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Buyer’s Guide to VINTAGES September 23 Release
The Seduction and Sedition of High Scores at the LCBO By David Lawrason with notes from John Szabo, MS, Michael Godel, Sara d’Amato, and Megha Jandhyala The VINTAGES September 23 release is titled “High Scoring Wines.” High scores have become core to the LCBOs marketing modus operandi, but its reliance on them is, in my […] More
Buyer’s Guide to VINTAGES September 9 Release
Vintage Matters By John Szabo, MS with notes from David Lawrason, Michael Godel, Sara d’Amato, and Megha Jandhyala September is upon us and the local harvest is around the corner. Some have already started. Spare a thought for Ontario vignerons—Ontario is the feature region in the Vintages Sept. 9 release—as they’ve been through a lot […] More
Nebbiolo Previews: Barbaresco DOCG 2020 and Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 2018
By Michael Godel What’s in a vintage? If we are talking about 2020 Barbaresco there is so much to say because these are a group of nebbiolo that meet at the crossroads of variability, complexity, multiplicity and whimsy. At their finest the ’20s are a textural bunch, suave and sensorial because of high levels of […] More
National Wine Awards of Canada
Canada's premier wine awards. In 2022, 24 judges tasted over 1,900 wines from 250 wineries across the country to identify Canada's top wines.
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Brunello di Montalcino is one of the most prestigious appellations in Italy, born in the 19th Century in its present form thanks to the efforts of the Biondi-Santi family, who defined its rules and have largely guided it to the present day. The wines are made from 100% Sangiovese grape, in particular from a clone called Sangiovese Grosso, or also as Brunello - hence the appellation's name. Traditionally, the wine goes through an extended maceration period where color, tannins and flavour are extracted from the skins. Following fermentation the wine is then aged in oak. Traditionally, the wines are aged 3 years or more in "botti" - large Slovenian oak casks that impart little oak flavour and generally produce more austere wines. Some winemakers will use small French barrels which impart a more pronounced vanilla oak flavour and add a certain fruitiness to the wine. Whatever the approach, wines must be aged for for years (with a minimum of two years in barrel) before being released, according to appellation rules.
