Its aromas are intense and elegant. Cabernet Franc brings sweet spices, black pepper and light notes of eucalyptus and thyme. Malbec brings notes of ripe black fruits, blackberries and black cherries. The oak aging gives a touch of chocolate and vanilla to blend. 

SPECIAL NOTE:  The 100 Point 2019 vintage will not be available in Alberta. The next vintage we get will be the 2020, in mid to late 2025.

Deep sherry aromas, notes of plum skin, black currant, allspice, star anise, damp peat smoke, cocoa powder, and tanned leather: It’s outrageously good. A complex palate with a creamy mouthfeel of plum, stewed fruits, baked citrus, gentle spices, and ground hazelnut, becoming mellow and nutty with smoke, spice, and fruit through the finish.

Produced from 314 plots totaling nearly 28 hectares (75 acres) of vineyards. Ao Yun vineyards range in altitude from 2,200 to 2,600 meters, enabling the cabernet sauvignon grape to express the full refinement of this unique terroir. Local farmers have worked these lands for centuries, adapting their farming techniques to the steep mountainsides. To respect time-honoured local tradition, the grape harvest and winemaking are done entirely by hand. The Ao Yun terroir enjoys exceptional climatic conditions, with temperatures similar to those of Bordeaux

"Aromas of fragrant blue flowers mingle with perfumed berries and roasted coffee bean in this plush red. The supple palate reflects the nose, offering fleshy black cherry, star anise and espresso alongside velvety, fine-grained tannins. Drink through 2028. Kerin O’Keefe" - 92/100, Wine Enthusiast

Bright ruby colour, open on the nose with powerful aromas of red fruit enhanced by toasted nuances. Well-structured and firm on the palate, it possesses stylish tannins. Its natural freshness gives a nice length to the wine.

Lantides Estate is a family winery that was established in 1993 with a goal to promote quality wines of Greece. Owner Lantides Panikos has 70ha of his own vineyards and grows not just international grape varieties, but local grapes like Agiorgitiko, Moschofilero, Asyrtiko and Malagouzia. Little Ark is a project dedicated to promote quality vineyards of Greece using the best indigenous varieties. This rose is made with 100% Moschofilero and has elegant aromas of strawberries, cherries, tangerine and floral nuances. The palate is rich in the mouth with just enough sweetness to highlight the cherry fruit while toffee and jasmine remain in the long finish.

With their winery located with the National Park area of Gran Sasso, this family owned winey began their estate in the early 1900's when the first vineyards were purchased but it wasn't until two generations later, the family decided to bottle wines under their own label. When the first grandchild was born, she had flaming red har just like her grandmother, so the label created was "Testarossa" (redhead). This 100% Montepulciano has aromas of plums and cherries with nuances of violet. On the palate it's full-bodied with ripe red cherry, cocoa, licorice, tobacco, leather with smooth tannins and a long finish. The bottle boasts a leather label on this 1.5 L.

The producer describes the wine as having a dark red color with a high layer. The nose is intense and features black fruit and cherry aromas, with a prominent plum scent and hints of sweet spices. The aroma also includes notes of earth and minerals. The wood used in aging is subtle and mostly hidden behind the spices. The taste is described as wide, powerful, and delicate, with a pleasant combination of sweetness and freshness. The tannins are smooth and the wine has a silky texture with notes of black plums, chocolate, and a hint of cigar box. The wine is said to be from an excellent vintage.

Reserve de la Comtesse is the second label of the Chateau Pichon Longueville, a 2nd growth of Pauillac in the 1855 Classification. From the suprisingly quality vintage of 2014, this wine is a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon and 41% Merlot. With clear ageing potential (due to the high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon) there is a deep core of plum, cassis, raspberry and cedar notes with a lush, concentrated and structured palate. Although this is in a good place for drinking now, it can be aged further.

The color is bright and the aroma, while not that intense, is precise and extremely pleasing thanks to how clean and assorted it is. The bouquet has notes of blueberry, blackberry and juniper, all topped with a balsamic touch. The mouthfeel is extraordinarily soft, perhaps too much so, but fortunately this is balanced by a lively acidity. It is decidedly impossible not to like this wine.

Chateau Margaux has a vast history, five centuries in the making. Most know this wine as just "Pavillon Rouge", but with its full name, the origins are clear: This is the 2nd wine of Chateau Margaux, one of the 1855 Classification 1st growths. The flavours and quality are close, yet with the ability to drink a little earlier than its big sister. Typically this wine represents 30% of the grapes harvested for a vintage. The 2019 is comprised of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. With this warm vintage, there is more body in the wine, yet still well balanced. Loaded with black fruit, pencil shavings, tobacco and spices, it is elegant and velvety on the palate with plenty of structure, yet still fresh and fruity. Touted as one of the best vintages for this wine and worth the purchase.

"The 2016 Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux bursts forth with exuberant Morello cherries, black raspberries and cassis scents accented by touches of menthol, dark chocolate and garrigue plus a waft of tree bark. The palate is medium-bodied, very elegant, vivacious and fresh with satiny tannins and a nice long finish. " Rating: 93+ -Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild is a Second Wine from the famed First Growth, Château Mouton Rothschild, that offers an opportunity for oenophiles to experience its sensuous winemaking style at a great value. Château Mouton Rothschild was initially ranked as a Second Growth during the Official 1855 Classification, and in 1922, the estate was acquired by Baron Phillippe de Rothschild, a true renaissance man who added his name to the label. The Baron was a successful winegrower, a playwright, a screenwriter, a theatrical producer, a poet, and a Grand Prix racecar driver. He also referred to Château Mouton Rothschild’s Second Growth classification as a “monstrous injustice.”

Pairs well with: Beef, Lamb and Venison

There is 52% Merlot in the blend and it shows in an enticing, opulent aroma of plum and blackberry. A little more backward than the other wines in the Haut-Brion stable so far, but all the ingredients are there to make a brilliant wine. There is a great depth of ripe fruit, impressively fine tannins, lovely balance and excellent length. It is superbly fresh and has exceptional potential for the future.
(52% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot)

COLOR:

Straw yellow, with new golden highlights.

AROMA:

Subtle perfume of apple, biscuits, spices, flowers and a suggestive sea breeze. Its close contact
with yeast triggers ripe fruit aromas with toasty, nutty backgrounds.

TASTE:

Its crunchy, vigorous feel, combined with the prolonged fruitfulness of its good-natured mild
acidity and a pleasing alcoholic voice give it endless possibilities for the discovery of dishes.

A real curiosity. Tokaj in a small bottle. An excellent quality vintage with concentrated aszú berries. These wines are only created in extraordinary vintages and are thus a real rarity, only produced in small amounts, in this case 599 bottles.

Second label of Chateau Latour.

Critic tasting note: "There is a velvet touch to this smooth, rounded wine. With some dark tannins as well as blackberry fruits, it is rich with some concentration. At the same time, the acidity shoots through the wine to give a really fruity aftertaste." - 94/100, Wine Enthusiast

The wine displays a medium gold color. On the nose, it is harmonious, offering aromas of mango, yellow apple, and citrus fruit. The palate is rich and round, with a harmonious character and a long, fresh finish.

As so often with Lafite, it is power that marks this wine. That, and density of texture. The additional element in this vintage, and at this stage of the wine's development, is a dominant wood element. The vanilla and tannins from the wood match well with the concentrated tannins of the fruit, which is dark, dense and tight. This is a wine for long-term aging: in 15 years this will have superb richness.

94 points - James Suckling "The 2016 La Tour Blanche has an extremely well defined bouquet featuring intense honeyed, botrytis-rich fruit, supremely well focused and conveying fine terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with viscous honeyed fruit laced with orange zest, marmalade, ginger and quince. There is a wonderful sense of harmony here. Persistent in the mouth while maintaining superb tension. Impressive. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2023 - 2050" 96 points -Neal Martin, vinous.com, August 2020

One of the wines of the vintage, the 2000 has barely budged in its evolution since it was bottled and released in 2002. After ten years in bottle, it still reveals a dense opaque purple color along with a potentially sensational bouquet of blueberries, black currants, graphite, asphalt and background oak. Extremely powerful, full-bodied and superbly concentrated with good acidity and high but round tannins, this massive La Mission-Haut-Brion should take its place among this estate's most hallowed vintages when it hits full maturity in another one to two decades. I was surprised by just how youthful this wine tasted at age 12. If tasted blind, I would have guessed it to be around 4 to 5 years old. Anticipated maturity: 2020-2050.

Located in the heart of the Graves, the Chateau is named after the family it belonged to until 1851. Now owned by the Quinn family, although more famous for minerally driven Bordeaux white blends, their red wines are also excellent. The current winemaker is a big believer in translation of terroir: he wants all the wines to have a sense of place. The 2014 Fieuzal is a red blend made with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc for a ripe and fruity wine with herbal and earthy nuances, underpinned with firm, yet refined tannins and well-balanced acidity. Exellent potential for ageing.

Chateau Cos-d'Estournel is a second growth in the Saint Estephe appellation on the right bank of Bordeaux. The Chateau covers 69ha separated from first growth Chateau Lafite along the southern edge, by the stream between St. Estephe and Pauillac. This red blend is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot that is multi-faceted, delivering aromas of cinnamon, truffle, coffee and wild plums with a deep core of velvety tannins, full bodied and fantastic structure. Drink from 2027-2049.

Contention as one of the top vintages produced here, the wine is strong on its floral characteristics. Once past the opening bouquet of white flowers and dried roses, you find plums, black cherries, black raspberries, mint and cigar wrapper nuances. The palate provides a lush, opulent, vibrant, energetic backdrop for its wealth of deep red fruits and oceanic influences. The finish has a touch of salty chalk that adds complexity to its wealth of silky, ripe, red fruits.

A blend of 44.7% Merlot and 55.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2020 La Chapelle de la Mission Haut-Brion has an alcohol of 14.3%. It rolls effortlessly out of the glass with seducing notes of warm black plums, black cherry compote and blackberry pie, plus suggestions of lavender, crushed rocks and underbrush with a hint of sassafras. The medium bodied palate is delicately played and refreshing, offering lots of soft spoken black fruit and earthy layers with a soft texture and seamless acidity, finishing with a spicy kick.

Margaux shows us the elegance and feminine side of Bordeaux. This second label of Chateau Brane Cantenac, a Second Growth of Bordeaux is a blend of 65% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Already silky and very promising, it expresses black fruit aromas of blackberry and fleshy cherry mixed with elegant toast, smoke, and vanilla. The tannins are refined and balanced and is absolutely in the drink window.

Chocolate shavings and smoked coffee bean on the nose, it's a vintage where you can't get away from the tannins, but here they have sinew and juice, like the best translation of the tannins in the year. This has a real purity of fruit (very low SO2 addition at Palmer) and the gourmet touch you want in Alter Ego. 45% of overall production. 3.73pH. Survived mildew better than in 2018 because of my experience in dealing with the conditions. August 15 to 29 for the harvest.

Nose: Intense aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, and cherry, with hints of cedar, tobacco, and vanilla.

Taste: Rich and full-bodied, with flavors of ripe dark fruits, such as blackberry and plum, complemented by notes of spice, licorice, and dark chocolate.

Palate: Well-structured with velvety tannins, offering a smooth and elegant mouthfeel. The finish is long and lingering, leaving a pleasant aftertaste of black fruits and subtle oak.

The Blasted Church Vineyards Syrah VQA typically offers a rich and complex tasting experience. The nose reveals notes of blueberry, plum, and violet, with a hint of gamey Syrah. On the palate, you can expect a rounded attack with blueberry, blackberry, and ripe red berries, leading into mid-palate flavors of wild sage and plum. Lively acidity balances the mouthfeel, and fine-grained tannins persist throughout the finish.

Medium ruby hue in the glass. On the nose, a classic Pinot perfume with rich brandied cherry, fresh rose petal and hints of ground nutmeg. With time in the glass, the bouquet opens to earthier, herbal aromas reminiscent of sage leaf and fennel. The palate is nicely structured with bright red fruit flavours framed by medium tannins and persistent length. An elegant, restrained style of cool climate Pinot Noir that is characterized by vibrancy and finesse.

"Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Marquis d'Alesme Becker leaps from the glass with gregarious notions of plum preserves, crème de cassis and Black Forest cake with hints of potpourri, star anise, menthol and tapenade. Full, rich, firm and grainy, with fantastic freshness lifting the densely packed palate, it has a long, beautifully fragrant finish.(LPB)" (3/2019) -96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

93 points - James Suckling

Polished and well-structured red with a medium body and firm but creamy and broad tannins. Perfumed already, with sandalwood, blackberry and currant character. Crushed stones. Tea leaves, too. Firm and solid to the end. Very solid for the vintage. 59% cabernet sauvignon, 28% merlot, 10% cabernet franc, 1.5% carmenere and 1.5% petit verdot.

Nelson Bros Classic Bourbon Whiskey is described as having a complex and flavorful profile with notes of spice cake, cherry, milk chocolate, vanilla, and baked apple on the nose. On the palate, it offers flavors of banana bread, cocoa, cherry, and dried pineapple. The finish features black peppercorn, spearmint, lemon peel, and a hint of sweet tobacco. Additionally, the whiskey is described as having a silky body, with notes of toffee and peach pie, key lime, and chocolate-covered cherries, and a subtle hint of oak.

With all the excellent qualities of this legendary wine from Pauillac, the blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot can be opened and enjoyed, especially if you like the Pauillac style of cassis, cedar, graphite and earth aromas and flavours.

Winemaker Notes: Malbec 70%,Merlot 30% Nice rose colour, shining; its fruity and veryfresh grape nose, also develops red fruit flavours such as raspberry. In mouth the attack is pleasant and tonic, then one movesvery quickly worms of the melted, long and acidulated notes.

From the Piedmont wine region, BARBARESCO 2014 is an intense and full-bodied Barolo with dark fruit, underbrush and earthy flavours on the palate and would benefit from a couple more years in cellar.