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Top 5 Brunello at the LCBO
Buyers Guide to VINTAGES – June 23rd, 2018
Chile: The Long and Short of It By David Lawrason, with notes from Michael Godel There are several very good Canadian wines on the June 23rd release leading up to Canada Day, and the WineAlign team assembling in Penticton for the National Wine Awards will collaborate next week on a special report. This week, as John […] More
New Zealand Region by Region by Sara d’Amato Is your New Zealand wine experience limited to Marlborough sauvignon blanc, or perhaps the odd pinot noir? The immense popularity of Marlborough sauvignon has had a twofold result. The distinctively exuberant style rapidly put New Zealand on the map as a unique, world class wine producing region. Not […] More
If I Could Buy Only One – June 9th, 2018 VINTAGES Release
As part of our VINTAGES recap, we asked our critics: “If you could buy only one wine from this release – which one would it be and why?” Our picks from the June 9th VINTAGES release: John Szabo, MS: Versatile reds are de rigeur in the summer, served with a light chill alongside anything from the […] More
National Wine Awards of Canada
Discover Canada's best wines! In 2016, 22 judges tasted 1,535 wines from 230 wineries across the country to identify Canada's top wines.
View Award-Winning Wines
World Wine Awards of Canada
Seventeen judges tasted 1,000 wines in 21 categories in 2015 to find the world's best wines sold in Canada under $50.
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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.
