Grand Vin de Glenelly Red 2009 (South Africa) - Wine Review

After enjoying the lovely 2020 Glenelly Glass Collection Cabernet Sauvignon on Friday night to start the long weekend, I am ending the Civic Holiday long weekend with a beautiful Shiraz-Cabernet blend from the same producer for tonight's wine review. I purchased this red wine from an LCBO VINTAGES Release in November 2015 and thought it would be appropriate to open this wine...

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Château Coufran 2009 (Bordeaux) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is an excellent, maturing red wine from Bordeaux that is featured on the cover of today's December 3 LCBO VINTAGES Release. This wine is also part of the theme of the release which is titled "Gifts to Celebrate: Festive, Food-Friendly Wines" and would make a fine gift for the holidays.The story of Château Coufran begins with 18th century archives that...

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New Zealand Wine Tasting - Marlborough - Day 2 (Mar. 2020)

After enjoying a fine half day of wine tasting in Marlborough on the first Monday of March, my wine tour through Marlborough continued on Tuesday. It was a long (and fairly busy day) with visits to five wineries, but very enjoyable nonetheless.The day began where I spent the night - Villa Maria Estate - one of New Zealand's largest wineries. Villa Maria was founded in 1961...

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E. Guigal Gigondas 2009 (Rhône) - Wine Review

For tonight's wine review, I opened up this excellent Gigondas that I picked up back in June 2013.Guigal was established in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in Ampuis - a small, ancient village just south of Lyon in the heart of the Côte-Rôtie appellation in northern Rhône, and overlooked by unique vineyards where wines have been made for more than 2,400 years. In 1961, a still very...

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Rioja Bordón Gran Reserva 2009 (Spain) - Wine Review

Following up on the delicious 2013 Rioja Bordón Reserva, tonight's wine review is another lovely red wine from Bodegas Franco-Españolas that will be coming to LCBO VINTAGES on June 27th. Bodegas Franco-Españolas was founded in 1890 in the aftermath of the French wine industry's most devastating incidents - the phylloxera plague - when Bordeaux winemakers affected by the...

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Olarra Clásico Reserva 2009 (Spain) - Wine Review

After enjoying the recent string of lovely wines from Bodegas Olarra Group, for tonight's wine review I dive into my cellar and open a 2009 Rioja that I purchased nearly 5 years ago from the September 5, 2015 LCBO VINTAGES Release. This delicious red wine only appeared to show up at the LCBO once, but the latest vintage should be available via Charles Jewett at Trilogy Wine...

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Tenuta PoggioVerrano Infinity 2009 (Tuscany) - Wine Review

Tonight's red wine is a new wine coming to LCBO VINTAGES on June 23rd. Even though Tenuta PoggioVerrano was founded in the shining and rural landscape of Maremma Toscana at the turn of the century in the year 2000, this appears to be the first vintage for this particular red wine. The property has 27 hectares of vines planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alicante, Sangiovese,...

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Mas d'Auzières Sympathie Pour Les Stones 2009 (Languedoc) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is the first bottle I'm opening in 2018. It was purchased nearly 6 years ago from the July 7 LCBO VINTAGES Release and no newer vintages have reached VINTAGES shelves since. This red wine is made with Syrah and the name is not only a tribute to the Rolling Stones song "Sympathy of the Devil", but also gives a nod to the rocks (i.e. terroir) in the vineyard...

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Niagara Wine Tasting - Get Fresh in the Valley 2017

On Saturday, April 29th, I travelled to Niagara Wine Country to visit some wineries I had never been to before, as well as participate in some of Twenty Valley's Get Fresh in the Valley food & wine experiences. The day began at Rosewood Estates Winery, an award-winning winery and meadery. And even though I had tasted the wines from this winery before, as well as driven...

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