valley Cab is his version of 'old school', blending 6 vineyards within 3 AVAs, and tipping in a bit of merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot. After a long, cool, native ferment, this spent 20 months in French wood (20% new). Smouldering embers, earthy cassis, wild blackberry, pencil shavings coat the fuller palate, drawn in with furry, cedar hewn tannins. This is a big wine, that grows in the glass, and screams for a piece of fire-grilled something.Prices:| BC | $95.00 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2016
Napa Valley, California, United StatesA highly instructive tasting when you compare the savoury, fresher, Sonoma cabernet against this full-bodied Napa cabernet and all its rich blackberry, blackcurrant, blueberry fruit that bursts across the palate. The palate is awash in soft, rich, deep, layered Napa fruit flecked with coffee, black olives, milk chocolate and spice. You can taste the attraction to this style right from the start, and all the way through the finish. Ripe, soft, round, full on the palate with light tannins. Excellent fruit with some finesse in a very consumer-friendly style.Prices:| BC | $34.49 | 750ml |
| AB | $28.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $35.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $34.96 | 750ml |
| NB | $35.00 | 750ml |
| NS | $40.00 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma 2016
Sonoma County, California, United StatesThe Martini Sonoma County Cab is a mix of Dry Creek Valley (Frei Ranch) and Alexander Valley (Barrelli Creek). It is mostly cabernet sauvignon with petite sirah, petit verdot, and merlot, that together boost the dark fruit component of this bright, textural, medium-rich, easy-drinking, savoury red. It’s all aged in French and American for about 16 months. Ready to drink but with enough grippy tannins to take on a rare grilled steak. Solid value.Prices:| BC | $17.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $20.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $17.00 | 750ml |
| NF | $21.00 | 750ml |
| MB | $19.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $23.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Napa Valley, California, United StatesLyndenhurst is a baby Spottswoode that follows the Spottswoode Estate Cabernet mantra. The fruit mix is some 55 percent Spottswoode estate, and the remainder comes off top-flight Napa Valley sites. The blend is 81/7/6/5/1 cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, merlot, cabernet franc, and merlot. It is a delicious wine in 2016, although, as mentioned before, it is overshadowed by the estate label's exquisite balance and energy. Given the price, it’s hard not to recommend it. Look for plenty of blueberry, dark cherry with a dusting of vanilla and sweet chocolate. The midpalate is buoyed by a floral, spicy underbelly and a long muscular finish of dense sweet tannins and a whiff of menthol. Youthful, friendly, and ready to work with a favourite steak cut or roast beef.Prices:| BC | $126.99 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Napa Valley, California, United StatesLyndenhurst is a baby Spottswoode made with the Spottswoode Estate Cabernet mantra. The fruit mix is 55 percent Spottswoode estate, and the remainder comes off top-flight Napa Valley sites. The blend is 80/12/6/2 cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. Tasting Lyndenhurst alongside Spottswoode is a two-edged sword. The wine is tasty, and the price by Napa standards is affordable, but it is difficult to live up to the balance and elegance of Spottswoode. That said, you will be enchanted by the warm, rich, blackberry, black raspberry flecked with espresso and licorice. The tannins are a little grippy by comparison to Spottswoode but nothing to cause alarm. The '15 is quite spicy and will need some time to digest some youthful tannins that jump up in the finish. It is aged in 43 percent new French oak barrels for 20 months. The Lyndenhurst name comes from Spottswoode’s storied past when fragrant Linden trees planted on the property in the late 1800s grew up to inspire its first moniker.Prices:| BC | $126.99 | 750ml |
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97PTS
Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Saint Helena, Napa Valley, California, United StatesThe 35th vintage at Spottswoode was perfect. I love that the strategy is always to honour the vintage, and I can honestly say after tasting this wine, it is mission accomplished. A lot is done to mitigate the expected warmth and probable early harvest. Despite the heat spikes, the year finished cool, and it is evident by the aromatics that jump from the glass. The issue with Napa is there is always power, but many wines lack the energy or electricity to sing. It is not the case here. It is one of the best-balanced wines I have had from Napa in years and the kind of wine that inspires me to return to the region to follow up on other producers. My guess is this is more Spotteswood than Napa. Still, exceptional wines can be made with elegance and charm, focusing on fresher fruit, plenty of umami or deliciousness and the uncanny balance that makes this wine so appealing. The tannins are amazingly silky, indeed perfectly handled. Drink now, or in a decade or two, which in itself tells you all you need to know about this wine. The vineyard is organically farmed and has been since 1985. It is aged 20 months in French oak barrels, of which 60% are new. The blend is 85/9/6 cabernet sauvignon/cabernet franc/petit verdot.Prices:| BC | $278.99 | 750ml |
| BC | $129.99 | 375ml |
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94PTS
Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché Vineyard 2014
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, United States2015 Bosché is awash in black cherries and cassis, streaked with sweet spices and fragrant floral notes. The attack is less fearsome than the Sycamore, with more nuance and finesse emanating from its attractive dusty, Rutherford tannins. The blend is 92% cabernet sauvignon and 8% merlot that projects well without the need for any petit verdot or cabernet franc to prop it up. It’s the balance of acidity and fruit that sets this wine apart from others and makes it instantly likeable even in its relative youth. Yes, you could drink this now with a T-bone steak or roast beef, or you could wait 15 years for the full picture to develop. Impressive and worth investing in, no matter what your needs.Prices:| BC | $128.99 | 750ml |
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95PTS
Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards 2015
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, United StatesTasted alongside the 2014 vintage, 2015 appears to have more finesse at this point, albeit in what is a powerhouse red with considerable muscle. The black fruit is pierced by fresher veins of black raspberry and Damson plum before a savoury, sagebrush, and cedar film envelops the palate. Lots of complexity, including a dollop of minerality in what is a super youthful cabernet that will need a decade or two in the cellar to spread its wings. The blend is 88.2% cabernet sauvignon, 4.4% petit verdot, 4.2% cabernet franc and 3.2% merlot. I continue to be impressed with the transformation of Freemark Abbey by the Jackson Family folks into a very modern Napa cabernet.Prices:| BC | $134.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $195.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2015
Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California, United StatesAfter two years of ageing in oak, this 2015 jumps from the glass thanks to a lively mix of 76/20/4 cabernet sauvignon/merlot/malbec. The nose is an attractively scented and spiced red and blue affair, while the palate is fresh from front to back. The blue/black fruit sits above its slightly grippy tannins, suggesting this will age well. The longer we held it open, the more it improved. It is a beautiful bottle of red that delivers the approachable but serious style of Knights Valley. Polished. You can drink or hold.Prices:| BC | $52.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $50.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyards 2014
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, United StatesSycamore Vineyard is a 24-acre site located in Rutherford, Napa Valley, up against the Mayacamas Range on sloping, fertile, clay loam soils. 2014 is a highly regarded vintage and one of several to be debated from 2010 through 2016 as to which might be the best. The blend is 90 percent cabernet sauvignon, 4 percent merlot, 3 percent cabernet franc, and 3 percent petit verdot, aged 28 months in French oak (61 percent new). Still youthful, this dark-coloured red has notes that suggests it may be too much of a good thing, but the rest of the wine is managed well from its freshness and red fruit to its rich, minty oaky, spicy, long linear palate. Tobacco and dense, round tannins fill out the finish of a wine that will cellar effortlessly through 2030.Prices:| BC | $134.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $195.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Stonestreet Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California, United StatesThe Estate Cab is always a mix of the best vineyards, virtually all mountain sites. Think sturdy, intense, savoury fruit that somehow winemaker Lisa Valtenbergs tames into a relatively supple affair. The fruit is black and plummy with dusty, slurry tannins rich in savoury, black cherry, and studded with orange and liquorice. A mountain wine but with a lot of style for the price. Nowhere near ready to drink before 2023. The fruit grows between 400 to 2,400 feet above the valley floor, 76 miles north of San Francisco and 23 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. Individual vineyard block fermentations go through a 5-day cold soak before a stainless ferment, and 18 months in 37 percent new French oak.Prices:| BC | $52.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $53.99 | 750ml |
| US | $45.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $55.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Revana Terroir Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Napa Valley, California, United StatesPlush and ripe while being savoury and structural, this is a lovely example of classically modern Napa cabernet sauvignon. Brooding dark fruit, baked cassis, peppery spice is bedded with dark cocoa, finishing with cracked peppercorns. Tannins are ripe and chalky, wood-stencilled, and still holding firm against the ripe fruit. Drinking well now with a decant, but certainly worthy of a couple more years in the cellar.Prices:| BC | $199.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $159.99 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Stags' Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Napa Valley, California, United States2014, which was excellent, looks like a baby compared to this massive 2015 effort. Big, rich, dry, and peppery, this leaves nothing to the imagination. If you are a fan of big Napa reds, this is it, and frankly somewhat rare from French-born winemaker Christophe Paubert. Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon fans will be attracted to the big minty, black fruit that is honestly too powerful to enjoy at this point. It is going to be an 8-10 year project in the cellar, save for the odd test with a grilled steak from year to year.Prices:| BC | $51.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $49.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $69.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $59.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $56.95 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Beaulieu Vineyards Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, United StatesThis is a fresh, juicy, red fruited, mouth-filling wine with bright acidity and fresh, floral mineral notes. Skinny by Napa standards, speaking to the terroir and hands off winemaking. Just the right level of spice and toast complements its firm, dry structure, finishing with a whirl of espresso. It should age effortlessly. The majority of the fruit is sourced from Napa Valley’s Rutherford, Calistoga and St. Helena appellations. The wine is mostly cabernet sauvignon with small amounts of petit verdot, merlot and malbec to up the complexity. Solid but not jumping out of the glass at this point.Prices:| BC | $75.99 | 750ml |
| BC | $150.00 | 1500ml |
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91PTS
Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Napa Valley, California, United StatesIf you think that Napa Valey is a sleepy place taste this 2015 BV cabernet. Let me know if you can tell that it contains five percent touriga nacional, four percent petite sirah and one percent of mixed other grapes. Surprised, yeah? So was I. The effect is quite compelling, clipping off the fat Napa swell of fruit and flesh, lending this wine more complexity and style than you might imagine for the price. This is Rutheford from its fine, dusty tannins to its black cherry, and black raspberry, and I like the overall structure and acidity. Floral, mineral notes help lift the back end. You could cellar this through 2023 and beyond, or serve now with grilled meat. Well made from a fine vintage.Prices:| BC | $45.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $29.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Napa Valley, California, United StatesAt times this wine can be overrated, but in 2015, it is the real deal, especially the rich, supple, dense, fat-rich tannins that carry through the entire wine. Traditionally this wine has been made to consumed young, and despite its heft, 2015 could fit that bill. Far more open and approachable than the Reserve, it’s classic valley floor Napa. The attack is smoky with super-ripe blackberry jam, chocolate, and tobacco. It’s 15 percent alcohol, but all of the other factors are in balance, so it's not a distraction. Try this now with barbecued back ribs and a decade down the road with roast beef. The fruit is a mix of sites that goes into French barrels, 50% new, and aged for fourteen months.Prices:| BC | $49.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $49.95 | 750ml |
| AB | $43.00 | 750ml |
| NS | $40.99 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Sterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Napa Valley, California, United StatesAt 6 grams per litre of residual sugar, this red offers broad appeal for those who like their cabernet ripe and round. The palate is a mix of cherry, chocolate, cassis with a cedary, savoury, spicy underbelly flecked with tobacco and vanilla. The finish is round and warm with more spice and vanilla. Ready to drink. Serve with a favourite rib recipe.Prices:| BC | $38.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $31.95 | 750ml |
| MB | $41.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $41.49 | 750ml |
| NS | $41.49 | 750ml |
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18 December 2019
87PTS
CedarCreek Pinot Noir 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis estate pinot noir comes from four organically farmed blocks, was fermented in stainless and concrete, and then rested in French oak for a year. The cedar spicing is strong from first whiff to the slightly gritty, warming finish (near 14 degrees). The palate is plump with kirsch, sour cherry, dried florals, forest floor, and light nutmeg spicing. Drink now, with smoked pork or duck.Prices:| BC | $24.49 | 750ml |
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17 December 2019
89PTS
Two Tonne Tasmania TMV Pinot Noir 2018
Tasmania, South Australia, AustraliaRicky Evans is one of Tasmania's new wave vintners, turning out highly coveted small lot wines. From Tasmania's Tamar Valley sub-region, this TMV Pinot Noir came from three sites and was fermented via clone, and block, with 25% whole bunch. Savoury and forested, with sinewy tannins wrapping cherry, wild raspberry, crushed rocks, and whiffs of sweet smoke. The palate is downy and soft and edged with branchy green, reflective of the whole bunch. Best taken with a slight chill.Prices:| BC | $53.00 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Rodney Strong Russian River Pinot Noir Estate Vineyards 2016
Russian River, Sonoma County, California, United StatesThis Russian River pinot spent 14 months in French oak, 35% new, which is felt in the sweet, ripe raspberry, forest currant, and cherry fruit that fills the medium+ palate. A smokey note infiltrates all, drawing slowly across sticky tannins to a warming 14.5 declared finish. A good partner for grilled duck.Prices:| BC | $28.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $27.00 | 750ml |
| US | $19.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $25.00 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Roserock Eola-Amity Pinot Noir 2015
Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, United StatesThe Roserock Pinot Noir is a selection from the estate’s 35 blocks, which are all individually handpicked, sorted, and fermented before Veronique Drouhin composes the final blend. Roserock is an apt name for their estate vineyard, crouched at the bottom of Eola-Amity Hills, and in full purview of the Van Duzer corridor and winds. This is full of pretty pinot florals, both fresh and dried, woven around raspberry, plum, and strawberry leather, and dusted with pink peppercorn seasoning. Tannins are long and finely placed. This is, as is the Drouhin style, understatedly stately, drinking well now but good for a few years in your cellar also.Prices:| BC | $42.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Alexana Dundee Hills Pinot Noir Revana Vineyard 2013
Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon, United StatesTheir home estate, Revana Vineyard, is planted to 10 different clones of pinot noir across 46 acres, and 18 distinct soil types. Classic Dundee, with a little age, showing perfumed raspberry, dried florals, sarsaparilla, dried thyme, on a cushioned palate, with evident wood now welcomely softened by time. Tannins are lightly striated and cedar scented, and the finish is gently warming to a fade. For drinking now.Prices:| ON | $59.95 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Murphy-Goode Pinot Noir 2017
California, United StatesTransculcent ruby, this inviting California staple is a dependable sipper that hits all the right varietal pinot notes: bright red fruits, tea leaves, a woodsy flair and gentle tannins. Focused ripe fruit is nicely balanced with mouthwatering acidity, and the finish is cleansing, savoury and smooth. The excellent 2017 vintage in California shows well in this value-priced crowd pleaser.Prices:| BC | $21.99 | 750ml |
| NB | $26.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $21.99 | 750ml |
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13 December 2019
88PTS
Quails' Gate Old Vines Foch Reserve 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis almost has the character of old school Rioja with baked black fruits combined with gobs of coconut and dill from the American oak. However, it doesn't have the freshness inherent to tempranillo, and finishes short with coarse, bitter tannins. Sure, you can find this style of wine in Rioja for $20-30 as opposed to $46.99, but it's an interesting detour from the Okanagan status quo and certainly one of the top expressions of maréchal foch you're going to find. The concentration from these 50+ year-old vines is evident.Prices:| BC | $46.99 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Tiberio Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2016
Abruzzo, ItalyTwenty years ago, in 2000, Riccardo Tiberio found an old plot of trebbiano abruzzese vines roughly 60 years old at 350m altitude, near the hillside town of Cugnolia, 40km from the sea. It was so impressive he bought the vineyards and surrounding lands, and started planting indigenous varieties matched to the various soils: montepulciano d’abruzzo, trebbiano abruzzese, aglianico, pecorino, moscato di castiglione clones, all massale, from ancient vines. Today the estate is run by his children, Cristiana and Antonio. This montepulciano is from 55 year old vines on calcarious clay soils, fermented and aged in stainless for three months. Dried roses and scrubby herbs permeate the pomegranate, red currant, strawberry jam, red liquorice that fill the medium palate. Tannins are fine and acidity is high, both key at floating the 14 degrees alcohol. Best with a slight chill.Prices:| BC | $25.99 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Stags' Leap Petite Sirah 2016
Napa Valley, California, United StatesThe ’16 PS is another terrific effort by winemaker Christophe Paubert. It comes from a handful of ancient vines on the estate and other sites in the north and south of Napa Valley. It’s big and rich awash in fruit, but it comes with complexity of flavours, namely black pepper, raspberries and bitter, dark chocolate. The acidity keeps the wine fresh and linear; the tannins are dense and will give it a long life, but you can drink this wine now, and that is its charm and brilliance. Winemaker Christophe Paubert also uses a small but varying mix of syrah, grenache and mourvèdre to add complexity and balance to the blend. First-class and you can cellar this more than a decade — Paubert practices traditional methods to showcase the unique nature of the petite sirah fruit. Avoiding over extraction, the wine went through a relatively short maceration period (9-12 days on average) that included fermentation, and two of these lots were co-fermented with Viognier to reinforce the floral character of the Petite Sirah. The wine aged for 12 months in American oak barrels (25% new).Prices:| BC | $45.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $42.95 | 750ml |
| ON | $58.99 | 750ml |
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83PTS
Oak Bay Vineyard Foch 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFoxy foch lives up to its reputation in this 2017 Oak Bay release. Tomato leaf, balsamic, stewed rhubarb, bitter cherry take over a soft, soupy palate, finishing with a pasty tug. Perhaps best taken with / in a tomato-based ragu?Prices:| BC | $22.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Wilson Foreigner Rancho Chimiles Valdiguié 2017
Napa County, California, United StatesIntriguing obscurities abound in this Napa red, a 100% valdiguié from Rancho Chimiles in southeastern Napa County. David Wilson was inspired to launch his Napa label Wilson Foreigner after tasting a bottling his parents had home vinified from a small block of old vine valdiguié at his family’s ranch. This prolific vine, borne of southwest France, was once known as Napa Gamay, a name that wasn't corrected until 1980 (and Californians STILL continued to bottle Valdiguié as “Gamay Beaujolais” until 2009). That intrigue aside, this Bojo-ish red certainly is charming, with juicy sapid plum, pomegranate, moss, wild raspberry, spiced cherry, framed with near-negligible cedar branch tannins. Fantastic salty minerality lingers on the finish, enticing glass after glass. 30% whole cluster, this was native fermented in concrete, while MLF and aging was in neutral French oak before bottling unfined and unfiltered. There were no additions save for a touch of SO2. Charming through and through, give this a chill and enjoy liberally.Prices:| BC | $55.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Kamara Pure Shadow Play 2017
Thessaloniki Area, Makedonia, GreeceDimitrios Kioutsoukis and his family decided to give up city life to be more connected to nature, moving to Thessaloniki and planting 11 ha of organically farmed vines. All of their wines are low intervention, with native ferment, no sulphur additions and bottling without fining or filtration. From sandy clay schists, at 140m altitude, this xinomavro was native fermented and aged for one year in older barrels. Intense and warming black liquorice, cassis, anise, fills the fresh palate, neatly packaged in 13.5 degrees, and housed with lightly dusty tannins. Lovely fresher view of xino.Prices:| ON | $36.95 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Domaine Rolet Côtes du Jura Rouge Les Grandvaux 2015
Jura, FranceThis blend of 60/40 poulsard and pinot noir is from a single, co-planted, red marl soiled vineyard called Les Grandvaux. After a stainless ferment, the poulsard ages in foudre for a year, while the pinot noir rests in Burgundy barrels. Pouring a light bricking cherry hue, the medium palate carries walnuts, baked plums, dried red currants, light nutmeg spicing down the long frame, sided with ample fine raspy tannins and buoyed by a tart, bright, cranberry acidity. The poulsard gives it a wild rusticity, while pinot's côte character adds charm. Drink now, with a slight chill, and plate of mountain cheese and charcuterie.Prices:| ON | $29.95 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Edmeades Zinfandel 2016
Mendocino County, California, United StatesEdmeades is stalwart zinfandel that's been in the market for decades, holding a steady quality line throughout the years. Exuberantly pink-rimmed and purple-hearted, it smells of lavishly ripe plummy fruit, dried currants, freshly cut alfalfa, wild herbs, dusty dry earth, and sweet barrel char. Brambly black fruit thickly layers substantial tannins that are velvety smooth and buttressed by sleek wood tannins. Mendocino ridgeline coastal fruit shines throughout all this plush density, with refreshing acidity that helps make this zin more about balance than richness. Pasadena cardiologist, Dr. Donald Edmeades, planted vines in western Mendocino in the early 1960s, but Edmeades benefits from a core of ancient vine fruit from a few centenarian vineyards. The wondrous 2016 vintage has added a new level of potency in this always fullsome rich red, and 19 months in French and American oak (only 25% new, but the oak presence is emphatic) builds titanic body. So does spicy 15.7% alcohol, but it absolutely does not taste out of register. The blend features 80% zinfandel, 16% petite syrah and 4% syrah. I think this is superior to the pretty darn good 2015 vintage, with an unbeatable combination of powerful, perfectly ripe fruit, chamois tannins, luminous acidity and a proper old school California mountain red feel. Dinner must be robust and deeply flavourful, like succulent braised short ribs.Prices:| BC | $24.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $22.00 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Montes Alpha Carmenere 2016
Valle del Colchagua, Valle del Rapel, Region del Valle Central, ChileFrom vineyards in the Colchagua Valley, this was aged in French oak for twelve months before bottling. If you're looking for a full-throttle carmenère, this combines liquid cassis and blackberry with no shortage of carmenère's inherent greenness in bell pepper and green peppercorn. Medium-full-bodied, with some grip to the tannins, this is surprisingly structured and meant for the dinner table. Varietally correct, well made, and reasonably priced (at least in some provinces).Prices:| BC | $29.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $27.95 | 750ml |
| MB | $23.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $19.95 | 750ml |
| QC | $26.00 | 750ml |
| NF | $26.00 | 750ml |
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12 December 2019
89PTS
Bojador Vinho Tinto 2018
Alentejo, Central and Southern Portugal, PortugalWinemakers Pedro Ribeiro and his wife Catarina Vieira moved to Vidigueira, in the Alentejo, to produce wines that are true to the historical traditions of this region. This organically farmed blend of aragonez, trincadeira, and touriga naçional was foot trodden and native fermented in stainless before aging in used French oak for six months. Dusky cherry, black raspberry, medicinal red currants, mineral salts are tightly wrapped by grippy tannins. Youthful and energetic, but very finely formed.Prices:| Portugal | $13.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Bojador Vinho de Talha Tinto 2018
Alentejo, Central and Southern Portugal, PortugalWinemakers Pedro Ribeiro and his wife Catarina Vieira moved to Vidigueira, in the Alentejo, to produce wines that are true to the historical traditions of this region. This blend of organically farmed trincadeira, moreto, and tinta grossa was vinified in the traditional earthen jars (talha), native fermented and without any additions or subtractions. The wines are protected from oxygen with a layer of olive oil. Cloudy by authenticity, this medium bodied red is threaded with wild herbs, dried red currants, raspberry, wild plum, and savoury salts.Prices:Read Full Note
90PTS
Bojador Alentejo Branco 2018
Alentejo, Central and Southern Portugal, PortugalWinemakers Pedro Ribeiro and his wife Catarina Vieira moved to Vidigueira, in the Alentejo, to produce wines that are true to the historical traditions of this region. This organically farmed field blend of antão vaz, arinto, and alvarinho was native fermented and aged in stainless for a short stint. Perfumed lemon balm, melon, verbena, is lit with a swell of mineral acidity and calmed with a fine layer of lees. Slender, elegant, and very complete.Prices:| Portugal | $12.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Bojador Vinho de Talha Branco 2018
Alentejo, Central and Southern Portugal, PortugalWinemakers Pedro Ribeiro and his wife Catarina Vieira moved to Vidigueira, in the Alentejo, to produce wines that are true to the historical traditions of this region. As a tribute to the region they ferment their wines in impermeable clay pots called Talha, seen on the label. Ribeiro's talha haven't any lids, but keep the wine protected from oxygen by a layer of olive oil. As a tribute to the region, they ferment this wines in impermeable clay pots called Talha, seen on the label. This is a blend of Perrum, Roupeiro, Rabo de Ovelha and Manteúdo, basket pressed and fermentated in aforementioned 200+ year old talha for four months, punched down thrice daily, and then bottled unfiltered. There's an alluring subtle texture here, with roasted hazelnuts, quince, apricot oils and an exceptionally salty, lingering, bergamot-lined finish.Prices:| Portugal | $18.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Bojador Tinto Reserva 2015
Alentejo, Central and Southern Portugal, PortugalWinemakers Pedro Ribeiro and his wife Catarina Vieira moved to Vidigueira, in the Alentejo, to produce wines that are true to the historical traditions of this region. This, reserva is a gutsy, ripe blend of alicante bouschet, touriga naçional, and aragonez, spending 16 months in barrel and one year in bottle prior to release. Dark chocolate, wild blackberry, kirsch, thorns and dusky, dark plum on a grippy, fuller palate, with firm tannins lining the long frame. Drinking beautifully now.Prices:| Portugal | $20.00 | 750ml |
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11 December 2019
92PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Queen's Advantage Chardonnay 2016
Golden Mile Bench, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe newest Checkmate chardonnay is Queen’s Advantage. The name is a nod to the unknown clone that inhabits Combret Vineyard, the winery’s estate plot, now considered to be among the oldest chardonnay vines in the country, planted in 1973. The gnarly old vines, deeply rooted in the Golden Mile Bench sub GI, are tapped into the calcium-carbonate coated stones buried deep into the rocky hillside site. The vineyard has been lovingly brought back to life using precision agriculture. It has taken some time for the vines to adapt to the new regime, but it was evident in 2016 that the site is beginning to express its full potential. After the super hot 2015 growing season, 2016 delivers an outstanding crop of grapes. The nose is open with peach, apricot, and honey, and showing some complexity. The style is more luxurious and rounder with flavours of butterscotch and apricot compote. The fermentation is up to 90 percent native, and the wine is aged 16 months in French oak barrels, 50 percent of which are new. It should be ready to drink in 2020 through 2025. Think crab or lobster dishes to be the early match.Prices:| BC | $85.00 | 750ml |
| BC | $190.00 | 1500ml |
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93PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Opening Gambit Merlot 2015
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaI have to admit the confluence of one of hottest vintages ever (2015), meeting one of the warmest vineyards in Canada, had me wondering how Opening Gambit's 85.1% merlot, 10.4% petit verdot and 4.5% cabernet franc would work out. The site is steep, 1083 to 1437 feet above sea level, and undulating, pitching its vines in several directions. This wine is hedonistic, but it's been that way from the start. What it's not is baked or overripe with dead fruit. Instead, the entry is fragrant with savoury, dried-herb garrigue that permeates the wine. Black fruits rule the day, but they pale against the creamy soft tannins that welcome you to the back end of the wine. Dense and supple, it may not be a long-term cellar candidate, but there is no rush to drink this merlot before 2022. This wine continues to take me to Bolgheri with its savoury mocha, and that's an excellent place to be. It is a showy south Okanagan red that delivers. In terms of winemaking, it is inspected cluster-by-cluster upon arrival at the winery, hand-sorted and gently destemmed before another sorting of individual berries to retain only the most pristine fruit as it heads to the fermenters for a native ferment. Post ferment, the juice is gravity drained into barrels for ageing 21 months. Here, a full malolactic fermentation takes place, gradually softening the final profile of this merlot. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, suggesting decanting will be necessary some time down the road.Prices:| BC | $85.00 | 750ml |
| BC | $196.00 | 1500ml |
| BC | $480.00 | 3000ml |
| BC | $989.00 | 6000ml |
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93PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Fool's Mate Chardonnay 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFool’s Mate is a blend of five south Okanagan sites and five clones: Dijon 76, Dijon 95, 809, Dekleva and Combret. Sixty percent is coming off the Black Sage Bench from Jagged Rock (nee The Barn Vineyard) and Sunset Vineyard. The rest is from Dekelva Vineyard and Combret on the Golden Mile Bench, and a small amount from Border Vista Vineyard on the Osoyoos East Bench. The secret weapon here is a single concrete egg ferment that joins the nine barrels of French oak (47 percent new), which play home to the juice for 16 months. It is the most sophisticated wine made at Checkmate in many ways, combining so many sites, expositions, and clones. In 2016 it took full advantage of an excellent vintage to establish a fresh/tight frame that allows a richer midpalate to hang effortlessly. The predominant flavours are peach and nectarine, aided by lemon, hints of brioche, excellent minerality, and a favourable palate-cleansing saline finish. This wine was built to age, and its transformation through 2023 should be fascinating.Prices:| BC | $80.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Knight's Challenge Chardonnay 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaIt is year three for the Knight's Challenge label that originates in Sunset Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench. Here elevation changes and east/west row orientations present winemaker Phil McGahan with several options at the end of the growing season. The site is planted to 25-year-old vines and Dijon clones 76 and 95. McGahan likes clone 76 for its structure and organization to keep the wine taught. Clone 95 brings richness and generosity, filling out the mid-palate. The two blocks are distinctly different, allowing for separate pick dates to maintain the balance of power and acidity. Naturally occurring ferments have climbed to 69 percent, and post ferment, it is aged 16 months in French oak, 46 percent new. Knight's Challenge presents a new world chardonnay with its creamy underbelly of stone fruits and butter. Yet, it equally sits within the bounds of a next world chardonnay with its savoury, mineral, green desert sagebrush flecks. This is it if you like the softer, rounder upfront style of all the Checkmate labels. Crab, lobster, and truffle pasta dishes are perfect matches.Prices:| BC | $85.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Little Pawn Chardonnay Barn Vineyard 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaLittle Pawn comes off the Okanagan Highlands foothills of the Black Sage Bench, just southeast of Oliver; Jagged Rock Vineyards (nee The Barn Vineyard) was planted 20 years ago on a west-facing plateau along the Black Sage Bench. The vineyard has a warm, west-facing tilt and is planted to a mix of clones: Dijon 76 and the Dekleva selection, all grown with precision vertical shoot positioning at 374 to 380 meters above sea level. It's a singular micro‐terroir of very porous, fine‐grained sands with a spare capacity to hold moisture resulting in small bunches and highly concentrated flavours. This wine has an enticing floral aspect and a creamy, lees texture that draws you into the glass. The wine is bottled unfiltered, offering an array of spice, citrus and sagebrush. Again there is an unexpected elegance that keeps the mid-palate taut and lively. Lobster anyone?Prices:| BC | $110.00 | 750ml |
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94PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Queen Taken Chardonnay 2016
Golden Mile Bench, Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaQueen Taken Chardonnay is all about the 45-year-old vines of Dekleva Vineyard on the Golden Mile Bench. It is the coolest Checkmate site, where the old vine chardonnay is acclimatized to the true north environment, just west of the home Combret Estate Vineyard. It is planted to a chardonnay clone of unknown origin now being called the Dekleva Selection after the original family who planted it. The soils that define the Golden Mile Bench DVA and its DNA are predominantly coarse gravels. The entire winery has recently been renovated, and the 2016 chardonnays were the early benefactors of the high-end refit. There was no rush to pick in 2016, and winemaker Phil McGahan got all he could from the site. The nose is an intriguing mix of minerality, wet stones and stone fruits that draw you into the glass. The palate is intense with rich veins of nectarines and ripe red apples riding a beam of bright acidity. Texture, mouthfeel, minerality, length: it is all here, and will be through the next decade.Prices:| BC | $125.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Capture Chardonnay 2016
Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaCapture is grown at the Border Vista Vineyard on the East Osoyoos Bench at 340-350 metres above sea level. It's the warmest site Checkmate pulls fruit from, and it sits just a few metres from the United States border. As you approach the south end of the vineyard, you are on surveillance camera rows up against the fence line. It's a single block that dates back to 1997 planted to Dijon clone 76 over fine-textured, complex, low-nutrient, sandy soils. The fermentation was all in barrel, and 80 percent was performed with native yeast. 2016 was terrific with more typical acids leading to full malolactic fermentation with regular battonage and 16 months in French oak, now down to 44 percent new. Water-bent barrels keep the toast factor in check, allowing the bright fruit a chance to break through early on the palate. Capture is all about texture and weight but with a light hand. The butter, apples and pears give way to spice, honey and tangerine before a lightly saline mineral finish. You can drink this now, but I suggest two to five years of cellaring for best results.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
| BC | $200.00 | 1500ml |
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91PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Black Rook Merlot 2015
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaBlack Rook fruit comes off the Black Sage Bench from a warm, sandy site with low vigour soils, pushed against the Okanagan Highlands. The naturally low fertility leads to small clusters and intense black fruit, further amplified by a hot year. Big and luxurious, it was an easy decision to age all of the wine in new French oak. At this stage, it shows youthful primary black fruit and licorice with some grippy tannins, toasted notes, and a wisp of smoke. As I've mentioned before, it is more Washington State than Bolgheri or Bordeaux in style and not quite as polished as the rest of the group. Nevertheless, I appreciate the individuality of this wine, the site, and the care and attention given to it to allow its personality to shine. Give this one three to five years to pull it all together, or drink now with back ribs slathered in barbecue sauce. The Black Rook mix in 2015 is 85.2 percent merlot, 9 percent petit verdot, 4.4 percent cabernet franc and 1.4 percent syrah.Prices:| BC | $85.00 | 750ml |
| BC | $196.00 | 1500ml |
| BC | $480.00 | 3000ml |
| BC | $989.00 | 6000ml |
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94PTS
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Attack Chardonnay 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaAttack is the odd man out amongst Checkmate chardonnays. It is a co-ferment of two single vineyards, Jagged Rock (Black Sage Bench) and Border Vista Vineyard (Osoyoos East Bench), fermented and aged 16 months in a single, new French oak foudre. Unlike last year when the weather was super hot, an excellent 2016 harvest allowed all the wine to go through an acid softening malolactic fermentation. Attack opens with an attractive seashore scented breeze and brightness that pulls you into the glass. The structure is fresh and tight, with minerality and texture reminiscent of Chablis. Add to that flinty, saline notes flecked with strong tropical fruit and spice, and you have an impressive glass of wine. The density and persistence are top class, and the complexity suggests this will age effortlessly through the next seven to ten years in bottle — next world BC chardonnay. Serve with Vancouver Island oysters on the half shell.Prices:| BC | $115.00 | 750ml |
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10 December 2019
89PTS
Koerner Classico 2017
Clare Valley, South Australia, AustraliaThis is the Koerner brothers' take on the classic Clare Valley cabernet malbec blend, made famous by the legendary Wendouree Vineyards. In the boys' modern remix however, cabernet sauvignon is splashed with 15 percent malbec, and 15 percent petit verdot, coming of off three Watervale vineyards' red clay over limestone soils. The fruit was destemmed and native fermented before moving to used barriques for 4 months before the final blend was made. Once blended, the wine was transferred to a 3 year old 700L French barrel and 1 ceramic egg for 6 months, then bottled unfined and unfiltered. Dusky blackberry, black plum, inky cassis, perfumed violets is etched with balsamic and drawn along long, sueded tannins. The mouthfeel is brooding and drawn slowly, though fine acidity easily carries the weight (13.1 degrees). Serious, though a bit sluggish.Prices:| BC | $50.00 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Koerner The Clare Red Wine 2018
Clare Valley, South Australia, AustraliaThis cabernet sauvignon, malbec, petit verdot, cabernet franc blend is from the brothers Koerner, always known for turning Clare on its head. Sourced from the Vivian and Bass Hill Vineyards, The Clare is the bro's idea of a modern Bx blend. Mostly whole berry, this was native fermented in open fermenters for two weeks before being pressed into tank for a few days and then racked into a mix of ceramic egg and old oak, where it rested for three months. Purple and blue florals, fleshy plum, blueberries, morello cherry, and a slick of winter cool mint glide along the slick palate of The Clare, gripped by thorny sides, and riding a wild blackberry / blackcurrant wave to a snappy finish. Tannins are soft, and acidity is bright, as intended, for drinking now in youth.Prices:| BC | $39.00 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Alpha Box & Dice Kit & Kaboodle 2017
AustraliaThis blend of montepulciano, grenache, and cabernet sauvignon comes from Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale. After whole bunch pressing, this was native fermented on skins and spent 6 months in a mix of stainless and old barriques. Soft, worn leather, dusky raspberry, strawberry jam are buffered with long, soft tannins and a warm tug framing the finish. There's an undercurrent of candle wax and baking spices led by nutmeg that heat the end of this wine.Prices:| BC | $31.50 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Alpha Box & Dice Xola 2012
AustraliaThis aglianico is from the alluvial red clays of McLaren Vale's Leask Vineyard. After this late ripener was destemmed and underwent an extended maceration on skins over fermentation, it rested for 3 years in oak prior to bottling. Deep and lusty on the nose, with potent perfumed cassis, ripe blackcurrant, dense leather, and perfumed rose, with swings of VA and darts of tar. Tannins are sticky and velveteen, lashed with the massive wood reflective of its time in oak. This massive wine is showing its age; ready to drink, with big meats.Prices:Read Full Note
06 December 2019
92PTS
Champagne Pierre Gimonnet & Fils Brut Rosé de Blancs NV
Côte des Blancs, Champagne, FranceDidier, third generation of the Gimonnet family, oversees the winemaking of their family winery, based in Cuis. This wine, like all of their chardonnay-centric wines, is laser focused. According to Didier, he wants to have a rosé that tastes like a blanc de blancs with colour. "Powerful chardonnay." This certainly succeeds. This bottling sources fruit from Cramant, Oger, and Chouilly, with an addition of 8% Bouzy still pinot noir. My bottle was disgorged in April 2019, and was based on the 2015 harvest, giving it 3 years on lees. Pouring a very pale hue, this streams cherry and raspberry, with fine tight florals along a fresh, saline palate. The finish shimmers with minerality and lingers with a bitter cherry kiss. Very food friendly, and inviting for solo smashing also.Prices:| BC | $100.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Champagne Pierre Gimonnet Brut Cuis 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs NV
Côte des Blancs, Champagne, FranceThe only change in the latest batch and shipment of this pristine blanc de blancs is the updated label. Understated and classic, this 1er cru always impresses. Didier, third generation of the Gimonnet family, oversees the winemaking of this Côtes des Blancs grower champagne house based in Cuis. This wine, like all of their chardonnay-centric wines, is crystal crisp and bright, with driving linearity through to the lingering finish. Based on the 2015 harvest, this has 35% reserve wines from the previous 4 harvests to provide depth and complexity. Gimonnet uniquely keeps all the reserve wines in magnum under crown cap to preserve the freshness and prevent oxygen ingress. My bottle was disgorged in January 2019 at 6 g/l, and ringing youthfully. Lemon pith leads into a very chalky, grippy and taut palate, with tiny white blossoms, green apple, meringue, and a shimmery vibrance. Fresh on the attack, though the core is polished by the reserve wines, this is an excellent solo sipper as well as oyster mate. Fantastic value = my house Champagne.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Champagne Leclerc Briant Premier Cru Extra Brut NV
Champagne, FranceThis negoc house was founded in 1955 when Bertrand Leclerc married Jacqueline Briant. They were an early adopter of organic practices back in the 1960’s, and were one of the first to bottle single-vineyard Champagnes in the 1970’s. In the late 1980’s, Bertrand and Jacqueline’s son, Pascal, began integrating biodynamic principles and part of the production has been Demeter certified since 2003. Today, enologist Hervé Jestin, known for his biodynamics / bioenergetics oversees the wines of the house and its near 30ha of vines, plus another 20ha of organically farmed contract fruit. This is the first vintage of this cuvée, a blend of 70% pinot noir, and 15% each of pinot meunier and chardonnay, all from 2014, and sourced from four villages. The wines were native fermented, half in oak, before blending and 4 years on the lees. This was disgorged November 2018 with 2 g/l. Very finely textured, precise and energetic, with lifted cherry blossoms, lemon, green apple, and a wash of salts on the lengthy finish. Quite a refined and finessed, delicate expression of pinots, tightened with the chardonnay. Lovely, lively, and moreish.Prices:| ON | $96.95 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Leclerc Briant Brut Reserve NV
Champagne, FranceThis negoc house was founded in 1955 when Bertrand Leclerc married Jacqueline Briant. They were an early adopter of organic practices back in the 1960’s, and were one of the first to bottle single-vineyard Champagnes in the 1970’s. In the late 1980’s, Bertrand and Jacqueline’s son, Pascal, began integrating biodynamic principles and part of the production has been Demeter certified since 2003. Today, enologist Hervé Jestin, known for his biodynamics / bioenergetics oversees the wines of the house and its near 30ha of vines, plus another 20ha of organically farmed contract fruit. This wine, making up 75% of production, is a bit of a misnomer: there are no reserve wines (it's entirely the 2014 vintage) and it's actually extra-brut, with 4/gl dosage. This blend of 40/40/40 pinot noir / pinot meunier / chardonnay was native fermented in stainless and oak (the latter 20%) before going into bottle for 3 years on lees. Weighty and confident, with yellow fruits, red apple, patisserie, and almond, closing out with a grippy and fresh finish. Lovely density and integration here. A producer to watch.Prices:| ON | $89.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Leclerc Briant Divine Solera NV
Champagne, FranceThis rising star of biodynamic champagne has roots that go back generations. Lucien Leclerc founded the winery with four hectares of vineyards in Cumières in 1872. The business moved to Épernay in 1955 when Bertrand Leclerc married Jacqueline Briant, founding this négociant firm. Leclerc Briant was an early adopter of organic practices back in the 1960’s, and was one of the first to bottle single-vineyard Champagnes in the 1970’s. In the late 1980’s, Bertrand and Jacqueline’s son, Pascal, began integrating biodynamic principles and part of the production has been Demeter certified since 2003. Today, enologist Hervé Jestin, known for his biodynamics / bioenergetics oversees the wines of the house and its near 30ha of vines, plus another 20ha of organically farmed contract fruit. Cuvée Divine Solera is not released every year, and uses only estate fruit. It is a 50/30/20 blend of pinot meunier / pinot noir / chardonnay, native fermented in oak, and based on the 2007 vintage, with a reserve solera from 06, 05, and 04. This spent 48 months on lees before being disgorged with 3 g/l in September 2018. Luxurious from first sniff, with the plumpness of meringue, toasted brioche, lemon curd chisled by a taut, chalky acidity that textures the long length of the palate. Quite seamless; the dosage is perfected situated to counter the richness of fruit and autolysis. Quite a powerful and confident wine, handled extremely well.Prices:| ON | $168.75 | 750ml |
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94PTS
Bruno Paillard NPU 2004
Champagne, FranceThis is the premium bottling, the Nec Plus Ultra, of Bruno Paillard, with more than 10 years on the lees, plus a couple of years in bottle before release. NPU blends 4 grand cru terroirs: Oger, Chouilly, Verzenay and Mailly, all fermented in small oak barrels for 10 months, with only the first pressing utilized. The end cepage, bottled in July 2015, is equal parts chardonnay and pinot noir, and is dosed with 3 g/l. The oak aging, powerful Grand Cru fruit, and extended time on lees has resulted in a powerful, harmonies wine, full of meringue, nougat, roasted hazelnuts, burnished orange pinned with with tight wild lemon pith around the sides, and finishing with a wide wash of salts. Very vinous and highly gastronomic; drinking beautifully now. This bottle was disgorged September 2017.Prices:| UK | $225.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Champagne Taittinger Prélude Grands Crus NV
Champagne, FranceTaittinger Prélude is a rich, full and powerful Grand Cru NV Brut of Montagne de Reims pinot noir, and Côte des Blancs chardonnay. This spent more than 5 years on the lees, and was dosed with 9 g/l. The power starts with first sniff: potent and dense strawberry, cherry brioche, raspberry and toast fill a voluminous palate, lofted with hallmark tight, Taittinger acidity, and finishing with lingering smoked spices. Expansive and deep on the full palate, but kept tight and riveting with acidity, this is a memorable and rich champagne, ready for partnering with equally rich and special dishes.Prices:| BC | $120.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $115.99 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Taittinger Brut Reserve NV
Champagne, FranceThis classic Brut never disappoints, always delivering a streamlined arrow of quivering acidity. This chardonnay led NV is sourced from early 40 crus in the Marne, Sézanne and Aube (half from estate vineyards), and is a mix of 40 chardonnay, 45 pinot noir, and the remainder pinot meunier. After full MLF, this spends a minimum 3 years on the lees before a dosage of 9 g/l. My bottle was based on 2014; you can see the disgorgement date code engraved in laser on the base of the bottle. Chalk, lemon, green apple, light anise skips along the medium palate, cushioned with meringue and humming with limestone minerality. The finish lingers with lemon pith, welcoming refreshing with another glass. Lovely solo sipping, as well as with food. Classic for a reason.Prices:| BC | $76.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $69.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $76.99 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Leclerc Briant Rosé Extra Brut NV
Champagne, FranceThis rising star of biodynamic champagne has roots that go back generations. Lucien Leclerc founded the winery with four hectares of vineyards in Cumières in 1872. The business moved to Épernay in 1955 when Bertrand Leclerc married Jacqueline Briant, founding this négociant firm. Leclerc Briant was an early adopter of organic practices back in the 1960’s, and was one of the first to bottle single-vineyard Champagnes in the 1970’s. In the late 1980’s, Bertrand and Jacqueline’s son, Pascal, began integrating biodynamic principles and part of the production has been Demeter certified since 2003. Today, enologist Hervé Jestin, known for his biodynamics / bioenergetics oversees the wines of the house and its near 30ha of vines, plus another 20ha of organically farmed contract fruit. The Rosé Brut is labeled NV, but this bottle is from the 2015 harvest, and a blend of 95% chardonnay (from Chouilly and Montgueux), 5% pinot noir (from Les Riceys), native fermented in stainless, with a small amount of the pinot noir fermenting in wood. The cepage rests for two years on lees before being disgorged with 5g/l (this bottle in September 2018). Light salmon in hue, this is quite vinous, with fine but persistent bubbles, red currants, cranberry tartness, and brisk astringency, wrapped around a youthful core of red fruit. A kiss of sweet raspberry lingers on the finish. Excellent food wine.Prices:| ON | $99.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Diebolt-Vallois Prestige à Cramant Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Champagne, FranceThe Diebolt and Vallois families have serious history in the Côte des Blancs. The Vallois family has been growing vines in Cuis since the 15th century; the grandfather of current proprietor Jacques Diebolt began making estate bottled champagne at the beginning of the 20th century. Champagne Diebolt-Vallois was created in 1960, when Jacques married Nadia Vallois and merged the estate. This Blanc de Blancs blends Cramant, Chouilly, and Le Mesnil sur Oger, all fermented in stainless, then moved to large oak foudres until final cepage is determined. The reserve wines were also kept in large oak foudres. The wine spent three years on lees prior to disgorgement with 9 g/l. Ample patisserie, nougat, green apple, lemon are held in by a brace of citrus acidity that circles the growing expansive middle, finishing with a riffing citrus pith that lingers long and filagreed. This has a fine touch that reels the density in deftly, allowing for a highly drinkable rich champagne.Prices:| BC | $90.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Ayala Majeur Brut NV
Champagne, FranceBrut Majeur is all about freshness and elegance. The blend is 40/40/20 pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier. Ayala owns 14 hectares in the heart of the Grand Crus of Montagne de Reims, and its link to Bollinger provides even more quality fruit. It is fermented in stainless steel and spends 2.5 years on lees, plus rests in the cellar for at least three months after disgorgement with a dosage of only 7g/litre of sugar. The current release is a super lively citrus affair with subtle lees mixed with harmonious honey and green apple. A terrific bottle made by cellarmaster Caroline Latrive. Excellent concentration combines with persistence to cap an impressive finish. Try this with oven warmed cheese twists or freshly shucked oysters. Brut Majeur can also pair harmoniously with every course of a meal: white fish, shellfish, poultry, or a cheese platter.Prices:| BC | $76.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $60.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $60.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Bollinger Rosé Brut NV
Champagne, FranceThe multi-vintage Bollinger Rosé is a sophisticated fizz, one that brings Bollinger's power and the amusement and juicy fruit that can be at the core of an excellent rosé. The attack is creamy with a savoury undercurrent supporting an enticing cherry-scented bubble with a bolt of acid to keep it fresh and electric. A true dinner rosé and it has the power to work with meat as well as seafood. The blend is some 60 percent pinot noir, a quarter chardonnay and the remainder pinot meunier, spending 30 to 36 months on its lees. There is an additional five to six percent still red pinot noir, and 85 percent of all the fruit is rated Grand Cru.Prices:| BC | $139.99 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Champagne Moët & Chandon Nectar Impérial NV
Champagne, FranceNectar Impérial is a demi-sec champagne with a dosage of 45 g/L, led by pinot noir (40-50 percent), pinot meunier (30-40 percent), and 10-20 percent chardonnay. It also has a significant portion of reserve wine. The nose is not dissimilar to the Imperial Brut, though the intensity is a notch lower and there’s less overall autolytic character. Medium-dry in style, as you’d expect for this category, there’s a confected quality to the palate that is almost Prosecco-like. It may not be exceptional value, but the style is worth exploring and lends itself to a range of food pairing options. I suggest trying fruit-based desserts that have a subtle sweetness, or a cheese plate.Prices:| BC | $75.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $75.00 | 750ml |
| MB | $76.75 | 750ml |
| ON | $76.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $75.00 | 750ml |
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97PTS
Champagne Krug Grande Cuvée Brut NV
Champagne, FranceKrug Champagne is many things, but since 1843 the Grande Cuvée has been the storyteller for this remarkable champagne house. According to its ID number, this bottle spent about seven years in Krug's cellars, finally going under cork in 2017. The 166ème Édition is a blend of 140 wines from 13 different years including 2010, the base year, and back to 1996. Reserve wines make up 42% of the final mix of 45% pinot noir, 39% chardonnay and 16% pinot meunier. Its deep golden colour and incredible small persistent bubbles preview rich aromas of citrus, flowers, dried fruits, and marzipan, and it is only the start. The palate is equally intense with hints of hazelnuts, almond brioche, citrus fruits, spice, nougat, sugarcoated jelly candy, brioche, and honey. You can serve this with anything, but If you want to stun your guests, serve it alongside chunks of old Reggiano Parmigiano.Prices:| BC | $285.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $289.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $290.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $313.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $280.00 | 750ml |
| NS | $295.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Champagne Canard-Duchene Cuvée Leonie Brut NV
Champagne, FranceThis potent and powerful brut comes courtesy of a house founded in 1868, the red dominant blend of 40/40/20 pinot noir/pinot meunier/chardonnay, 25% reserve wines, a minimum of 3 years on the lees, and a dosage of 9 g/l. Rich and full on the palate, with cherry brioche, buttery croissant, red apple and blossoms, tight, grippy spices that linger on the vanilla-scented finish. This is a wine that is best enjoyed alongside food.Prices:| BC | $57.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $55.95 | 750ml |
| NB | $59.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Champagne Gremillet Brut Selection NV
Champagne, FranceGenerations of Gremillets have grown up in the vines of Champagne, with the current generation Jean-Michel overseeing 40ha of south facing vineyards in the Aube. This blends 70 / 30 pinot noir / chardonnay, including approximately 20% reserve wine. This spent 18-22 months on lees prior to disgorgement. Buttery and rich, with toasted brioche, cherry, red apple and patisserie, finishing with a spiced vanillin lick. Quite big and showy, handled well.Prices:| BC | $70.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Deutz Brut Rosé NV
Champagne, FranceSince 1838, Deutz has been based in the Grand Cru village of Aÿ, just west of Épernay, and since 1983, the Rouzaud family, owners of Louis Roederer, have owned the house. In many ways, it explains the elegant styling of this pink bubble, with its red berry fruit reminiscent of cranberries and strawberries, pecan, and brown spice before a salty, mineral finish. Impressive, to say the least, and well worth checking out. Pure and fresh and elegant, it has a style that sets it apart from many in this category.Prices:| BC | $79.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $85.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $82.99 | 750ml |
| NB | $80.00 | 750ml |
| NS | $80.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $79.99 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Champagne Deutz Brut Classic NV
Champagne, FranceDeutz is based in the Grand Cru village of Aÿ, just west of Épernay, and they have been there since 1838. The Rouzaud family, owners of Louis Roederer, purchased Deutz in 1983. Deutz is part of a small group of producers using only free press juice, and combined with a large percentage of reserve wine (40 percent), that adds substantial complexity and a hint of the famous goût anglais to the finish. The blend is equal parts chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, presenting with floral, mineral notes followed by cherries, red liquorice, red apple, honey and brioche. The acid is firm and invites chicken pot pie, white fish/shellfish stew, or vegetable risotto.Prices:| BC | $75.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $65.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $60.99 | 750ml |
| NS | $65.00 | 750ml |
| NB | $65.90 | 750ml |
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97PTS
Champagne Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008
Champagne, FranceGeoffroy Richard, the voice and soul of Dom Pérignon, describes 2008 as miraculous, which explains why it is the only vintage ever released out of order at Dom Pérignon. If you didn’t notice, the very fine 2009 was released last year ahead of the outstanding 2008. Freshness with muscle is the story, hence the comparisons to the excellent 1996. Sadly Geoffrey is all but retired, with Vincent Chaperon now ensconced as the Chef du Cave at Dom. Chaperon has called the wine athletic, giving us the hope his vocabulary will be as precise as Geoffrey's has been over the years. The wine is monumental from its tiny perfect bubbles to its weight and power mid-palate, and minerality to beat the band finish. I have no doubt it will cellar with ease for the next 25 years and beyond.Prices:| BC | $235.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $250.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $231.95 | 750ml |
| NS | $224.00 | 750ml |
| SK | $215.25 | 750ml |
| NB | $210.00 | 750ml |
| YK | $213.00 | 750ml |
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94PTS
Champagne Dom Pérignon Millésimé Rosé Vintage 2006
Champagne, FranceWild raspberry, wild cherry imbues an ample salted brioche base, threaded with bergamot, red currants, dried florals, dried thyme, dried rosemary, toast, and hints of smoked salts. The palate is expansive, growing with time in the glass, while the fizz is gently, persistently pétillant rather than forwardly fizzy, contributing to this vinous, gastronomic wine. Sophisticated and expressive, Dom 2006 Rosé lingers long on the brooding, broad shouldered palate, with a vibrato that hums to a hinting bitter orange / espresso note. Pinot Noir (56%) and chardonnay is mellowed and deepened with the addition of 20% still pinot, and finished with 6 g/l dosage. This is the first time in the history of Dom Pérignon Rosé, born with the 1959 vintage, that five consecutive vintages have been released.Prices:| BC | $309.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $356.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Brut 2006
Champagne, FranceThis Grande Dame is Veuve's prestige cuvée, in homage to Madame Clicquot herself, and it carries with it all the richness of the house style, amplified. The blend is a mix of eight the house's Grand Crus: Aÿ, Bouzy, Ambonnay, Verzy and Verzenay for the Pinot Noir (53%); Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger for the Chardonnay (47%). After seven years on the lees, this was dosed with 8 g/l; my bottle was disgorged in February 2017. Rich, dense and full with toasted brioche, praline, pear and ample smoked spices that season a creamy, weighted, oxidatively-slanting palate, leaving a lingering nougat in its wake. Not shy, nor needs be, this Grande Dame is worthy of its name.Prices:| BC | $269.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $250.00 | 750ml |
| MB | $226.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $239.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $246.00 | 750ml |
| NS | $228.00 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label NV
Champagne, FranceThough the price has risen over the years, the dosage has dropped, and consistency remains solid as ever. More than 50 vineyards, and 25 to 40 percent reserve wine (from five to six vintages) goes into this blend of 50-55 percent pinot noir, 15-20 percent pinot meunier and 28-33 percent chardonnay. Light patisserie, spiced mandarin, green apple, ample spice pad the medium+ palate, starting big, but finishing short and brusquely. A friendly crowd-pleaser.Prices:| BC | $72.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $71.49 | 750ml |
| NS | $73.58 | 750ml |
| QC | $70.25 | 750ml |
| ON | $70.60 | 750ml |
| SK | $68.97 | 750ml |
| YK | $72.00 | 750ml |
| PEI | $74.19 | 750ml |
| NL | $76.49 | 750ml |
| NB | $74.79 | 750ml |
| BC | $142.99 | 1500ml |
| BC | $39.99 | 375ml |
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88PTS
Champagne Veuve Clicquot Rosé Brut NV
Champagne, FranceLike its yellow label sibling, this VC rosé is one of the best selling of its type worldwide. From up to 60 vineyards, this blends 44 to 48 percent pinot noir, 13 to 18 percent meunier and 25 to 29 percent chardonnay, with 12% red wine (saignée method) and up to 40% reserve wines, depending on year. Medium peach in hue, this opens with expressive cherry, red currant, and rhubarb, sharpened with tight cranberry acidity, wrapping around a doughy core, and finishing with an astringent citrus rinse. Pretty assertive and fruit forward, and best taken with food to tame.Prices:| BC | $91.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $85.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $89.80 | 750ml |
| QC | $87.50 | 750ml |
| NS | $85.00 | 750ml |
| SK | $83.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $90.76 | 750ml |
| NL | $98.48 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Veuve Clicquot Vintage Brut 2008
Champagne, FranceTasted several times now, and this label continues to deliver. Of course, it helps to be from an excellent 2008 vintage. The obvious ripeness can be halting until you begin to drink it. From the brioche, hazelnuts and red apple butter (my favourite), this is a giant of a wine, but it is not all power. Winemaker Dominique Demarville (ex-Mumm) has brought a fresher look without messing with the Veuve style. 2008 is the first vintage Veuve fermented and aged in wood since the 60s. It’s exotic with candied orange, dried apricot, and gingersnap. The mix is 61 percent pinot noir, 34 percent chardonnay, 5 percent pinot meunier from Grand and Premier Cru sites that spent six years on the lees and was disgorged in March 2015. Also new in 2008, five percent of the wines were produced and aged in wooden casks. No rush to drink this.Prices:| BC | $99.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $97.49 | 750ml |
| QC | $99.50 | 750ml |
| AB | $104.99 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne NV
Champagne, FranceThe strength of any brand is its consistent quality, and that’s what you get from the Roederer Brut year in and year out. Making high-quality champagne on an immense scale is no mean feat, but it helps to be the largest independent, family-owned and managed house (founded in 1776), managing more than 235ha of prime vineyards which supply 75 percent of its needs. Brut Premier is a 35/38/28 mix of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier, with 25 percent reserve wines aged in oak casks for 2-8 years. The blend spends 36 months on its lees. Roederer is all about elegance mixed with toasted hazelnuts, brioche, Meyer lemon, and a splash of saltwater. The finish is fresh and seems to linger forever. Dependably good.Prices:| BC | $77.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $75.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $66.95 | 750ml |
| QC | $72.50 | 750ml |
| NF | $79.20 | 750ml |
| AB | $74.99 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Louis Roederer Brut Rosé Champagne 2012
Champagne, FranceLouis Roederer vintage is always an owned vines affair. In 2012 the mix was 63/37 pinot noir/chardonnay, matured in oak tuns, without MLF, where it rests for four years on the lees before spending an additional six months after disgorging in the bottle. The nose is a beautiful melange of autolytic toasted notes with rich cherry, mandarin, and apricot that belies its delicate pale pink colour. Elegance and minerality, with a favourite Treve term ‘smoked stones' that line the back end, leaving your palate fresh and ready for food.Prices:| BC | $96.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $102.95 | 750ml |
| ON | $104.95 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Champagne Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV
Champagne, FranceThis deeper hued rosé is a blend of 50/35/15 pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier, from approximately 45 crus, and utilizing 15% still wine. Salted cherry brioche, raspberry, red currant, red apple is threaded with tight pink grapefruit acidity, and finishes with a light toasty spicing. The core is padded with meringue, countered with a riveting acidity that keeps all this red fruit aloft. A natural food wine, though also lovely solo.Prices:| BC | $106.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $104.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $93.99 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Champagne Laurent Perrier La Cuvée Brut NV
Champagne, FranceFirst encountered last year, La Cuvée is a revamped version of Brut NV. The update is made possible by the acquisition of excellent chardonnay vineyards in the Côte des Blancs back in 2004. With those vines now in play, the flagship Brut has been restyled to be chardonnay dominant. LP has been around since 1812, and has been a pioneer in the stainless steel fermentation process in Champagne. The blend is 55 percent chardonnay, 35 pinot noir, and 10 pinot meunier, from 110 growers, and the amount of reserve wine fluctuates between 20 and 30 percent. Best of all, the dosage has dropped three grams to 9 g/l. The nose is floral and citrus, with a touch of almond and hazelnut. There is a firm undercurrent of lemon that appeals. It would be perfect with lox.Prices:| BC | $78.85 | 750ml |
| ON | $69.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $65.60 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Laurent Perrier Cuvée Rosé Brut NV
Champagne, FranceLa Cuvée Rosé, perennial rosé fizz favourite, is as much recognizable for its distinctive bottle shape as for its smouldering taste. Entirely pinot noir, this was sourced from 10 crus in Montagne de Reims, spent up to three days in contact with skins before bleeding off (saignée), and spent a minimum of 60 months on lees before a disgorgement around 9 g/l. Creamy raspberry, strawberry tart, is scented with ample cherry blossoms, seasoned with smoked stone, and freshened with tart red currant acidity to a brisk bitter cherry finish. Upfront and present, this is a forward and memorable pink fizz.Prices:| BC | $119.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $119.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $119.99 | 750ml |
| QC | $117.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut NV
Champagne, FranceThe Bollinger house style is rich and powerful. The blend is 60/25/15 pinot noir/ chardonnay/ pinot meunier, with a small amount of reserve wine spanning 15 years. Fifty percent of this cuvée ferments in oak casks, and you can’ t miss the rich, toasted hazelnut nose that draws you into the glass. Add some red fruits, and creamy texture, and you end up with a long, expansive food-worthy sparkler with equally compelling acidity that captures the imagination. As good as this is now, you can effortlessly age it a decade. Also available in 1.5 litre and .375 litre formats.Prices:| BC | $94.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $90.25 | 750ml |
| ON | $78.95 | 750ml |
| QC | $76.25 | 750ml |
| PEI | $74.95 | 750ml |
| NB | $79.95 | 750ml |
| NS | $79.95 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Champagne Lacourte Godbillon Premier Cru Rosé NV
Champagne, FranceChampagne Lacourte-Godbillon is run by husband-and-wife team Richard Desvignes and Géraldine Lacourte, who took over the Écueil estate from Lacourte’s parents in 2006, and began converting it to organics and biodynamics. They are the ninth generation of Champagne growers to run the estate, and they are the third generation to bottle and sell under their own label. Situated in the northwestern part of the Montagne de Reims, this rosé is 25 year old pinot noir vines, and the blend includes 10% aged in oak. Based on the 2013 vintage, this also has 20% reserve wines from 2012, and the blend spent four year on lees before disgorgement and 6 g/l dosage. Pouring a lovely orange pink hue, this streams grapefruit and blood orange throughout, with a savoury iodine allure and a slight griff of texture. Acidity is riveting, carrying the wild strawberry and cherry to a lengthy finish. This achieves savoury finesse, which is not a common combo in rosé champagne.Prices:| France | $55.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Champagne Lacourte Godbillon Mi Pentes 1er Cru NV
Montagne de Reims, Champagne, FranceChampagne Lacourte-Godbillon is run by husband-and-wife team Richard Desvignes and Géraldine Lacourte, who took over the Écueil estate from Lacourte’s parents in 2006, and began converting the 8ha to organics and biodynamics. They are the ninth generation of Champagne growers to run the estate, and they are the third generation to bottle and sell under their own label. Situated in the northwestern part of the Montagne de Reims, this pinot noir comes from 40 year old vines across different parcels, mid-slope (Mi Pentes) = best sites. This was based on the 2015 vintage, with 31% reserve wines from 2014, and fermented 20% in 228L barrel from their own forest in Écueil. After 31 months on the lees, this was dosed with 3 g/l, and spent 6 months in the bottle prior to release. Big red fruit, youthful cherry rule powerful in the palate, backed by brioche and nougat, and braced with an amazing riffing acidity to counter the power. Impressively handled and drinking now, and will continue to mature in your cellar.Prices:| France | $47.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Champagne Lacourte Godbillon Premier Cru Terroirs d'Ecueil NV
Champagne, FranceChampagne Lacourte-Godbillon is run by husband-and-wife team Richard Desvignes and Géraldine Lacourte, who took over the 8ha Écueil estate from Lacourte’s parents in 2006, and started using organic and biodynamic practices. Géraldine is the ninth generation of Champagne growers to run the estate, and they are the third generation to bottle and sell under their own label. Situated in the northwestern part of the Montagne de Reims, this NV is a blend of 85 pinot noir / 15 chardonnay with vines averaging 35 years, and is based on the 2015 vintage, with 43% reserve wines. Stainless fermented, with no MLF, it spent 31 months on lees, and was disgorged in January 2019 at 5 g/l. Red apple, marshmallow pads the medium palate, held taut with riveting acidity. A kiss of cherry and strawberry lingers on the very lengthy finish.Prices:| USA | $50.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Champagne Taittinger Nocturne Sec NV
Champagne, FranceSweet champagne is a small market, but it has its place. Nocturne follows the Taittinger Brut formula but gets a much higher dosage of sugar at 17.5 g/l plus another twelve months on the lees in bottle. The additional bottle development is the key to settling the sweetness factor into the wine, as opposed to on it. It is still on the Sec scale, as it's modestly sweet. The fruit is a mix of ripe pear and ginger spices with low acidity, translating it into a smooth sipping nightclub bubble, or one that you could serve with spicy sushi rolls. Open, drink, and have fun.Prices:| BC | $93.00 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Champagne Taittinger Prestige Rosé NV
Champagne, FranceTaittinger vinifies 85% of the blend as white wine, with the remainder vinified as red, to keep the elegant house style. The cuvée is 50/35/15 pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier from nearly 45 crus, including some reserve wines. Look for an elevated floral nose with notes of crushed raspberries and cherries that spills onto the palate. The acidity is Taittinger fresh despite some nine grams per litre dosage, leaving a smooth finish. Try this with a charcuterie plate or a favourite carpaccio dish.Prices:| BC | $106.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $104.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $93.99 | 750ml |
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97PTS
Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2007
Champagne, FranceCan the 2007 Blanc de Blancs be better than 2006? The folks at Taittinger think so, along with much of the trade who know the two vintages well. It has all the hallmark Taittinger traits: lemon zest, green apples, chalk, minerality, a luxurious creamy mousse with an electric wire of acidity running through the entire wine. It’s the purity and the elevated heights of the essence of chardonnay that set it apart from the norm. It was disgorged and topped up at nine grams dosage after spending nine years-plus on its lees. The finish is super long flecked with sea salt, ginger and honey. Not near ready to drink, and if well-cellared, it will keep through 2027. Textbook blanc de blancs, and the standard by which all others should be measured.Prices:| AB | $245.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $459.25 | 1500ml |
| NS | $200.00 | 750ml |
| BC | $256.00 | 750ml |
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95PTS
Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2007
Champagne, FranceThe Comtes Rosé is only produced only in exceptional years, and then only with Grand Cru grapes. The mix is chardonnay (30 percent) from Côte des Blancs and pinot noir (70 percent) from Bouzy. The final blend has 15 percent pinot noir added as a still red wine before spending at least eight years on its lees. Production is tiny, and only the very best of the free-run juice makes it into the bottle. The colour is super pale salmon, and the nose is fresh and exuberant expressing strawberries, raspberries and cranberries supported by a creamy brioche note. An elegant, tight, electric stunning pink bubble that has everything you could want in a rosé Champagne. It should effortlessly age a decade. Superb with most fish dishes and select Chinese dishes.Prices:| QC | $319.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $328.00 | 750ml |
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93PTS
Champagne Taittinger Prélude Grands Crus NV
Champagne, FranceThis fuller, more luxurious version of Taittinger is equal parts Grand Cru pinot noir (Montagne de Reims) and Grand Cru chardonnay (Côte des Blancs), aged for 60+ months on lees and bottled with less than 10 grams of sugar at dosage. The attack is dense with creamy, buttery brioche notes mix with a whiff of toasted nuts before a floral, spicy undercurrent kicks in. It is one complex sparkling wine with impressive lees, all held in check by Taittinger’s signature bead of acidity. I love the value offered here between the Brut Reserve and Vintage Taittinger. Most seafood, and the richer, the better, will work here.Prices:| BC | $120.00 | 750ml |
| AB | $115.99 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Champagne Taittinger Brut Reserve NV
Champagne, FranceTaittinger proudly “considers it an honour to produce a Brut champagne every year without exception". And with 288 hectares of vineyards across Champagne, you can see it is in excellent shape to cope with anything climate change can throw its way, at least so far. Brut Réserve is a blend of chardonnay (40%), pinot noir and pinot meunier (60%) wines from over 35 different vineyards that are aged a full 36 months on its lees and often longer. The high proportion of chardonnay, unique among fine nonvintage champagnes, is what sets this wine apart from so many others. Floral honey, baked pear, strawberry, and citrus draw you into the glass. The attack is elegant and persistent with more of the same. Serve with just about anything. The 3D 'hologram effect' of bubbles on its gift-packaging is the icing on the cake if you are looking for a great gift.Prices:| BC | $76.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $69.99 | 750ml |
| SK | $76.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Champagne Guy Charlemagne Brut Classic NV
Champagne, FranceChampagne Guy Charlemagne was founded in 1892 in the heart of the Côte des Blancs. The estate today covers 15 hectares of vineyards, and is overseen by 5th generation Philippe Charlemagne. They use only their own grapes, in this case, 50/50 chardonnay / pinot noir from their chalky/clay vineyards in Sezanne (the only cuvée of the house that doesn't come from the Côte des Blancs).This was vinified in stainless before going into bottle, where it spent two years on the lees before dosage with 8 g/l. Massive plump marshmallow, meringue, bread dough, red apple fill the cushy core. Quite expansive and toasty, and finishing a bit vanilla shortbread, courtesy of the dosage. If you like your champagnes plump and rich and a tad sweetish, look here.Prices:| BC | $88.00 | 750ml |
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92PTS
Champagne Vilmart & Cie Grand Réserve Brut Premier Cru NV
Montagne de Reims, Champagne, FranceThough no longer technically a grower champagne because Vilmart & Cie sources some grapes, they are certainly in the same authentic, hands-on, small-scale league. This is a 70/30 pinot noir/chardonnay cuvée (not to be mistaken with their Grand Cellier, which reverses the grapes in the mix). This bottle was based on the 2015 vintage, with reserve wines from 13 and 14, and 1er cru grapes from Rilly-la-Montagne, with vines averaging 35 years. All of Vilmart's base wines ferment in large oak foudres for 10 months prior to secondary fermentation in the bottle, and none see MLF. This was dosed with 9 g/l before release. Quite tight and lively, thanks to no MLF, but with a gentle cushion, thanks to the aging in oak. Biscuit, lemon dough, green apple is bright and lively on the medium palate, the acidity holding this taut and vibrant through the chalky finish. Lovely completion throughout. Disgorged in July 2017.Prices:| BC | $70.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $79.00 | 750ml |
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05 December 2019
86PTS
Lakeside Cellars Syrah 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFrom Hahn Vineyard, on Osoyoos' East Bench, this was fermented and aged in new and 2nd fill American oak for 24 months prior to bottling. It's a recipe that Lakeside Cellars seems to employ for all of its big reds, and one that just amplifies the wines beyond need. Overripe fruit is redolent with big baking spices, toasted cedar, and smoke, weighting down the full body. Tannins are worn soft, and the alcohol (14.2% declared) warms up the finish. Too much heavy winemaking here, which is a pity.Prices:| BC | $26.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
CedarCreek Platinum Haynes Creek Single Vineyard Syrah 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis inaugural vintage of Platinum Syrah pays homage to the now-10-year-old Syrah vines at Haynes Creek. Winemaker Taylor Whelan takes a similar approach to his syrah that he does with pinot noir. It is wild fermented with 25 percent whole bunches to build floral, spicy aromatics. One percent whole bunch viognier is added to fix colour and to help lift aromatics. It spends 14 months in large French oak puncheons to further encourage a softer, fruity style. The colour is deep, the attack soft and floral with a light meaty peppery finish. A New World syrah with a sweet fruit character that is more Washington State and California, than Northern Rhone. You can drink this now with grilled lamb.Prices:| BC | $49.99 | 750ml |
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90PTS
RockBare McLaren Vale Shiraz 2017
AustraliaRockbare is made from select blocks of vines from the NE corner of McLaren Vale harvested during the first two weeks of March. The ferment is done in stainless steel and matured in 25 percent new and 75 percent older French and American oak hogsheads, and some older large-format French oak vats for 14 months. The colour is inky black, and the massive, juicy fruit palate is an intense mix of mulberries and blueberry jam, chocolate and espresso. There is just the right level of acidity to keep it fresh. We love the winery recommendation that you serve it with Korean barbecue meats.Prices:| BC | $37.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Shiraz 2016
Clare Valley, South Australia, AustraliaOld vines (42 years old) at elevation (500 m) gives the Lodge hill a leg up on many of its competitors. Ther ea hint of acidity under the candied black fruit nose flecked with black and blue, berries and a dollop of cocoa. The finish is minty with a touch of curry and light tannins that will allow you to enjoy this classic now or cellar it for a handful of years. Lamb is the classic match, but pork would be equally desirable.Prices:| BC | $31.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $30.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $21.95 | 750ml |
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87PTS
Yalumba Samuel's Collection Barossa Shiraz 2017
Barossa Valley, South Australia, AustraliaSamuel's Collection is a new tier for Yalumba, said to celebrate the “heritage, longevity, and estate” established by its founder Samuel Smith. The wine style is new as well, according to head of winemaking Louisa Rose, who says wine drinkers are seeking more youthful, generous and fresher wines. This candied blue fruit hits that mark, but one wonders what’s wrong with this generation of wine drinkers who prefer simple, quaffable shiraz to the blockbuster powerhouses that define the Barossa. I guess it’s up to you to see whether you want this style or not. I am lukewarm on this venture. Ready to drink.Prices:| BC | $29.98 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Road 13 Jackpot Syrah 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaRoad 13 takes their Jackpot Syrah to another level of ripeness, clocking in at 15.3% abv on the label. It’s really more shiraz-like in style, with jammy black fruits and white pepper that will you have you thinking Barossa. Just replace sagebrush for Australia’s eucalyptus. The tannins are quite polished, and the wood more in the background, making this approachable even just two years after the vintage. I don’t know if weight and opulence is the future of Okanagan syrah, but there’s no denying that this is an enjoyable pour all the same.Prices:| BC | $43.48 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Black Swift Vineyards Hans Estate Syrah 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaHans Estate Vineyard is located on the East Osoyoos Bench, just below where the fruit for Mission Hill's iconic Oculus is grown. A brooding syrah at 15% abv with opulent black and blue fruits and no shortage of American oak, this is straight out of the old school Australia playbook. Medium-full bodied, it’s a broad, plush wine that provides hedonistic drinking pleasure that will pair perfectly with the upcoming winter months. Very good length, though not exactly a steal at this price. Decant if enjoying now, or give it a couple of years to allow the oak to further integrate.Prices:| BC | $59.99 | 750ml |
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87PTS
Poplar Grove Syrah 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaA blend of 95 percent syrah and 5 percent malbec, this was sourced from Poplar Grove's Haynes Creek Vineyard in Osoyoos. The fruit is surprisingly evolved for the 2016 vintage, showing restrained dried black fruits with lots of wood. Unfortunately this is masking some of the varietal character. In short, a soft, easy red wine to drink now.Prices:| BC | $35.95 | 750ml |
| AB | $48.99 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Tightrope Winery Syrah 2016
Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaTasted again at The Judgement of BC, where it finished first overall, this Naramata syrah is the perfect reflection of moderate mid-valley temperatures and a coferment with six to seven percent viognier. The style is fresh and more critical balanced. It was fermented in small lots after a five day cold soak, collecting colour without alcohol, and then barrel aged for ten months, in mostly French oak. The nose is floral, with violets spilling onto its black cherry, blueberry, tobacco palate. The finish is silky, ripe, savoury, and best of all, elegant.Prices:| BC | $36.95 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Penfolds Shiraz Kalimna Bin 28 2016
South Australia, AustraliaBin 28 is a multi-regional blend that is a “showcase of warm climate Australian shiraz” and what it can do in American oak. Yes, this will appeal to fans of ripe, oaky reds, but there’s still Penfolds’ hallmark elegance and traditional sensibilities. Blackberry compote and iodine combine with espresso and vanilla from the oak, which is harmoniously integrated at this stage. It’s not as powerful as you might think at first sniff, more medium-bodied than full, with grainy tannins from the wood, and moderate acidity. I find the fruit character already slightly evolved, so I’m hesitant to recommend this for the cellar, but it makes for a fine pour now.Prices:| BC | $49.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $49.99 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 2013
McLaren Vale, South Australia, AustraliaThis pours a dense purple hue, with little to no sign of age. It’s a full-throttle style of shiraz, and an interesting contrast to the Penfolds Bin 28, with jammy blackberry and black raspberry, menthol, and gobs of oak from aging in a combination of 58 percent French and 42 percent American barrels for 18 months. Full-bodied and quite concentrated, this has a plush texture with just enough acidity to keep everything in balance. Drinking well now, this will continue to hold for the next 4-5 years, but the oak will increasingly overshadow the fruit with time.Prices:| BC | $35.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $37.00 | 750ml |
| ON | $37.00 | 750ml |
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89PTS
CedarCreek Platinum Haynes Creek Single Vineyard Syrah 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFrom 10-year-old vines at CedarCreek's Haynes Creek Vineyard, this checks nearly all of the boxes in terms of modern syrah winemaking: a dollop of viognier; use of whole clusters, fermentation by indigenous yeasts; and maturation in large oak puncheons. It is quite youthful, showing some confected carbonic character (presumably from the whole-cluster bunches) with juicy black fruits and loads of floral and spicy aromatics. There is density and weight, but without sacrificing freshness and elegant, structured tannins that will allow this wine to age gracefully for 5+ years. Good length.Prices:| BC | $49.99 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Road 13 Syrah 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis pours an inky purple but needs a moment to get over some initial reductive notes. It’s quite youthful at this stage, and even with time in the glass it’s shy to open up. At the moment, it’s all about dense dark fruits and chocolatey oak. That said, underneath there’s some savoury complexity, with meat and violets that I think will come to the foreground with time, allowing this to be more varietally expressive. However, it will always be a rich, bold expression of syrah (14.7% abv). It could also benefit from some time for the grippy tannins to soften (a hallmark of the 2017 vintage, it seems). Give this a long decant if you're going to open it anytime soon; I revisited my opened bottle two days later and it was drinking quite nicely.Prices:| BC | $25.00 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Stag's Hollow Syrah Amalia Vineyard 2017
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFrom Amalia Vineyard on the Osoyoos West Bench, this was fermented with one ton of dried, lignified stems, which provides a sappy, spicy quality that works well with the floral and red fruit character of this wine. Well balanced and refreshingly fresh in this line up of syrah, it’s medium-bodied and decidedly moreish, if not overly complex or long in length. Fine value and a worthwhile exploration of stem inclusion and syrah’s savoury side. Best served lightly chilled.Prices:| BC | $26.00 | 750ml |
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86PTS
Lakeside Cellars Syrah 2016
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaLakeside Cellars is a relatively new winery based on the eastern shore of Lake Osoyoos. There’s certainly the ripeness of the South Okanagan here, clocking in at 14.2% abv, but more pronounced is the American oak from a 24 month élevage. Worse, the palate is quite disjointed, combining muddled fruit with unintegrated, tart acidity. Not unfairly priced, but just falls short of the mark.Prices:| BC | $26.00 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Falernia Single Vineyard Titón Reserva Syrah 2014
Valle del Elqui, ChileThe Titón Vineyard was planted on its roots from 2000-2003, providing Falernia with a unique piece of terroir-based syrah in Elqui. Normal temperatures are on the cool side, seldom above 25C, with nighttime temps of 10C that are often combined with foggy mornings. That said, Titón is a dry site that sits about 350 metres above the Pacific Ocean, and a mere 18 kilometres from the coast. The grapes are handpicked and cold-soaked for three days before fermentation, and only ten percent of the wine is aged in premium French oak barrels for ten months before finishing and bottling. The result is a stunningly elegant version of syrah, rich in dark, mellow fruit and with notes of black pepper and black olives. Soft, round and eminently sippable. I believe the balance to be so perfect it will age a decade or longer. The winery suggests grilled lamb and eggplant, I am heading to the kitchen right now to prepare that. Delicious.Prices:| BC | $28.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $24.99 | 750ml |
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03 December 2019
92PTS
Giovanni Rosso Nebbiolo Langhe Rosso 2016
Piedmont, ItalyI often say to cabernet sauvignon drinkers that eventually they will make their way to nebbiolo, the great Italian grape variety used to make Barolo. Here is a wine that will hasten the transition. I’m not sure there is a better wine under $30 in the BC market. It’s better than last year and last year it was terrific. The nose is captivating with its fragrant rose petal and licorice notes. The colour and weight are pinot noir-like, and the palate is deliciously juicy and forthcoming from front to back. You can drink this now or cellar three to five years and beyond because it is perfectly balanced. Brava to Giovani Rosso and its commitment to making serious nebbiolo at all levels. Back up the truck. Consider this a top match with your holiday turkey dish.Prices:| BC | $27.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $30.00 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alba 2018
Alba, Cuneo, Piedmont, ItalySeamless, as is expected from Giacosa. From select vineyards in the villages of Neive, Neviglie, Treiso and Alba, this youthful red was fermented and aged in stainless for 7 months. Finesse from the start, this opens with scented red florals, cherry, red currants, wrapped around a salted plum / cherry core, and finishing with a kiss of mineral salts and kirsch. Tannins are whisper fine, barely outing the perimeter of this medium-bodied red. There's a lightness and effortless here which makes drinking now easy. That said, the articulation of this wine means it will happily cellar over the next couple of years. Amazing value.Prices:| ON | $38.95 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Casale del Giglio Cesanese 2016
Lazio, ItalyThe last time I had this wine, I was impressed with its soft, juicy, authentic Italian styling, smooth but dry. Cesanese comune is one of many indigenous Italian grapes with low-yielding and spindly bunches, grown primarily in the Lazio region, and rarely seen outside of it. Cinnamon on the nose reappears on the sweet feeling palate, but this time around, the tannins are silky and inviting, adding a bit of flesh but without the grip. Quaffable red plum and cherry fruit grab all the attention mid-palate before a soft, warm peppery finish. The perfect spaghetti red with a bit of class. Bolognese anyone?Prices:| BC | $23.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $25.40 | 750ml |
| ON | $22.99 | 750ml |
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91PTS
Batasiolo Barolo 2015
Piedmont, ItalyBatasiolo Barolo has always been one you can drink young thanks to its refined elegance and delicate styling. Look for a lightish colour, cranberry, red cherry, violets, with bright acidity and a long, subtle floral finish with a little bit of a dry, resiny bite. A long way from the 1970s, this wine has a bright future and an excellent today. Complex and even better with food.Prices:| BC | $37.99 | 750ml |
| AB | $27.99 | 750ml |
| MB | $39.99 | 750ml |
| ON | $32.00 | 750ml |
| QC | $32.85 | 750ml |
| PEI | $33.95 | 750ml |
| NB | $36.95 | 750ml |
| NS | $36.50 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Travaglini Gattinara Riserva 2013
Gattinara, Piedmont, ItalyThe Travaglini family rules and represents Gattinara, with nearly 60% of all the vineyards in the small DOCG, located in the rocky foothills of the Monte Rosa range of northern Piemonte. Today Cinzia, great-granddaughter of Clemente, manages operations, and her husband Massimo Collauto is chief winemaker. The distinctive sloped bottle was designed to fit naturally in the hand and catches sediment during decanting. TreVigne refers to the 3 historic vineyards of the family where these vines grow. Sourced from the iron-rich reddish soils of the appellation, and up to 350m altitude, this nebbiolo fermented in stainless before 30 months in Slovenian oak casks (20% spends 10 months in French barriques) prior to blending and resting in the bottle 8 months. Ferrous veins run through this appropriately aged wine, streaking along leather, dried cherry, salted herbs, faint smoke, and dried florals. There's an earthy mushroom note that darts in and out alluringly, and makes me think of cracking this with wild mushroom braises.Prices:| BC | $53.00 | 750ml |
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90PTS
Rivera Il Falcone Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva 2013
Puglia, ItalyRivera was founded by the Corato family in the late 1940's, and son Carlo has been overseeing the estate since the early 1980's. The property represents Puglia in the prestigious Instituto Grandi Marche. Based on the main grape of Puglia's Castel del Monte, nero di troia, this aged 14 months in French oak, and then a further year in bottle before release. Layers of cherry, mulberry, raspberry, leather, anise, and sweet tobacco filter through a gently worn palate, with tannins long and finely grippy to the cocoa dusted finish. This medium bodied red is mellow and integrated; drinking very well now, and well suited to braised rabbit or game bird.Prices:| BC | $29.99 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2015
Piedmont, ItalyIn 1958, the priest of the village of Barbaresco foresaw that the only way small properties could survive was by banding together, so he gathered together 19 growers and founded the Produttori del Barbaresco. From its humble beginnings making the first three vintages in the church basement, Produttori del Barbaresco has grown into a 50+ member co-operative with more than 250 acres of nebbiolo vineyards in the Barbaresco appellation. This feels every inch of nebbiolo's grip, with raging, ragged tannins housing ripe plum, thorny wild blackberry, raspberry, and roses. Even opening a day in advance doesn't tame the tannins here (and the wash of Brettanomyces doesn't help), but perhaps a meaty pasta dish would do the trick.Prices:| BC | $50.99 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Renato Ratti Ochetti Langhe Nebbiolo 2016
Langhe, Cuneo, Piedmont, ItalyGive this some air time. Dried florals, dried scrubby herbs (lavender, rosemary, oregano) wrap around a ripe plum and cherry core, flocked with velveteen plumpness, but gripped with nebbiolo's characteristic youthful tannins. Pouring a bricking hue, this has a vein of earthy, natural, texture through to the sticky finish. Best taken with a lusty tomato sauced meat / mushroom pasta dish.Prices:| BC | $33.00 | 750ml |
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02 December 2019
91PTS
Wiengut Wieninger Nussberg Grüner Veltliner 2017
Wien (Vienna), AustriaFrom Nussberg's limestone-laden soils, this is a crisp and focused GV, quivering with lemon pith, river stones, pear skin, and kissed with quince and elderflower. The finish echoes with minerality. You've the slight generosity (for Austria) of the region, tucked up against Vienna, but the raciness of the the soils, and the winery's deft touch. Drinking beautifully now.Prices:| ON | $28.95 | 750ml |
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89PTS
Wieninger Wiener Grüner Veltliner 2017
Wien (Vienna), AustriaFrom the wine region touching Vienna's borders, Wien, this grüner veltliner carries the region's warmth (for Austria, that is), showing pear, lemon, white peach, Rainier cherry on a bed of river stones. The finish is mouthwatering and moreish. This is a subtle, harmonious GV, suitable for a wide variety of foods, and folks.Prices:| ON | $24.95 | 750ml |
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88PTS
Nigl Gärtling Grüner Veltliner 2018
Niederösterreich, Weinland Österreich, AustriaGärtling is a style of wine, akin to some Vinho Verde, where there is dissolved CO2 remaining in the wine purposefully to give it a slight spritz. This is a light 11.5 degree wine, with subtle hints of white florals, elderflower, Asian pear, gooseberries. The spritz is ever so noticeable, dissipating quickly in the glass, and leaving a spritely, fresh mouthfeel. Suitable for light sashimi, and delicate salads.Prices:| ON | $23.95 | 750ml |
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January 2020