SERIOUS Claymore Wines 2018 You'll Never Walk Alone

Mataro is Mourvedre, so this is a GSM blend with a different name; 

but this is a different kind of wine and wine company - let me explain: 

Claymore Wines 2018 You'll Never Walk Alone

 

 

This is a GSM blend (but call it Mataro, not Mourvedre), is full of black pepper, blackberry, dark and brooding fruit that keeps giving the more it stays open. Rich and close to unctuous, yet well-balanced with acid and tannins bringing it all together. It still has a few years ahead of it, but drinks well right now. It is 14.7% alcohol, so just beware.

Big Head Wines 2020 RAW Syrah (Ontario Wine)

In my books this is a rare bottle of wine, one you NEED to put your hands on, 

and represents the epitome of Syrah in Ontario

Big Head Wines 2020 RAW Syrah

 

THE WRITTEN REVIEW ...

It's hard not to assume that during a 20-plus wine tasting at Big Head with wine maker/owner Andrzej Lipinski, you’ll come away with some favourites; but the big surprise here was just how much this one stood heads and tails above all the rest. That was the case this 2020 Syrah, part of the Raw series, which see concrete with no wood being introduced. The wine is also bottled unfiltered, but even before that Andrzej co-fermented it with 5% Viognier with the Syrah, along with a few other tricks of the trade, including carbonic maceration. Then leaving it in concrete for a year and a half. The results lay plain in the bottle: Floral aromas that lean slightly smoky ... A palate loaded with smoky-black cherry and raspberry and balsamic strawberries. It's pure, it's pretty, it's ... Damn near perfect?

SO GOOD : Nittardi 2020 Belcanto, Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy)

If you have never heard of this winery, 

but are a fan of Chianti Classico, then you are in for a treat

Nittardi 2020 Belcanto, Chianti Classico

BRILLIANT: Montes Wines 2019 Wings (Chile)

Montes makes some amazing wines, this one was new to me, 

but it still delivered everything I expect from this winery in Chile

Montes Wines 2019 Wings

 

 

A nod to Paul McCartney or Red Bull, either way, this wine flew high to represent another really good offering from Montes. Smoky-black cherry and hints of coffee - the fruit just sores and sings, and it's stays a long time on the palate. Beauty.

GET TO KNOW: Zonte's Footstep 2021 Love Symbol Grenache (Australia)

Grenache on its own can be a pretty exciting wine, like this version: 

Zonte's Footstep 2021 Love Symbol Grenache

 

 

This is a very pretty wine with a boatload of raspberry built right in and for right now enjoyment. Grenache is normally a very light and fruity grape, something I learned while in Spain, and here Zonte’s brings out all that beautiful fresh fruit and acidity to balance it off. When you think Australia, you might think thick and jammy, but this wine is far from that. It’s light colour hints at its delicate flavour and it delivers on that promise: raspberry, tart cranberry and supremely juicy; it’s a wine to chill and enjoy.  (****+)

INCREDIBLE - Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2019 Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon (C...

Many superlatives can be used to describe the Artemis Cabernet. 

I use a few of my own in this video for the 

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 2019 Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon

 

 

Marcus (winemaker) describes 2019 as a "challenging, but good. Vintage" overall. The wine has a drop (.5%) of Cabernet Franc and the blend spends 15 months in oak, 42%, new French and 6% new American, all the rest is in older French. The fruit is pure and robust: plum, black cherry, blackberry with notes of chocolate, white smoke and silky tannins. Through the evening, the wine opened and became even more silky and ultimately gorgeous for both sipping and sniffing – the grilled beef fillet was not let down by the wine, nor vice versa. Purity of fruit and complexity makes this wine and the cellaring potential sits at about 15 plus years.