Monte da Ravasqueira Tinto Superior 2018, Alentejo, Portugal 🇵🇹

🍇 Aragonês 30%
🍇 Syrah 30%
🍇 Touriga Nacional 20%
🍇 Alicante Bosquet 20%

🧐 Alcohol 13.5%

🍁 My Score 90 Points

🔹 Attractive nose with aromas of blueberries, blackberries, red cherries, violets and vanilla notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied, elegant texture, delicious fruit forward fruit, smooth tannins and fresh acidity. The finish is medium length with sweet and tart fruit flavours like plums, red currants and blueberry jam.

🔸 Wow! What a terrific value. This blend was very fragrant, with an elegant, refreshing texture, fruit driven and made in a easy drinking style. Nothing too complex here, yet especially delicious and satisfying. I couldn’t agree more with the back label, suggesting the serving temperature between 14°c - 16°c. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Little Engine Silver Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦

🍇 Sauvignon Blanc⁣

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🧐 Alcohol 13.1%⁣

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🍁 My Score 90 Points ⁣

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🔹 A beautiful bright nose with aromas of lemons, gooseberries, honeydew melon, tropical fruit and fresh herbs. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied with great energy, refreshing flavours and crisp acidity. The finish is medium length with delicious forward fruits like lemons, apples and peaches. ⁣

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🔸 There’s no denying the fact that the aromatics takes you directly to the house of Sauvignon Blanc. This was my last of three bottles and no bottle variation here. They where all very good, refreshing and flavourful. Such a delightful food wine with many pairing possibilities. Now I just need to acquire their new vintage 2019. Should I wait till I visit them in September or should I order on line 🤔 Cheers my wine friends.

Township 7 Reserve 7 2016, VQA British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦

🍇 Merlot 56%

🍇 Cabernet Franc 29%

🍇 Cabernet Sauvignon 14%

🍇 Malbec & Petit Verdot 1%

🧐 Alcohol 14.5%

🍁 My Score 92 Points 

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Beautiful bouquet with aromas of cherries, plums, soft leather, light cedar, savoury spices and vanilla notes. On the mouthfeel, medium-full bodied, elegant structure, flavourful with fine silky tannins and refreshing acidity. The finish is medium-long with flavours of soft seductive fruit, toband silky waves of oak spices. 

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Tasted at the winery last September, there was no doubt that this is my kind of wine. Definitely love at first sip where every element of the winemaking process was well executed. Beautiful aromatics, seductive mouthfeel with a nice purity of fruit and terrific oak integration. If you have only one bottle, a few more years in bottle should give it a more savoury character but it’s almost impossible to resist right now. I just wish that I had purchased more than this one bottle. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Elderton Ode To Lorraine 2015, Barossa Valley, Australia 🇦🇺

🍇 Cabernet Sauvignon 58%

🍇 Shiraz 37%

🍇 Merlot 5%

🧐 Alcohol 14.5%

🍁 My Score 92 Points 

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Beautiful, inviting ripe nose with aromas of black cherries, blackberries, plums, cassis, violets, tobacco, vanilla, cedar and savoury spices. On the mouthfeel, full bodied, luscious mid palate, smooth texture and fresh acidity. The finish is long, very flavourful with plenty of black fruit and blueberries covered with chocolate.

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In these difficult times, this is the kind of comforting wine I need. A delicious big juicy red blend, very aromatic, full of flavours, intense and a finish that begs for another sip. A gorgeous and delicious wine 💕. Need I say,  strongly recommended. Cheers my wine friends 🍷 

FREE MY GRAPES 🍇 🇨🇦

Beautiful delivery today from Hidden Bench winery from Ontario 😊

Recently I was reminded of the wonderful wines I had tasted from this winery last December. With the limited space in my suitcase for my flight back home I opted to place an order online and have it shipped. Luckily I live in British Columbia (more on that later)

Latest addition to my cellar;

🔹 Felseck Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016 x3
🔹 Locust Lane Pinot Noir 2016
🔹Terroir Caché 2016 (Merlot, Malbec & Cabernet Franc blend)
🔸Fumé Blanc Rosomel Vineyard 2018

All of these wines, except for the Fumé Blanc (which as just been released) where tasted on my visit in December. The wines arrived in perfect condition and in less than a week. Free shipping across Canada is definitely a great initiative. Thank you so much 😊

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Many people outside of Canada may not know how regulated the sales of alcoholic products are in this country. Could you imagine if you are living in Rome but couldn’t order wines from Piedmont or living in Lyon and couldn’t ordered wine from Bordeaux. People wouldn’t stand for this. But in Canada, each of the ten provinces have their own regulations, taxes and are reluctant to change this system which dates back to the prohibition era. We are working on free trade with many countries but we don’t practice free trade within our own country. The free movement of wine across the country could only benefit our Canadian wineries, the jobs they create and allow wine lovers like me to acquire rare and limited Canadian wines not available in your home province. Fortunately, some of these barriers are coming down. Three provinces including my British Columbia (the other two are Manitoba and Nova Scotia) allow shipping of wines from out of province. Regulations restricting interprovincial shipping to Ontario are set to expired on Canada Day July 1. Let us hope that Ontario wine lovers will be able to purchase online, Canadian wines, like I can, from anywhere in our beautiful Country 🇨🇦

Tiberio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2018, Abrozzo, Italy 🇮🇹

🍇 Trebbiano Abruzzese 100%

🧐 Alcohol 13%

🍁 My Score 90 Points

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Complex nose with aromas of grapefruit, lime, stone fruit and floral notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied, dry texture with mineral undertones and lively acidity. The finish is medium-long with flavours of citrus fruit, dried herbs and almonds.

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This was definitely a very pleasant wine experience and a superb food wine. The star of this Trebbiono is definitely it’s aromatics, so expressive, so inviting. I do enjoy the wines from Tiberio and the South of Italy, a simple wine, not overly manipulated, that represents a tremendous value. I had the opportunity to taste more of Tiberio wines at this year Vancouver International Wine Festival where the wine was poured by none other than there talented winemaker Cristiana Tiberio @cristianatiberio  It paired beautifully with a Greek chicken casserole with lemon and Greek feta. Cheers my wine friends

Painted Rock Red Icon 2014, VQA Skaha Bench, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦

🍇 Merlot 33%
🍇 Cabernet Franc 21%
🍇 Malbec 19%
🍇 Petit Verdot 16%
🍇 Cabernet Sauvignon 11%

🧐 Alcohol 14.3%

🍁 My Score 93 Points

🧩 100% Estate grown fruit, aged 18 months in 30% new French oak and unfiltered.

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 A rather intoxicating nose, with aromas of black fruit, black currants, leather, pencil shavings, smoky cedar, savoury spices and peppery notes. On the mouthfeel, full bodied, broad textured with great flavours, fine silky tannins and refreshing acidity. The finish is long with flavours of dark fruit, chocolate, vanilla and savoury spices.

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After a two hour decant this beast was ready to roar. Oh my god! So delicious with a BBQ steak. There was so much going on, starting with it’s great aromatics, seductive mouthfeel with fantastic richness and weight and flavourful finish that begged for another sip. If you are lucky enough to have one of these in your cellar, the good news is, the best is yet to come. What a treat 👌😋 Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Winemaker’s Cut Sauvignon Blanc 2019, VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦

🍇 Sauvignon Blanc

🧐 Alcohol 12%

🍁 My Score 90 Points

🧩 Estate fruit, hand harvested, wild & organic yeast, 85% stainless steel remaining 15% in Slovakian oak with a production of 800 cases.

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A classic nose of a Sauvignon Blanc with aromas of gooseberry, pears, hints of dry herbs, light floral and mineral notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied, dry with a slightly creamy texture, complex flavours and fresh acidity. The finish is medium length with sweet and tart flavours and mineral notes.

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As most of you may know, I usually prefer un-oaked SB but Michal Mosny wines are always well made, elegant showing us the beautiful subtlety of his winemaking style. The addition of the Slovakian oak softens up the acidity and ensures the wine has a beautiful texture and complexity, which makes this SB ideal for the dinner table or equally enjoyable on it’s own. Beautiful wine and strongly recommended. Cheers my wine friends 🙂

Château Pesquié Ventoux Terrasses 2017, Rhône, France 🇫🇷

🍇 Grenache 60%
🍇 Syrah 40%

🧐 Alcohol 14%

🍁 My Score 91 Points

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Attractive nose with aromas of cherries, plums, pomegranate, licorice, floral, light cedar and peppery notes. On the mouthfeel, medium-bodied, fresh with bright flavours, fine tannins and lively acidity. The finish is medium length with flavours of slightly tart red fruit, vanilla spices and peppery.

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For the last two years I have really enjoyed visiting Château Pesquié at this year Vancouver International Wine Festival. I am always impressed by the quality of their wines and their great value for money. So many great wines to choose from, Ventoux red, Quintessense and Artemis are my stand outs. This is my third bottle of Ventoux 2017 and was a great example of their quality. It’s a very aromatic red blend with a wonderful combination of freshness and seductive mouthfeel. Definitely a crowd pleasing wine, perfect for summer served slightly chilled. Terrific value and widely available. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Clos du Soleil Winemaker’s Series Cabernet Franc 2016, VQA Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦

🍇 Cabernet Franc 100%

🧐 Alcohol 14 %

🍁 My Score 90 Points

🧩 Production of 68 Cases, certified organic fruit, native yeast, 15 months in neutral French oak (3rd fill), unfined & unfiltered.

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Most intriguing nose with aromas of plums, blueberries, violets, dried leaves, underbrush and a touch of dried herbs. On the mouthfeel, medium-full bodied, earthy, savoury palate with lovely acidity and fine, well integrated tannins. The finish is medium length, dry with flavours of plums, bay leaves and earthy notes.

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This is a very enjoyable, beautifully balanced Cabernet Franc with more earthy flavours than fruit. These earthy, underbrush characteristics can be found throughout this wine. So many different styles of CF made in this province. This one is middle road between a liner Loire Valley and fruitier California style. This wine was purchased from the winery last summer. Cheers my wine friends 🍷