MIXED CASE : LIGHTER REDS 22
Each case contains two bottles of the following wines:
Niepoort NAT'Cool! Tinto 2023, DOC Bairrada, Portugal. $26 / 1000mL
Dirk Niepoort's NAT'Cool! range of wines were created to meet certain criteria : be made as naturally as possible, be low alcohol, be terroir-driven, use native grapes to the region, be affordable, and be so smashable that it's only sold in 1L bottles. This lighter, shining red is 40-100 year old Baga vines from the limestone laced, clay soils of Bairrada. This was native fermented and aged in stainless, to preserve the purity of fruit. Light and lifted, this finessed red soars with wild strawberry, wild raspberry, perfumed plum, thorny rockrose, hugged with fine, sticky tannins, and seasoned with a dusting of pink pepper. So smashable, take this with a light chill, liberally.
Señorío de P Peciña Tinto Cosecha 2023, DOCa Rioja, Spain. $20
Bodegas Hermanos Peciña is firmly planted in traditional Rioja, one of perhaps a dozen of producers adhering to the tenets passed down through generations. This includes long aging in mostly neutral American oak, regular open-air racking by hand (called trasiego), and then further aging in bottle often well beyond the specifications required by the DO. Founder Pedro Peciña had over two decades of working in Rioja Alta before opening his own Bodega in 1992. This is a blend of 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, and 2% Garnacha, from Hermanos Pecina's youngest vineyards, La Veguilla and Valseca, which average 25 years in age. This was native fermented in stainless, where it aged for six months before bottling without fining or filtration. Pouring a deep garnet hue, this is flush with red florals, downy plums, wild blackberries, thorns, and threads of balsamic. Brisk acidity works well against the tighter, fine tannins, guiding this to a lightly spiced wood finish. Drinking very well now, especially with lamb or roasted root veg.
Viña Serranas Ciclón Rufete 2022, DOP Sierra de Salamanca, Spain. $28
From older vines rooted in granite and schist terraces around 650m, this Rufete was native fermented with 15% whole bunch in small tanks, with 3 weeks maceration. It was finished primarily in French barrels for 10 months. Perfumed cherry, crunchy plum, raspberries, are framed with fine downy / grippy tannins, wrapping around a juicy core, and finishing super saline. An earlier picked piece has kept alcohol low and bright (12.67%), encouraging taking this with a slight chill. 15,000 bottles produced.
Maxime Barrot Jean Max Le Rouge à Lièvre 2022, AOP Beaujolais, France. $45
This gamay came from a single vineyard in St. Germain Nuelles, and 50 year old vines rooted in calcareous soils. It was native fermented and carbonically macerated before aging in barrel 9 months, with minimal sulphur added before bottling. 3450 bottles and 40 magnums made. Perfumed peony, fragrant wildflowers, wild raspberry runs the length of this slight palate, with fine, lightly sticky tannins hugging the sides, and a buoyant, lofted acidity sailing this through a saline finish. So charming, much like the hare on the label.
Château La Grolet Cuvée Classique Rouge 2022, AOC Côtes de Bourg, Bordeaux, France. $32
Château La Grolet is a 17th century manor house at the bottom of a valley surrounded by its 50 hectare estate, including 38 hectares of vines. The Hubert family acquired the estate in 1997 and began its conversion to biodynamics, with Demeter certification coming in 2000. Château La Grolet Cuvée Classique Rouge blends 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Malbec. The vines at Grolet are 50ish years, and this wine was native fermented and aged in a mixture of concrete and wooden vessels (20%) before being bottled without fining or filtration, and minimum sulphur. Dusty cherry, plum, and raspberry fills the compact palate, with blocky tannins framing through a lightly bretty, bitter cherry finish. Best enjoyed with grilled meats or tourtière to meet the strident nature of this red.
Olivier Coste Old Star Carignan Noir 2021, IGP Pays d'Oc, Languedoc, France. $21
Since his childhood, Olivier Coste’s favourite places to play have been the vineyards and the family wine cellar at Domaine Montrose, his family’s wine estate founded in 1701 in Pézenas. With this upbringing, Olivier developed a profound attachment to the Languedoc’s terroir and landscape, and later to its wines. This was fermented and aged in stainless, to preserve the purity of the older bush vines. Baked plum, boysenberry is lit with a buzzy acidity, and framed with fine, sticky tannins, finishing with cracked stones and a dusting of pepper. A substantial red, yet a lovely 13% take on Carignan. Try with grilled pork.
Price:
12 bottles for $379 + HST, including delivery in GTA, and most larger cities in Ontario.
*prices outside of main cities may incur additional delivery charges.
Estimated delivery time is 3-10 business days.
Please note we cannot process wine orders outside of Ontario. Wine can only be ordered from, and shipped to, an address in Ontario.
MIXED CASE : LIGHTER REDS 22
Each case contains two bottles of the following wines:
Niepoort NAT'Cool! Tinto 2023, DOC Bairrada, Portugal. $26 / 1000mL
Dirk Niepoort's NAT'Cool! range of wines were created to meet certain criteria : be made as naturally as possible, be low alcohol, be terroir-driven, use native grapes to the region, be affordable, and be so smashable that it's only sold in 1L bottles. This lighter, shining red is 40-100 year old Baga vines from the limestone laced, clay soils of Bairrada. This was native fermented and aged in stainless, to preserve the purity of fruit. Light and lifted, this finessed red soars with wild strawberry, wild raspberry, perfumed plum, thorny rockrose, hugged with fine, sticky tannins, and seasoned with a dusting of pink pepper. So smashable, take this with a light chill, liberally.
Señorío de P Peciña Tinto Cosecha 2023, DOCa Rioja, Spain. $20
Bodegas Hermanos Peciña is firmly planted in traditional Rioja, one of perhaps a dozen of producers adhering to the tenets passed down through generations. This includes long aging in mostly neutral American oak, regular open-air racking by hand (called trasiego), and then further aging in bottle often well beyond the specifications required by the DO. Founder Pedro Peciña had over two decades of working in Rioja Alta before opening his own Bodega in 1992. This is a blend of 95% Tempranillo, 3% Graciano, and 2% Garnacha, from Hermanos Pecina's youngest vineyards, La Veguilla and Valseca, which average 25 years in age. This was native fermented in stainless, where it aged for six months before bottling without fining or filtration. Pouring a deep garnet hue, this is flush with red florals, downy plums, wild blackberries, thorns, and threads of balsamic. Brisk acidity works well against the tighter, fine tannins, guiding this to a lightly spiced wood finish. Drinking very well now, especially with lamb or roasted root veg.
Viña Serranas Ciclón Rufete 2022, DOP Sierra de Salamanca, Spain. $28
From older vines rooted in granite and schist terraces around 650m, this Rufete was native fermented with 15% whole bunch in small tanks, with 3 weeks maceration. It was finished primarily in French barrels for 10 months. Perfumed cherry, crunchy plum, raspberries, are framed with fine downy / grippy tannins, wrapping around a juicy core, and finishing super saline. An earlier picked piece has kept alcohol low and bright (12.67%), encouraging taking this with a slight chill. 15,000 bottles produced.
Maxime Barrot Jean Max Le Rouge à Lièvre 2022, AOP Beaujolais, France. $45
This gamay came from a single vineyard in St. Germain Nuelles, and 50 year old vines rooted in calcareous soils. It was native fermented and carbonically macerated before aging in barrel 9 months, with minimal sulphur added before bottling. 3450 bottles and 40 magnums made. Perfumed peony, fragrant wildflowers, wild raspberry runs the length of this slight palate, with fine, lightly sticky tannins hugging the sides, and a buoyant, lofted acidity sailing this through a saline finish. So charming, much like the hare on the label.
Château La Grolet Cuvée Classique Rouge 2022, AOC Côtes de Bourg, Bordeaux, France. $32
Château La Grolet is a 17th century manor house at the bottom of a valley surrounded by its 50 hectare estate, including 38 hectares of vines. The Hubert family acquired the estate in 1997 and began its conversion to biodynamics, with Demeter certification coming in 2000. Château La Grolet Cuvée Classique Rouge blends 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Malbec. The vines at Grolet are 50ish years, and this wine was native fermented and aged in a mixture of concrete and wooden vessels (20%) before being bottled without fining or filtration, and minimum sulphur. Dusty cherry, plum, and raspberry fills the compact palate, with blocky tannins framing through a lightly bretty, bitter cherry finish. Best enjoyed with grilled meats or tourtière to meet the strident nature of this red.
Olivier Coste Old Star Carignan Noir 2021, IGP Pays d'Oc, Languedoc, France. $21
Since his childhood, Olivier Coste’s favourite places to play have been the vineyards and the family wine cellar at Domaine Montrose, his family’s wine estate founded in 1701 in Pézenas. With this upbringing, Olivier developed a profound attachment to the Languedoc’s terroir and landscape, and later to its wines. This was fermented and aged in stainless, to preserve the purity of the older bush vines. Baked plum, boysenberry is lit with a buzzy acidity, and framed with fine, sticky tannins, finishing with cracked stones and a dusting of pepper. A substantial red, yet a lovely 13% take on Carignan. Try with grilled pork.
Price:
12 bottles for $379 + HST, including delivery in GTA, and most larger cities in Ontario.
*prices outside of main cities may incur additional delivery charges.
Estimated delivery time is 3-10 business days.
Please note we cannot process wine orders outside of Ontario. Wine can only be ordered from, and shipped to, an address in Ontario.
We’ve put together this case of 12 lighter bodied reds perfectly suited to for spring.
