Wine
Wine
M.A. Monticelli 2019 Barolo DOCG
Italian Red
Wild berry, red cherry and raspberry compote meet dried rose petals, forest brush, tobacco, wood and spice. The palate is soft and supple, framed by structured tannins, balanced acidity and finesse. Nebbiolo comes from Bussia, Pugnane and Panerole. Maturation includes twenty-four months in Slavonian oak casks and twelve months in bottle before release. Production totals 140 cases, and alcohol is fourteen percent.
Domaine de Montmain 2023 Les Lapinières Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Blanc
French White
The colour is luminous, with an aromatic tropical-fruit profile. The attack is direct, and the palate is generous, fruit-driven and fresh. Chardonnay grows on calcareous marl. Grapes are hand harvested at low yields and rigorously sorted before maturation for twelve months in traditional Burgundian barrels, thirty percent of them new. The vineyard was in conversion to organic farming.
Domaine de Montmain 2018 Les Genévrières Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Rouge
French Red
Deep red colour has violet reflections. Red fruit, underbrush and spice form a deep profile. The palate is powerful, with marked tannins and a persistent, spicy finish. Pinot Noir grows in a one-hectare monopole, and the wine is matured in oak barrels. Marked acidity, balance and aromatic persistence accompany its capacity for ageing. Alcohol is thirteen percent.
Domaine Naudin-Ferrand 2023 Côte-de-Nuits-Villages
French Red
Pinot Noir comes from several east-facing sites around Corgoloin, planted on limestone and clay with vines twenty-five to seventy years old. The grapes are destemmed, given a short cold maceration and fermented on skins for two weeks with occasional pigeage and pump-overs. The wine undergoes barrel élevage and is bottled unfiltered by gravity with a small sulphur addition. The palate is supple, with lively acidity and silky tannins.
Chivite 2021 Colección 125 Gran Vino Blanco
Spanish White
Pale yellow colour has green tones. Ripe white fruit, citrus, acacia flower and bakery notes form an intense, complex aromatic profile. The palate is unctuous, dense and silky, with freshness. Chardonnay was harvested by hand, briefly macerated and pressed at low pressure. Fermentation and twelve months of ageing took place in French oak barrels with the lees in suspension. Alcohol is fourteen percent.
Giovanni Sordo 2016 Barolo
Italian Red
Garnet-red colour shows subtle brick reflections. Dried rose, forest floor, cherry, tar, truffle and spice form the aromatic profile. The palate is full-bodied and structured, with firm, integrated tannins, lively acidity, red fruit, liquorice, leather and earthy tones. The finish is long. This wine is made entirely from Nebbiolo, and the alcohol level is fourteen percent.
Le Piane 2017 Boca
Italian Red
Crushed rose petal, white pepper, cedar and pipe tobacco form the aromatic profile. Minerality and freshness are present. The blend is eighty-five percent Nebbiolo and fifteen percent Vespolina. Fruit comes from thirty- to fifty-year-old vineyards rooted in volcanic porphyry gravel. Fermentation with the skins takes place in open steel and wooden casks. The wine aged four years, was bottled without filtration or fining, and rested for six months.
Poderi Colla 2020 Nebbiolo d’Alba 1.5 L
Italian Red
Sour cherry, red plum and dried rose petal appear with anise and earthy spice. The palate is medium-bodied and structured, with bright acidity and finely grained tannins. A savoury character is also present, and the finish is long and dry. The wine is made entirely from Nebbiolo, carries fourteen percent alcohol and holds the Nebbiolo d'Alba designation in Piedmont, Italy.
Domaine Tessier 2021 Bourgogne Blanc Champ Perrier
French White
Lemon, apple and ripe yellow fruit appear with mineral character. The palate is juicy, light, finely textured and focused, with a pure profile from first taste through the finish. Chardonnay comes from vines that are mostly more than forty years old. The wine spent twelve months in barriques, ten percent new, and six months in stainless steel. Alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Aymeric Paillard 2020 Petit Père Saint-Joseph
French Red
Ripe red fruit appears with light spice, camphor and blond tobacco. The palate is fresh, delicate and dense, with integrated tannins and a supple texture. A juicy, sanguine note is present on the finish. The Syrah comes from steep slopes in Ozon and Sarras. Part of the fruit is vinified as whole clusters and part by semi-carbonic maceration. Ageing lasts two winters in used barrels and demi-muids.
Aymeric Paillard 2021 Petit Père Saint-Joseph
French Red
Fresh balance and juicy character sit with depth and complex aromatics. The tannins are fine and integrated, and the texture is supple. Syrah comes from steep slopes in Ozon and Sarras. Part of the fruit is vinified as whole clusters and part by semi-carbonic maceration in small vats and open barrels. Ageing takes place in used barrels and demi-muids over two winters.
Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV 375 mL
French Sparkling
Pale salmon-pink colour shows a gold sheen and a persistent mousse of fine bubbles. Wild strawberry, red fruit, fresh pear, ripe peach, grapefruit and flowers are present. The palate is delicate and rounded, with silky fruit, taut minerality, lemon acidity, fine phenolic tension and white pepper. The blend is forty percent Chardonnay, thirty percent Pinot Noir and thirty percent Pinot Meunier.
Le Ragose 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Intense, brilliant ruby colour has a light garnet rim. Ripe dark berries, underbrush and cooking spices appear with raisin, star anise and tobacco. The palate is concentrated and rich, with firm, refined tannins. Corvina, Rondinella and Corvinone Veronese form the blend. Stainless steel and large wooden casks were used for maturation. The wine comes from Veneto, Italy.
Bussìa Soprana 2012 Barolo
Italian Red
Nebbiolo comes from about 2.5 hectares of vineyards in the Bussia Soprana area, on tuff and sand. The vines average fifteen to thirty years old and are trained to Guyot. Grapes are harvested in October. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel at twenty-eight to thirty-two degrees Celsius with selected yeasts, and maceration lasts fifteen days. Maturation lasts twenty-four months in thirty-quintal French oak casks. Alcohol is fourteen percent.
Tenuta Mazzolino 2022 Noir Pinot Nero dell’Oltrepò Pavese
Italian Red
Deep, bright ruby colour has a garnet edge. Raspberry, pomegranate, tree bark, earth and white pepper develop into curry spice and tart red cherry. Roasted red berries appear with earthy and floral notes. The palate has silky texture, supple tannins, juicy acidity and concentrated fruit. Pinot Nero comes from the Regina vineyard, with clay-loam topsoil, sand veins and chalky bedrock. Maturation lasts twelve months in 228-litre pièces.
Casanova di Neri 2020 Giovanni Neri Rosso di Montalcino
Italian Red
Bright red colour accompanies strawberry, sour cherry and other red berries. The palate is graceful and balanced, with young tannins, acidity and silkiness. Sangiovese comes mainly from a Sesta-area vineyard with vines nearly fifty years old. Grapes are harvested by hand in September, fermented spontaneously without added yeast and macerated for eighteen days in temperature-controlled oak vats. Maturation lasts fifteen months in tonneaux.
CheckMate 2021 Silent Bishop Merlot
Canadian Red
Red currant, raspberry, coffee, tobacco and floral notes join black fruit, mocha and dark chocolate. The wine is fresh and lively, with fine-grained tannins and a lengthy finish. Merlot comes from the cooler western benches of the South Okanagan. Wild fermentation is followed by twenty months in French oak. The palate also carries black cherry, blackcurrant and balanced acidity.
Baron de Montfaucon 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
French Red
Old Grenache accounts for ninety-two percent of this parcel wine from the southern slopes of the La Crau plateau, where rolled stones cover the ground. Blackberry and stewed blueberry sit with sweet oak spice. Ripe fruit has a rounded texture, fine tannins and a long finish with liquorice. Maturation in barrel lasts eighteen months, and production totalled 8,500 bottles.
Domaine Guiberteau 2021 Saumur Blanc Le Bourg
French White
Lemon, almond and apple flavours appear with chilli spice and salty notes. The white is light bodied and firmly poised. Chenin Blanc comes from a one-hectare plot in Brézé, below Clos des Carmes, on sandy-clay soil over soft tuffeau limestone. Vines were planted in the 1940s. Whole bunches are pressed, fermented naturally and matured for twelve months in used barrels.
Masi 2012 Costasera Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Very dark ruby colour is joined by baked fruit, plum and cherry. Fruity flavours include coffee and cocoa, with a balanced palate. Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara form the blend. The grapes rest on bamboo racks during the winter for partial natural dehydration, concentrating colour, aromas and flavours. Alcohol is fifteen percent. The wine is made in the Valpolicella Classica area of Veneto.
Fairview Cellars 2011 The Bear Okanagan Valley
Canadian Red
Medium ruby-purple colour accompanies ripe cherry and liquorice. The wine is dry, with medium-plus acidity and full, ripe tannins. Cherry, plum, cassis, spice and tobacco appear, with a long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the blend, joined by Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Mint, blackcurrant and spicy cherry are also present. Production totalled three hundred cases.
Kaesler 2005 The Bogan Shiraz Barossa Valley
Australian Red
Inky violet colour accompanies crème de mûre, blueberry, vanilla, rose, clove and cinnamon. Dark berry and cherry flavours sit with vanillin oak and supple tannins. Fruit came from vines aged twenty-five to 105 years. The palate is full-bodied, powerful and textured. The wine matured in new and one-year-old American oak. Alcohol is sixteen percent, and the finish is bright.
Reichsrat von Buhl 2014 Forster Pechstein Riesling Grosses Gewächs Trocken
German White
Subtle, exotic yellow-fruit aromas accompany a tight, dense character, mineral salinity and a long, fresh finish. Basalt occurs at the surface, alongside red sandstone-derived soil and sandy loam, with clay and limestone about two metres below. Riesling ferments in 2,400-litre Doppelstück barrels and remains on full lees until July. The wine is filtered once and bottled in mid-August.
Argentiera 2023 Scenario Bolgheri Bianco
Italian White
Pale straw-yellow colour has silver reflections. Citrus fruit, grapefruit, lemon zest, quince, wet stone and matchstick are present, with a lightly reductive note. The palate is juicy, soft, fresh and lightly mineral, with a persistent finish. Vermentino comes from north-facing vineyards at sixty to eighty metres. The wine is dry and carries twelve and a half percent alcohol.
Domaine Bachelet-Monnot 2023 Bourgogne Côte d’Or Blanc
French White
Ripe and honeyed aromas accompany an open, buttery and creamy palate packed with sun-filled fruit. Firm, steely acidity brings balance, with a small liquorice note on the finish. Chardonnay comes from parcels in Puligny and Meursault, divided eighty and twenty percent. Vinification takes place in stainless steel, followed by twelve months in 350-litre barrels, twenty percent new.
Domìni Veneti 2010 Vigneti di Jago Amarone della Valpolicella Classico
Italian Red
Leafy underbrush, menthol and dark spice appear in the aromas. The robust palate has dried fig, raisin, clove and powdered sage, with raspy tannins, alcoholic warmth and an astringent finish. Bright fruit, cherry, plum, warm spice, peppery earth and a muscular tannic structure are also present. Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and other locally permitted grapes come from the Jago microarea in Valpolicella Classica.
CedarCreek 2013 Platinum The Last Word
Canadian Red
Dark liquorice, black cherry, cooked plum and graphite appear across the profile. Cassis, wild blackberry, spice-box notes and anise are also present, with bright acidity, structurally sound tannins and a warm finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec were co-fermented for one month. The blend then spent twenty months in French oak. The fruit comes from Osoyoos in the Okanagan Valley.
Château Labégorce 2019 Margaux
French Red
Black cherry, bilberry, light cedar and crushed violet form the aromatic profile. The medium-bodied palate has fine tannins, a satin-like texture and acidity. Currant, berry, citrus and chocolate are also present. The blend is forty-six percent Merlot, forty percent Cabernet Sauvignon, nine percent Cabernet Franc and five percent Petit Verdot. Fruit was picked from September nineteenth to October twelfth, and maturation used forty percent new oak.
La Fiorita 2010 Brunello di Montalcino
Italian Red
Brilliant, intense ruby colour accompanies blackberry, goji berry and a subtle liquorice note. The palate is dense and interwoven, with dark berry fruit, pithy vivid tannins and a long salty finish. Dark cherry, toasted almond, cinnamon and black pepper are also present. Maturation includes one year in French tonneaux and one year in Slavonian oak.
Ampeleia 2019 Kepos Toscana Rosso 1.5 L
Italian Red
Spicy, herbaceous aromas and a balsamic lift are present. The mouthfeel is lush and soft. Alicante Nero, Mourvèdre and Carignano come from three separate vineyards; all are harvested on the same day and co-fermented. Skin maceration lasts fifteen days, and ageing lasts ten months in concrete tanks. The wine is certified organic and comes from grapes grown biodynamically in Tuscany.