San Leonardo 2018
$137.99
For more than 1000 years San Leornardo was a monastery, but for over three centuries now San Leonardo has served as the residence of the Marchesi Guerrieri Gonzaga family, its proud custodians. Today, the San Leonardo estate is a garden of vineyards and roses, protected by the massive barrier of the Alps, which blunt the force of the cold northern winds. The valley floor benefits from, and in turn releases, warmth from nearby Lake Garda. The tenuta remains an antique world, in which winemaking practices, still uncompromisingly artisanal, yield wines that are true gems of Italy’s wine tradition, marked by freshness, harmony, and an innate elegance.
Becker Guillaume Red Wine
$31.99
Guillaume is the French translation of Wilhelm. The name Wilhelm in turn means the conqueror.
With a mouthful of a label name like Familie Friedrich Becker Guillaume Rotwein, you must be wondering: is this wine German or French? This Cuvee takes its queues from both wine-making countries, typically being made with a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Dornfelder. It also sometimes features Pinot Meunier and Blauer Portugieser (a red grape variety planted mostly in Germany, Austria and also in Portugal, under the name “Português Azul”). The exact recipe for this Cuvee changes from vintage to vintage.
Thanks to the growing region, the grapes are grown on two different soil types. Some vines are planted on deep loam and clay soils while others are rooted in limestone soils. The age of the vines is between 19 and 35 years. The grapes are hand-picked, destemmed and allowed to naturally ferment. After two to three weeks of fermentation in open oak vats and vats, they were gently pressed. Further maturation took place for 25 months in large and small oak barrels. The wine was bottled in December 2022 without filtration or fining.
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The Becker family owns more than 30 hectares and produces over 12,000 cases annually. Positioned on the very border with France in the town of Schweigen, the Beckers have witnessed that border shifting throughout history. Today, they have vineyards on both the French and German sides, at the edge of the Palatinate (Pfalz) forest—with 50 percent of their land situated on the French side in Alsace.
The soils in the area are composed of deep layers of shell limestone, with various topsoils, which in combination with the region’s mild climate, provide the ideal growing conditions for Spätburgunder. Hence, the logical focus is on the variety. As one of the pioneers, Fritz Becker Sr. was also one of the first winemakers in the region to mature his Spätburgunder in barriques.
Their most prestigious vineyard is Kammerberg, a steep single vineyard on deep marl and limestone near Wissembourg, recovered by Fritz Sr. in 1967. The old vines are mostly German clones and some French and grow on deep marl lime soils that produce powerful but also refined, mineral-driven Pinot Noirs (it is all about the dirt here!); St. Paul cultivated here in the 14th century by the Cistercians of Wissembourg, which had since become overgrown but the Beckers uprooted trees and bushes in early 2000 and planted Spätburgunder; and Sonnenberg, with poor limestone soils ideal for growing Riesling.
From KWM: We sourced these wines a year ago after reading the rave reviews from numerous publications, in Germany and beyond. The Pinot Noirs are prized and will give Burgundy fans a solid alternative.
Knab Spatburgunder
$33.99
Anyone wondering what is meant by "Baden classic" should try the wines of the Rinker family. Or even list them, because there are hardly any better addresses for (upmarket) gastronomy. The traditional appearance with rather weighty, naturally corked bottles inspires confidence even in skeptics. During the tasting, we were impressed by every single wine. All of them are completely dry, wonderfully balanced between freshness and substance, the different possible uses are determined solely by the grape variety and the type of wood used.
Liquidity Merlot
$34.99
Liquidity was established in 2008 when Ian MacDonald, a businessman and art collector, teamed up with some Calgary energy industry executives to buy an ailing Okanagan Falls vineyard left over from a failed winery project. It was a success, and a few years ago it was sold to the Iconic Wineries group, owned by Anthony von Mandl (of Mission Hill and White Claw fame). Bright, juicy and delightfully complex, the Estate Merlot is everything good merlot should be. Succulent aromas of blackcurrant, Ceylon black tea, and blueberry are showcased on the nose. Rich dark cocoa and acai berry lead the palate, complemented by refined dusty tannins.
J Baumer Rhein Riesling
$21.99
Floral, apple, honey and melon aromas give this wine a very pleasant nose. The palate is slightly sweet, offering ripe apple, peach, melon and mango flavours with good acidity and a pleasant mouthfeel. It finishes with lingering ripe peach and apple flavours. It’s pure deliciousness.
The Joachim Bäumer (J.Bäumer) wine brand was born in the Rheingau in the 1950’s and acquired by the Ress family in 1957 as an extension of their proprietary Rheingau holdings. The J.Bäumer wines today are produced locally under contract and with direct oversight by the award-winning winemaking team at Balthasar Ress.
It is said that you can taste the land where the grapes are grown in wine, and never is this truer than in the wines of Germany's Rhine River valley. The soil in the area is rocky and the weather tends to be fairly temperate. These conditions of soil and temperature give the region's wine its characteristic mineral notes, as well as providing the acidity that balances out the flavours of the wines.
Rheinhessen lies in a valley of rolling hills, bordered on the west by the Nahe River and on the north and east by the Rhine. This 20 by 30-mile area between the winegrowing communities of Worms, Alzey, Mainz and Bingen is the largest of the German winegrowing regions and its production is second only to that of the Pfalz. Rheinhessen's climate is relatively mild. The region receives about 20 inches of rain per year, and temperatures are moderate.
Chateau de Fuisse Pouilly Fuisse
$68.99
Château Fuissé dates back to 1604 and has been in the Vincent family for five generations. Each generation has added land, increased quality and enhanced the worldwide recognition of the château. Today under the direction of Antoine Vincent, Jean-Jacques Vincent’s son, Château Fuissé has reached the pinnacle of quality in the region with its wines rivaling the more famous appellations of Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault to the north.
The most famous vineyards of Les Brûlés, Les Combettes, and Le Clos surrounding the château are bottled as specific cuvées to showcase their unique terroir. Presently, both Les Brûlés and Le Clos are in review by the INAO for premiers crus designation. Currently, Mâcon is the lone region in Burgundy lacking even one premier cru. But if one (or more) of the region’s vineyards wins approval, such a designation will be the first-ever premier cru in the Mâconnais.) Château Fuissé also produces quality-driven wines sourced mainly from family-owned properties in the Mâcon under the Vincent Signature label. Each of these wines is produced with the same care and expertise as the domaine bottlings.
Painted Rock Chardonnay
$62.99
Painted Rock began with John and Trish Skinner’s belief that the Okanagan Valley had enormous, largely unrealized, potential. While the area was long known for producing some of the world’s finest fruit, it was the wines produced from the 1980s “Vinifera Program” (where vineyards were paid to remove high-producing, inferior hybrids and plant vinifera) that convinced the Skinners that the Okanagan would one day be an internationally recognized wine region. John knew that if they wanted to be involved, and make an impact, they had to move quickly. The goal was simple: find the best property and apply the most aggressive mandate for quality. Their extensive search took nearly three years and ended when they found “The Black Hawk”, a spectacular 56-acre bench on Skaha Lake in Penticton. In 2004 they purchased what was once “the largest apricot orchard in the British Commonwealth”. The orchard had been felled in the 1980s and had lain fallow since. Detailed analysis of the property occurred for the next year while the site was prepared and the property was planted in 2005. Envisioned as a family-run estate winery, the assumption was that this could be some of the finest “terroir” in the world and it was their job to deliver on its promise. From expertise to equipment to mandate the commitment was and remains uncompromising. According to John Skinner, “If Painted Rock is going to compete with the best in the world we must have confidence in our terroir and allow it to express its uniqueness. That's why we are 100% Estate."
Detailed analysis of the property occurred for the next year while the site was prepared and the property was planted in 2005. Envisioned as a family-run estate winery, the assumption was that this could be some of the finest “terroir” in the world and it was their job to deliver on its promise.
Meyer Gerwurztraminer
$27.99
Meyer is one of BC’s top wineries focusing on small premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Each wine reflects the single vineyard of its origin, the soil, the meso-climate, the aspect and the people that hand tend the vines. All wines are Hand-harvested and hand-crafted, with great attention to detail and minimal winemaking intervention. Meyer Family Vineyards wines are produced from two main vineyards, the 1.62-hectare “Old Main Road” vineyard on the Naramata Bench and the 6.9-hectare “McLean Creek Road” vineyard in Okanagan Falls
Roland Lavantureux Petit Chablis
$42.99
Upon completion of his wine education in Beaune, Roland Lavantureux established his winery in 1978 in the village of Lignorelles in the Chablis appellations. In a short period of time, Domaine Lavantureux has become one of the region’s most celebrated and respected producers. In 2010, Roland’s two sons, Arnaud and David, took over the domaine. Together they farm 20 hectares of prime vineyards on Kimmeridgian soils across the Chablis appellation, including key premier and grand cru sites such as Vau de Vey and Vaudésir, respectively. Their vineyards are farmed sustainably, paying close attention to the natural biodiversity of the surrounding area. In the cellar, the vision of the estate is to produce intensely mineral wines that are reflective of the specific vineyard site.