Aguijon de Abeja Cabernet Franc
$22.99
This delicate Cabernet Franc comes from the land of San Juan, in traditional vineyards from the Pedernal Valley. It combines notes of tobacco, chocolate, cloves and herbaceous aromas with ripe fruit. A brilliant ruby red, the nose is soft and delicate with a deft herbaceous note. Also ripe red fruits like strawberry and a touch of jam. Slight aromas of tobacco chocolate, and clove. Lovely, juicy tannins and a fine texture.
Basilio Izquierdo B de Basilio Tinto
$87.99
The B de Basilio Red displays a brilliant, purple-hued ruby color. This suave, fruit encased red is brightly fragrant. Rich scents of black cherry and strawberry immediately greet you on the nose, followed by hints of clay and loam. The attack is supple, silky and juicy with additional notes of blackberry and raspberry. Fine, creamy oak tones emerge, adding roundness to the supple mouthfeel. Seamlessly integrated acidity and very fine ripe tannins provide structure. The long finish is capped by soft hints of spice and chewy strawberry.
Basilio Izquierdo is a truly iconic Rioja winemaker, responsible for dozens of true classics that bring Rioja aficionados to tears, such as the great 'Imperial' and 'Viña Real' Gran Reservas of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, and the mythic Contino ’82 Reserva. In 2006, after more than 32 years as head winemaker at CVNE, he started his own personally inspired winery, Bodegas Basilio Izquierdo in a garage style cooperative winery space in the town of Laguardia within the Rioja Alavesa sub-zone of Rioja. His goal: to explore some of the lost art of Rioja winemaking in conjunction with his knowledge of the latest techniques and materials. In that first year his white wine production consisted of one new French oak barrel. Since then he has expanded to an annual production of about 5000 bottles of barrel aged red and 700 bottles of barrel fermented white.
Basilio's understanding of many of the lost traditions of Rioja form the basis for his methods and philosophy. He uses only grapes from old vine vineyards planted with massally selected vines pre-dating modern clones, which contributes to their character and complexity. Masal selection involves using a vineyard's existing plant material when replanting, thus maintaining the genetic heritage of the vineyard. Honouring earlier traditions, he employs more Garnacha in the Red and Garnacha Blanca in the White, which lend a juicy, fruity suppleness to the Red and rich tropical notes to the White, respectively. However, underneath their fruit laden exteriors these wines offer beautiful and harmonious structure that makes them worthy of long aging.
Little Engine Pinot Noir Silver
$56.99
When you hear the children's book The Little Engine That Could, you would never expect for it to pave the way for this small production winery. Naming themselves after this children's fable, this winery promotes only the truest expressions of their wines and terroir. Focusing mostly on Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, they aim to bring only elegance and freshness to their wines and only believe in using French oak. This Pinot Noir is a single vineyard production, expressing tart cranberries, red cherries and maybe even a touch of dried hibiscus. Showing beautifully now, but also will develop through until 2023.
Jacques Lassaigne Clos Sainte Sophie
$234.99
This wine is made from a unique plot in the middle of their vineyards with 40+ year old vines. "This wine is opulence personified. Intense laser-beams of acidity balance out the caramel notes here and the finish goes on and on for millennia. This wine pairs well with long-lived wedding anniversaries and doctoral dissertation completions, or it will make whatever random moment you decide to open one as special as either of those rare events. Extremely limited and unicorn-like."
"Jacques Lassaigne is a 4.7-hectare family vineyard located in Montgueux. The vineyards boast prime southeastern exposure and consist entirely of Chardonnay. The Montgueux vineyard sites were originally held for the Montrachet of Champagne and are located near the gates of Troyes—the former capital of Champagne. This area is technically part of the Aube department, but is much further north than what people typically think of as the Aube, in the Cote des bars which features wines often primarily made from Pinot Meunier. The terroir in Montgueux is nearly identical to the growing sites found further north in le Mesnil, as they share the same limestone vein —this is exceptional terroir for making great champagne. An intense backbone of acidity is often present in these wines, but since it is located further south than the storied Cotes des blancs, ripening is not as much of an issue. The non-vintage Blanc de Blancs is a blend of nine different vineyard sites & two successive vintages."
Jacques Lassaigne Le Cotet
$124.99
This cuvée issues from grapes of a single vineyard – “Le Cotet”. Here, the 50+ year-old vines have deeply-rooted in the chalky hillside, furthest to the east in the Montgueux vineyards. Mineral notes, very crisp, with a lemony finish. A wonderful companion to oysters, seafood and other shellfish.
"Musky apple and pear skin aromas are deepened by notes of chamomile and smoky lees. Tightly wound citrus zest and orchard fruit flavors expand with aeration, giving way to deeper nectarine, melon and marzipan. Toasted nut and lemon pith distinguish the impressively long, focused finish. This Champagne's blend of power and finesse is impressive." Vinous
Three Sisters Cabernet Franc
$37.99
We are really excited about these wines, because one of the "Three Sisters", Rebecca Mikulic (nee Lawrence) used to work here at KWM. That and the wines are also delicious! Rebecca and her husband winemaker Matthew Mikulic grow grapes throughout the Okanagan, and have a winery on the Naramata Bench. This Cabernet Franc was macerated and fermented in small lightly pressed lots and aged 18 months in new and neutral American & French oak.
Producer Description
"All the grapes were grown by Earlco Vineyards Ltd. and sourced exclusively from the Naramata Bench. Picked by hand at optimum ripeness. The juice was macerated and fermented in small lots then grapes were lightly pressed. Wine was aged for approximately 18 months in a combination of new and neutral French and American barrels. Full malolactic fermentation occurred during this time and wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered."
Milk & Honey Art & Craft Belgian Ale
$139.99
Another quirky little treat from Tel-Aviv's Milk & Honey distillery... This 3 year old Israeli single malt was matured in a cask used to mature a Belgian-style ale. 55.1%. Only 6 bottles have come to Canada!
Producer Note: "This single malt whisky has been fully matured in 3 ex-beer casks from the Jems Brewery. These casks, originally ex-bourbon casks granted to Jems by M&H, were in-turn used for the maturation of the Jems 8.8 – a strong Belgian ale style beer – which is characterized by fruity aromas, notes of caramel and pleasant bitterness. After 4-6 months, the beer was extracted and the casks returned to M&H, re-filled and matured to perfection for 3 years."
Natural colour, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 55.1% abv.
Dominio de Tares Baltos Bierzo Mencia
$27.99
You may not have heard of the Mencia grape before, but the critics certainly have! Baltos, made from 100% Mencia, has collected a ton of awards over the years. Wine Spectator calls it "one of Spain's best reds," giving it 90 points. (It ranked 67 out of the magazine's 100 best wines.) So, it's definitely not an unknown grape. This one is made from 40-year-old dry-farmed vines, and shows hints of violets and minerals. Fresh, elegant, clean and delicious.
Oddero Rionda Riserva
$289.99
This Barolo displays elegance, fine tannins, a persistent taste and minerality. It accurately reflects the characteritics of the soil of origin. Its tannins develop from a rugged soil, sandy and calcareous. Ruby red in colour with light garnet reflections, delicate notes of spices and liquorice and a desirable bouquet of red berries. Extraordinarily long finish. An exquisite Barolo that can age for another decade or so, but can be enjoyed with a good decant. Pair with something that is just as extraordinary.
Oddero produces some of the finest wines in Piemonte, and was one of the first to bottle Barolo. They also only farm organically.
A KWM exclusive!