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Top 5 Brunello (Sangiovese) at the LCBO
Buyer’s Guide to Vintages January 18th Release
Wine Gives us Reasons to Hopeby David Lawrason, with notes from Michael Godel, Megha Jandhyala and Sara d’Amato It is not just a little ironic that Vintages January 18 Catalogue features “sustainable winemaking” in California as Los Angeles burns, and the United States inaugurates a climate change agnostic as president. But let’s be positive here […] More
Montalcino Previews 2024: Brunello 2020, Brunello Riserva 2019 and older vintages
By Michael Godel Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020, Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG 2019, changes to Rosso di Montalcino DOC, 14 estate visits and 250 tasting notes from Montalcino, November 2024. The most recent edition of Montalcino’s Benvenuto Brunello took place from November 14th-16th, 2024 in the Chiostro del Museo di Sant’Agostino. Home to Il […] More
If I Could Buy Only One – January 4th Vintages Release
We asked our writers, “If you could buy only one wine from the January 4th release, which one would it be and why?” Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant 2022, California, USA$19.10, Family Wine MerchantsJohn Szabo – Pleasure mingles with nostalgia in my only one pick this week, a wine which, although very different today, first […] More
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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.
