Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne 2016, Burgundy, France 🇫🇷

🍇 Chardonnay 100%

🧐 Alcohol 12.5%

🍁 My Score 91 Points 

🧩 Matured for 14 months (with 4 months in stainless steel tanks), 80% in French oak and 20% in stainless steel 

🔹 Exquisite nose with aromas of lemons, pears, orange zest, yellow apples and light mineral notes. On the mouthfeel, light to medium bodied, the texture is entirely elegant, seductive fruit and refreshing acidity. The finish is medium length with flavours of citrus fruits, honey with mineral undertones.

🔸 What a classy bottle of wine! Oak is handled with care, giving this Chardonnay a delicious rounder texture and added complexity while leaving the quality of the fruit to shine. When a producer offers us such a delicious entry level wine, it makes you want to experience their entire lineup. What about pairing? With such an elegant wine, the pairing possibilities are endless. This would also make for a refreshing aperitif. Needless to say, strongly recommended. Cheers my wine friends. 

Conde de Valdemar 'Finca Alto Cantabria’ 2016, Rioja, Spain 🇪🇸

🍇 Viura 100%

🧐 Alcohol 13%

🍁 My Score 89 Points

🧩 Three months in new French oak

🔹 Attractive nose with aromas of peaches, apricots, orange peel, vanilla and light floral notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied, flavourful with a slightly creamy texture and refreshing acidity. The finish is medium length, dry with a salty tropical fruit flavours.

🔸 What a shame that I don’t indulge in white Rioja more often. White Rioja may not be as well known as it’s red sibling and as a result, it often represents a better value. This is a delicious food wine which paired beautifully with a slightly spicy Kung Pao chicken. Hard to resist at this price and strongly recommended. Cheers my wine friends.

Domaine Rolet Trousseau 2015, Arbois, Jura, France 🇫🇷

🍇 Trousseau 100%

🧐 Alcohol 13%

🍁 My Score 89 Points

 🔹 Intriguing notes with aromas of Morello cherries, plums, tea, soft leather, red licorice and underbrush. On the mouthfeel, light to medium, dry, light minerality with soft tannins and lively acidity. The finish is medium length with flavours of tart cherries, plums, vanilla.

 🔸 I have ventured out from my conform zone and tried out a varietal which I have never tasted before. I found Trousseau to be quite an interesting wine experience, somewhat similar to a Pinot Noir but with a beautiful minerality and earthiness throughout. This is a varietal, which is not that common and it does represent very good value. Best served slightly chilled. I do not recall seeing this many Tartrate Crystals (also know as wine diamonds) on a red before. I keeps these corks like a trophy, as you may know, Diamonds are wine lovers best friend. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Rivera Cappellaccio Aglianico Castel del Monte Riserva 2013, Puglia, Italy 🇮🇹

🍇 Aglianico 100%

🧐 Alcohol 13.5%

🍁 My Score 90-92 Points

🔹 Classic Aglianico nose with aromas of wild berries, black cherries, black currants, dried fruits and peppery notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied with excellent freshness, textured by fine grainy tannins and refreshing acidity. The finish is medium-long with a savoury edge, tart berries and espresso notes.

🔸 Interesting experience here! These notes are from one week ago. Last night I opened another bottle to a very different experience. I double checked my bottle to make sure that the store didn’t switch vintages. No, it was the same vintage, but the second Aglianico was much more tannic with more earthy and barnyard notes. Both bottles were very enjoyable, last nights bottle was more typical of what I expect from an Aglianico (Score 90), while the previous bottle was softer and more elegant with a wonderful combination of freshness and weight (Score 92). Based on these experiences there’s definitely some bottle variation, but either one of them are strongly recommended. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

Vanessa Vineyard Syrah 2015, Cawston, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, Canada 🇨🇦

🍇 Syrah 92%

🍇 Viognier 8%

🧐 Alcohol 14.2%

🍁 My Score 92 Points 

🧩 Estate grown fruit, Syrah is co-fermented in small batches with Viognier, aged for 20 months in new and second use American and French oak, small production at 445 cases.

🔹 Elegant nose with aromas of blueberries, plums, dried figs, black pepper, floral and light toasty notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied, velvet texture, very smooth and flavourful with fine silky tannins and refreshing acidity. The finish is medium-long and smooth with seductive black fruit, dried herbs and mocha flavours lingering. 

🔸 This is even better than when I last tasted this Syrah, at the winery, this past September.  The kind of wine that makes you happy. This is a beautiful made wine, where the mouthfeel is definitely the star.  This Syrah is a terrific value, that would make any dish shine, but equally delicious on it’s own. I look forward to a visit at the winery again next month. Cheers my wine friends 🍷

The Hermit Ram Ancestral Method Müller-Thurgau 2019, Canterbury, New Zealand 🇳🇿

🍇 Müller-Thurgau 

🧐 Alcohol 10%

🔹 Fresh nose with aromas of tangerine, apricot, passion fruit, lemon zest and light yeasty notes. The is dry with light bubbles, fuzzy peach skin texture and refreshing acidity. The finish is medium length, slightly tangy with loads of citrus fruits, lemon pit and light tropical fruits. 

🔸What an interesting new wine experience for me. Fifteen years ago when I graduated from my Sommelier program at Algonquin College we had no experience with natural wines, back then they would have been deemed faulty. How things have changed!  The younger generation of wine lovers are looking for something different, interesting, may I even say a funkier wine experience. As for this skin fermented Pet-Nat, low alcohol keeps it crisp and refreshing and this Sparkling reminds me of a summer beer with the last drop from the bottle much more like an unfiltered apple cider. An awesome experience, I am definitely looking forward to their Pinot Noir.  Cheers my wine friends 🥂

Domaine des Marrans Fleurie Clos du Pavillon 2015, Beaujolais, France 🇫🇷

🍇 Gamay 100%

🧐 Alcohol 13.5%

🍁 My Score 92 Points

🧩 Granite soil, hand-harvested fruits from 60-80 year old vines, indigenous yeast.  Produced by talented winemaker Mathieu Mélinan, who is a star with the minimum intervention movement.

🔹 Exquisite nose with aromas of strawberries, plums, underbrush, spices, minerals and light floral notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied, flavourful, great energy with fine grainy tannins and refreshing acidity keeping things fresh. The finish is medium length, elegant with seductive fruit flavours, minerals and spices.

🔸 Are you looking for a red on a hot summer day? Gamay served slightly chilled to the rescue. Like this, beautiful Beaujolais with it’s wonderful combination of freshness and weight with equal part fruity and earthy flavours. A Beaujolais for Pinot lovers, that is drinking beautifully right now and should keep improving for many years to come. Strongly recommended my wine friends. Cheers 🍷

Amalaya Gran Corte Malbec Cabernet Franc 2016, Valle Calchaqui, Salta, Argentina 🇦🇷

🍇 Malbec 85%
🍇 Cabernet Franc 10%
🍇 Tannat 5%

🧐 Alcohol 14.5%

🍁 My Score 89 Points

🔹Beautiful and very inviting nose with aromas of blackberries, blueberries, cigar box, cedar, vanilla and peppery notes. On the mouthfeel, medium-full bodied with delicious forward fruit, smooth tannins and refreshing acidity. The finish is long with flavours of black fruit, chocolate and oak spices.

🔸 I tasted their 2017 vintage @vanwinefest  and loved it. Our store @vintagespiritsvictoria  placed an order, but we received the 2016 instead. While the 2017 was a stunning wine with firm tannins which required additional time in bottle this 2016 is drinking beautifully right now. It’s definitely in a style which should have a wide appeal. A big and flavourful wine that would work beautifully paired with a BBQ steak. I am definitely waiting for the 2017 to arrive here, but in the meantime this 2016 is definitely worth repurchasing. Cheers my wine friends 🍷