CVNE (Spain) Wine Tasting with Maria Larrea

On a fine Sunday morning in May, I had the pleasure of tasting a few wines from Spain's historic CVNE wine company with winemaker María Larrea at George Restaurant in downtown Toronto. CVNE is actually an abbreviation of Compañía Vinícola del Norte del España, which translates to the Northern Spanish Wine Company. It was founded in 1879 by two brothers in the town of Haro...

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Château de la Pierre Levée Révélations d'Hubert de Boüard 2016 (Bordeaux) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a red wine from Bordeaux that arrived at the LCBO recently as part of the September 14th LCBO VINTAGES Release and is widely available for purchase across Ontario. This red wine was born out of an exclusive partnership between Yvon Mau and Hubert de Boüard. Yvon Mau has been trading in the wine industry since 1897, while Hubert de Boüard is co-owner...

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Vallobera Crianza 2005 (Spain) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a nice red wine that I purchased from an LCBO VINTAGES Release way back in November 2008. The tasting note in the VINTAGES magazine indicated that this Crianza could be aged until 2020. However, my research today indicates that this wine probably should have been opened 3-4 years ago. Looking at my bottle, I see there is noticeable ullage (the gap...

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Closson Chase Vineyard Chardonnay 2014 (PEC) - Wine Review (Bottle 5)

Tonight's wine review is the last bottle from a case I ordered through the VINI wine app. Of course, the 2014 is no longer available for purchase, but a newer vintage of this delightful wine from Prince Edward County's Closson Chase arrived in LCBO VINTAGES in August. The first bottle of this lovely 2014 Closson Chase Vineyard Chardonnay was opened from in December 2016,...

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September 28, 2019 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Super Euro Signatures + Oregon

The September 28, 2019 LCBO VINTAGES Release features some top Signature wines from Europe as its main theme, while the mini-theme looks at wines from Oregon. This is the first of what will be some big Releases leading up to the holidays. Thus, if you are looking for fine wines as holiday gifts, or to add to your collection, wines from this Release would be a great place...

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Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (Australia) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is a nice Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia that will be coming to the LCBO as part of the upcoming September 28 LCBO VINTAGES Release. It is produced by Wakefield Wines, which is owned and operated by the Taylor family that believes great wines are made in the vineyard. This particular red wine comes from their Estate line of wines which are crafted...

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Gemtree Uncut Shiraz 2016 (Australia) - Wine Review

Enjoy Shiraz? Tonight's wine review is an excellent organic Australian Shiraz that came to the LCBO last month as part of the August 3rd LCBO VINTAGES Release. Surprisingly, there is plenty of stock still available, so you can get your hands on this bottle too! It is produced by Gemtree Wines, a winery in McLaren Vale whose story begins in the 1980's when Paul and Jill Buttery...

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