Wine
Reviews:
2018
December 30, 2018
Partida Creus - VN Red & VN White
We recently had non-identical twins ring in the holidays with us. Both mesmerizingly fantastic in their own unique way, they really did shine better as a duo. And don’t get us wrong, we ~unconditionally~ love em both just as much. But... If we really had to pick... it would be the white 🤫.
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🍷 Partida Creus - VN Red & VN White
🍇 Red: Trepat, Samsó, Sumoll White: G arnatxa Blanca, Macabeu, Moscatell, Pansé, Parrellada, Vinyater, Xarel-lo
🇪🇸 Catalunya
🛩 Imported by: Vinealis
🛒 Availble at: vinealis.qc.ca
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Antonella Gerona and Massimo Marchiori, the Italian architect duo that now makes wine out of the Catalonian region of Spain, started the endeavor back in 2000. What’s interesting about their approach is that in order to reach rare indigenous varietals, they have gone around buying disappearing vineyards and bringing them back to life with organic and natural farming. And it makes for quite the plethora of different wine types, as you may have noticed. We’re always excited to try a new one and though we will most likely never try them all, it is a totally legitimate goal to aspire to (right?).
December 21, 2018
Weingut Roterfaden - Lemberger
Get through the holidays with the finesse and power of Roterfaden’s Lemberger. You may know Lemberger through its other name, Blaufränkisch, and all its spicy dark fruit goodness. So, by no means are we German wine experts, but we do know one thing, this stuff is seriously good. Like getting Dream Phone for Christmas in 1991 or like, a Space Jam VHS (the one with the coin on it) kind of good. So sneak this one under our Christmas tree and watch us freak out like the 90s kids that we still are deep down inside.
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🍷 Weingut Roterfaden - Lemberger
🍇 Blauer Limberger
🇩🇪 Wüttemberg
🛩 Imported by: not yet in QC (@vomboden south of the border)
🛒 Bought at: @22secondstreet
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Olympia and Hannes, a wine making power couple created the biodynamic winery of Weingut Roterfaden in one of Germany’s most exciting regions, Württemberg, just outside Stuttgart. And it’s all natural folks. They work biodynamically with their own compost over fertilizers, they use native yeast, no filtering, no clarifying agents, and we are fans. Thank you Olympia and Hannes.
Vignoble du Rêveur - Artisan 2016
Out of this world. Who knew our state-owned wine shop was even allowed to hold intergalactic peachiness like this one. So it comes to no surprise that it disappeared off the shelves at light speed. A fresh splash of lichi and apricots with a silky, honeydew finish. Smooth to the bone with just enough citric kick. Find some, drink some, because once you let this crushable supernova into your life, you’ll be seeing stars and, also, making excessive puns about outer space.
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🍷 Vignoble du Rêveur - Artisan 2016
🍇 Gewurztraminer 50% Pinot Gris 50%
🇫🇷 Alsace
🛩 Imported by: AOC & Cie
🛒 Available at (when in stock): @lasaq
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Mathieu Deiss, assisted by Emmanuelle Milan, work the vines at his family’s winery, Domaine Marcel Deiss, in Alsace France. Their real passion comes from their personal parcels. Vignoble du Rêveur which, as the name implies, pushes the wines produced beyond ordinary limits. Deiss has been taking parts of the estate and bringing it into the natural wine world whilst carrying on his grandfathers legacy. And this cuvée de l’Artisan is the embodiment of that effort. In his words: “It’s time to take back the right to dream, to construct a future without limits, to reinvent wine and its definition, to break the rules, move walls and open our eyes, to decide that anything is possible!”
December 4, 2018
Ganevat - Y’a bon the Canon
Deep within the Jura, a blazing winemaker is charming some wild potions into life. Magic concoctions of Savagnin and Melon Queue Rouge fill the barrels that line the halls. Such a winemaker is Jean-Francois Ganevat and such a concoction is his “Y’a bon de canon”. A savage mix of tart berries with a bright bouquet bring through a colorful splashes of fruit, making for a crunchy, crushable bottle of wine. It has so much enclosed energy that you can almost hear the grapes come alive inside. As the wild berries dance, the fires crackles on.
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🍷 Ganevat - Y’a bon the Canon
🍇 Gamay, Gueuche, Gros Béclan, Petit Béclan and a handful of other rare indigenous varietals.
🇫🇷 Jura
🛩 Imported by: @rezin.selection
🛒 Available (sometime soon): @lasaq
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The region is home to 40 different grape varietals and Jean-Francois “Fanfan” Ganevat makes virtually as many different types of wines, each with their own method of élevage. A perfectionist in the field, Ganevat keeps the vinification process simple, and no one quite does it quite like him, where the man goes to incredible lengths to create hyper-individualized bottles. The Jura is known for intentional oxidation and Ganevat is no stranger to the technique, created juices that will blow your mind twice over, time and time again.
November 28, 2018
Olivier Lemasson - R17
Olivier Lemasson’s R17: Antigel du Jajakistan. The name comes from a hard ‘17 vintage that saw enough frost to destroy half his vines. “Du Jajakistan” in honor of his two friends, Loïc Roure of Domaine du Possible and Edouard Lafitte of Le Bout du Monde, who graciously gave Lemasson some of their vines so their friend could make it through last year (Jajakistan is a reference to the distant village of Lansac in the Roussillon where the two work). Good friends get you through the cold. Add Lemasson’s fresh, juicy and quaffable wine and you’re sure to stay warm🔥
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🍷 Olivier Lemasson - R17
🍇 Gamay & Cabernet Franc (Lemasson) , Syrah & Grenache (Friends)
🇫🇷 Loire
🛩 Imported by: @oenopole
🛒 (PI) Available at: oenopole.ca
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Sommelier-turned-winemaker, Lemasson takes care of 10 ha, spread over Monthou-sur-Bièvre and the Cher Valley. He is into carbonic maceration in his winemaking (something he perfected with his years of apprenticeship under Marcel Lapierre) which results in a lot of powerful flavors. We had the chance to meet him back in July and learnt about his frost-ridden year. What came through was a man with the will to power through and find solutions in the face of uncontrollable forces. But also just a great person to be around. Cheers, Olivier 🍷
November 21, 2018
Arianna Occhipinti - SP68
After the first sip, wines like this one make time stop for a brief moment. It’s the kind of wine that fills the house with a warm feeling, like a red sauce that’s been slow cooking all afternoon. The kind that will warm you up on cold winter days. It’s the kind of wine that can bring a whole family together. And would you look at that, it’s snowing outside, what an appropriate time to cozy up with good wine and even better people. ❄️
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🍷 Arianna Occhipinti - SP68
🍇 Nero d’Avola & Frappato
🇮🇹 Sicily
🛩 Imported by: @oenopole
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
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Sicily sends another gem our way from one of the regions wildest producers: Arianna Occhipinti. Niece of @giustoocchipinti , the “O” in COS wines, she continues to make waves in the wine world. The wine is named after the SP68 highway in Sicily, which, interestingly enough, used to be the old wine route taken generations ago. It goes without saying that these wines see little to no intervention and are made with passion and devotion to the grape. We love Sicily and it’s wines and are officially taking submissions for that wine cult.
November 15, 2018
Guy Breton - Morgon Vielles Vignes 2015
And just like that, we slide through another Beaujo Nouveau week, and thus, into winter. And we’re doing it in style with a true master of the region: Guy Breton, underrated superstar of the Morgon gang. A winter-cold-smack-you-in-the-face light berry zinger of a first sip, the stuff continues to evolve into something absolutely magisterial the more sips you take. The perfume alone it gives off makes us swoon (hello Chanel, bottle that essence of Gamay already). In all, we are lucky in Quebec to have easy access to many of his wines and should take full advantage these winter-remedying liquids.
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🍷 Guy Breton - Morgon Vielles Vignes 2015
🍇 Gamay
🇫🇷 Beaujolais
🛩 Imported by: @oenopole
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
November 14, 2018
Jean-Paul Thévenet - Morgon Vielles Vignes 2016
Something is different about Gamay. We don’t know if Gamay has been working out or maybe it’s taking a new pottery class that they’re really into. Perhaps Gamay is just “focusing on its art right now” but we’re noticing it. The flavor is full and it is meaty and it is smoky and it is so, so right for this time of the year.
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🍷 Jean-Paul Thévenet - Morgon Vielles Vignes 2016
🍇 Gamay
🇫🇷 Beaujolais
🛩 Imported by: @symbiose_vins
🛒 Available at: symbiose-vins.com
November 13, 2018
Jean Foillard - Morgon 2017
Just like the man himself, the deep berry crimson of Foillard’s Morgon oozes magic and mystery of, say, a dragon. Kind of like seeing a dragon, if you were to see an actual dragon in real life(stay with us here), and that feeling you would get of : “Oh my god is that a dragon, I must be dreaming, wow this is so magical and mysterious”? That would be a pretty accurate depiction of the feeling you get when drinking it. Plus the leafs in the back kinda look fiery.
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🍷 Jean Foillard - Morgon 2017
🍇 Gamay
🇫🇷 Beaujolais
🛩 Imported by: @rezin.selection
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
November 12, 2018
Domaine Marcel Lapierre - Morgon 2017
We start off Beaujo Nouveau week with the head honcho, the big cheese, the top dog. Domaine Marcel Lapierre’s Morgon: the to-go, O.G. Beaujolais, gamay juice explosion par excellence. Something like toasty cherries underlined with a remarkably crisp freshness and a smooth satiny finish. Yes it is gluggable, and yes also chuggable, but not so fast! This wine certainly deserves that you take your time with it as well. A strong and pure expression of the region, it never fails to hit the mark, year after year.
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🍷 Domaine Marcel Lapierre - Morgon 2017
🍇 Gamay
🇫🇷 Beaujolais
🛩 Imported by: @rezin.selection
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
November 9, 2018
Nikoloz Antadze – Rkatsiteli 2015
No one makes orange wine like the Georgians. This is most probably due to the fact that, over there, it is just how white wine is made. And it’s been like this for something like... 8,000 years. Skin-contact wines have always been their thing, and this one is a great example, though not for the faint of heart. Bold, leathery, acidic; it is all things orange and more. It will slap you silly until you’re orange in the face... And that’s a good thing!
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🍷 Nikoloz Antadze – Rkatsiteli 2015
🍇 Rkatsiteli
🇬🇪 Kakheti
🛩 Imported by: *Please someone import this to QC now*
🛒 Bought at: @kingstonwineco
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Cultivated in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia, Antadze’s grape are fermented in the traditional qveri: giant clay containers which offer a neutral fermentation. Wine is an integral part of Gergioan culture and Nikoloz is here to share that with us. It also goes without saying that these wines could not be more natural and the whole vinification process process sees little to no intervention. Gaumarjos!
October 31, 2018
Jacques Lassaigne - Blanc de blancs
Firstly, YES those are tacos in the background and DUH that’s champagne. Something about Lassaigne’s smooth nuttiness just really complements the guacamole. At Beau Joe’s house, we celebrate in style and reaching 1,000 followers merits some kudos, naturally. We raise our glasses to you and thank you for your loyalty and trust! To the next chapter 📕 (Recco by @vincentsulfite so you know it’ll be fire). Tacos pis champagne, criss. Santé!
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🍷 Jacques Lassaigne - Blanc de blancs
🍇 Chardonnay 100%
🇫🇷 Champagne
🛩 Imported by: @oenopole
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
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Emmanuel Lassaigne took over the vineyard from his dad Jacques and has been making Champagne with very little intervention, with indigenous yeasts and very little added sulphur. This added to the fact that he disgorges all the bottles by hand himself, makes him a very rare breed in the region indeed. Cheers Emmanuel 🥂
October 27, 2018
Frank Cornelissen - Susucaru 2016
This wine needs no introduction. Anyone who’s had a @frankcornelissen_winery wine knows what we’re talking about so we’ll try our best to be brief here. Picture your mind. Picture it blown. Structured exuberance with like... wafts of clove. Something this explosive can only come from the volcanic soil around Mount Etna. It is god damn close to perfection, or maybe it’s perfectly off. One thing is for sure though, it is utterly and imperfectly stunning.
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🍷 Frank Cornelissen - Susucaru 2016
🍇 Catarratto Bianco, Nerello Mascalese, Malvasia
🇮🇹 Sicily
🛩 Imported by: @vindamejeanne
🛒 Available: (soon hopefully!) vindammejeanne.com
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Half god - half winemaker, Mr Cornelissen works in the foot hills of Mount Etna in Eastern Sicily to create what closely resembles liquid magic. Originally from Belgium, the man is a perfectionist and an artist who is passionately dedicated to his vines. It goes without saying that the methods are pure and they are clean and little to nothing is added to the grapes. Pure wine. Pure love.
October 22, 2018
Philippe Bornard - Point Barre 2016
Perplexedly animal on the nose, yet tastes like freshly harvested vegetables , and somehow manages to integrate some (pretty magical) notes of caramel. Let’s say it takes you for quite the ride. Bornard has built a strong reputation for unruly yet sublime wines. Like a feral wildebeest reading you poetry, you feel both fear and a strong sense that there’s something important be learnt here (you following us?). Essentially wild wine for wild nights 🔥
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🍷 Philippe Bornard - Point Barre 2016
🍇 Ploussard
🇫🇷 Jura
🛩 Imported by: @jackandglou
🛒 Available at (hard to get though): glou-mtl.com
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Living in the quaint (and legendary) village of Pupillin, his father grew grapes to sell. When he Philippe took over, well, we know what happened next. 27 years of experience truly shine though his incredibly bright wines, all biodynamic since 2017. A true living legend and we cannot wait to try another one of his.
October 12, 2018
Tami - Frappato 2017
Vastly wilder than the ‘16 vintage, the newly arrived ‘17s are a sign of @ariannaocchipinti ’s ever-increasing talent and creativity. A beautiful expression of a local Sicilian grape, it’s dark, sultry umami and tomato-y goodness is ready to make any night a pasta night worthy of Nonna’s cooking. It’s one of JOE’s all time favorite bang-for-your-buck wines and you simply must get a bottle if you haven’t already.
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🍷 Tami - Frappato 2017
🍇 Frappato
🇮🇹 Sicily
🛩 Imported by: @oenopole
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
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In honor of the new Occhipinti wines making their way into stores, we wanted to highlight this wine superstar — though Arianna is not alone on this one. Tami is a collaboration between her and two friends (Tami, shortened from the Italian “tre amici” or “among friends”) where all grapes are hand harvested , fermented in steel tanks with native yeasts. It is an effort to make the region’s typically small but highly sought-after production more affordable and more accessible. An effort we can all support 🍷
October 9, 2018
Opi d’Aqui - L’orangeade 2017
Apparently they’ve managed to squeeze a hot, Parisian summer afternoon into a bottle. French chatter, birds singing and all. Light tones of citrus come through quite nicely with a startling freshness that really brings you back slurping on your Orangina by the pool.
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🍷 Opi d’Aqui - L’orangeade 2017
🍇 Vin de France
🇫🇷 Languedoc
🛩 Imported by: @vindamejeanne
🛒 Available at: vindamejeanne.com
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Deep in the Languedoc, you will find Philippe Formentin working away at his vines with his own hands, near the village of Clermont l’Hérault. Everything is done with organic and biodynamic principles that make for some beautiful lightly textured wines.
In their words: “Opi d’aqui, c’est à dire, en occitan, l’opium d’ici. Mais ici, en Languedoc, c’est la culture de la vigne, culture ancestrale avec ses 2000 ans d’Histoire. Du vin nature, de l’attention, de l’amour. De la dévotion, l’envie de faire le beau, le bon… “
October 5, 2018
Cantina Furlani - Sui Lieviti Rosato
Like Capri in a bottle. Pink lemonade fizzy soda sipped off the back of a scooter zooming down the swirling island roads. This wine can’t wait for aperitivo time to be drunk, perfect with fresh oysters and snacks from the beach market. All the way to the last sip, ending like the salty sea breeze of the day’s last drops of sunlight.
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🍷 Cantina Furlani - Sui Lieviti Rosato
🍇 Local varietals
🇮🇹 Trento
🛩 Imported by: @lesvinsdejulie
🛒 Available: www.lesvindejulie.com
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High in the northern Italian mountains you can find Matteo Furlani making his wild wines. They must be something in that mountain air because the man makes some of the freshest, most incredibly colored wines around. Obviously @cantinacosmesifurlani uses low intervention methods with no chemicals and nothing but love for the land and for the grape.
October 3, 2018
Let’s eat the world we want to live in
You could find this wine running down a small creek in the woods, small berries growing along its sides as is flows on. Inside, hickory sticks and caramel dance together, a sort of flavor cha-cha. This is no ballroom dance.
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The first sip is leaps away from the last as the wine is almost literally exploding in your mouth. Crisp like a fall day with still as sweet as that late summer breeze. We are blown away ✨
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🍷 Let’s eat the world we want to live in
🍇 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Carignan, 20% Syrah, 20% Grenache Noir
🇫🇷 Valvignères, Ardèche
🛩 Imported by: @deuxcaves
🛒 Available at: Mainly only restaurants like @norahrayresto @elenamontreal @restaurant_candide
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@andersfrederiksteen has quickly become a household name in natural (is that word is on its way out?) wine, since he started in 2013. It goes without saying that all his wines (there are many) go through a little-to-no-intervention, hand-picked and wood-pressed process (all of the good stuff). It is no surprise then that this man was also sommelier at @nomacph because the same attention to quality and detail in the worlds top restaurant is present in all of his wines — all of which, JOE may just have to try, for your viewing pleasure.
September 26, 2018
Vini Rabasco - Cancelli 2016
This one grows on you as vigorously as the healthy vines thrive in the @agricolarabasco vineyards.
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Its pulsating complexity seems hard to grasp until you take a bit of something fatty and then take another sip, and then! Your mind is truly blown. Trust us, you will get lost in its deep sexy hues of plum and crimson, mysteriously revealing more and more until.. you could have sworn there was more left. Get lost in its trance 🔮
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🍷 Vini Rabasco - Cancelli 2016
🍇 Montepulciano
🇮🇹 Abruzzo
🛩 Imported by: @jackandglou
🛒 Available at: www.glou-mtl.com
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Badass lady farmer, Lole Rabasco owns a 3.5 hectare estate in the village of Pianella in the heart of Abruzzo. The 40 year-old vines are all harvested by hand, with love and patience. The grape vines stand next the olive trees there, neither of them having ever seem a drop of chemical use.
September 20, 2018
Domaine du Nival - Ces Petits Imprévus & Les Entetés 2017
Québec is getting ready to rumble 👊 In the blue corner, a lemony, fizzy, apple cider-y stunner of a pet-nat. In the red corner, a strikingly smooth Pinot Noir (you heard right: Quebecois Pinot) the breakout star. Slick acids and gentle tannins make this one a strong contender to win the match. Don’t fight it, find ‘em, drink ‘em, and repeat.
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🍷 Domaine du Nival - Ces Petits Imprévus & Les Entetés 2017
🍇 100% Vidal & 100% Pinot Noir
🇨🇦 Saint-Louis, QC
🛒 Available (sporadically) at: www.nival.ca @pascalleboucher @bdanslacote @boucheriegrinder @lebutterblume_mtl @boiregrand_wjw.ahuntsic @levinologue @sainte_cecile
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A real son and pop operation, @domainedunival is coming out the gate in a huge way. Run by Denis and his son Matthieu, the domaine has only been commercialized since 2015 but has made a name for itself as a leader in the new wave of Quebec wines. About as natural as you can make wine in our quebecois environment, Domaine du Nival wines are just as lovely and driven as the two masterminds behind them.
September 11, 2018
Koppitsch - Pretty Nats Zweigelt 2017
Melons mingle with grapefruit fizz, picked up by magical winds in a vast, Austrian field. The tartiness of this Zweigelt pet-nat greets your mouth with hints of sugar and honey, yet lands crisp on your tongue as it goes down smooth. These bubbles are great with a smorgasbord of cheese, nuts and veg. So pop it open with friends over good conversation as the last days of summer float by.
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🍷 Koppitsch - Pretty Nats Zweigelt 2017
🍇 Zweigelt
🇦🇹 Burgenland
🛩 Imported by: @wardetassocies
🛒 Available at: www.wardetassocies.com
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Alexandre Koppitsch’s (@koppitschalexwine) family has been making wine for 500 years. Since Alexander and his wife took over in 2011, the winery has taken on a new chapter as low intervention “Authentisch” wines have flourished.
August 29. 2018
Partida Creus - Anonymo Ancestral
Think butter beer, then wine, back to butter beer, and wine. @partidacreus ’s Anonymo Ancestrale just about follows this wavy path until it’s empty, and it is downright fascinating. With contradicting flavors, from easy and light to bready and complex, sometimes sweet and sometimes sour... this wine may not have made up its mind but JOE has, and we’re getting more.
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🍷 Partida Creus - Anonymo Ancestral
🍇 Anonymo Ancestral
🇪🇸 Catalonia
🛩 Imported by: Vinealis
🛒 Available at: www.vinealis.qc.ca
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These two former architects, Massimo and Antonella, moved away from the city to seek a slower-paced lifestyle, and they found that paradise in Massís de Bonastre (Baix Penedés), south of Barcelona, Spain. By purchasing soon-to-be abandoned vineyards with undervalued native grape varietals, and farming them with organic, natural and low-intervention methods, they were able to create some of the most acclaimed wines of the natural wine movement.
August 27, 2018
Meinklang - Graupert 2016
Tomatoes, peaches, corn on the cobb, Meinklang’s Graupert Pinot Gris is also in season. Grapefruit tingles on your tongue when you taste, before diving into a whirlwind of complex flavors this skin contact beauty has to offer. Graupert means “wild” or “uncombed” in the local Burgenland dialect of Austria, and this juice definitely lives up to its reputation. Bottled beauty, this #wildwine is the perfect accompaniment to that last family gathering of the Summer.
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🍷 Meinklang - Graupert 2016
🍇 Pinot Gris
🇦🇹 Burgenland
🛩 Imported by: @agencelaqv
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
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Biodynamism at some of its best, truly. “Mein” meaning mine, and “klang” meaning nature, all beings are allowed to thrive here. From bugs to livestock, from sunflowers to weeds, no one is left apart and cut away as everyone has an important role to play in the cycle of the land, and thus the juice. It’s a beautiful approach, and the result is truly wonderful and wholesome wine.
August 16, 2018
CA Rouge - Collectif Anonyme
Sometimes, even though you know you should wait to drink that bottle, you simply cannot. Such a wine is the super gluggable (yet not quite chuggable) and voluptuous CA Rouge by @collecif_anonyme. Like that shiny gift on Christmas morning you unwrapped before your parents were up, you may just open this one before you intended to (and consequently not get the picture in time).
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🍷 CA Rouge - Collectif Anonyme
🍇 70% Carignan, 30% Grenache Noir
🇫🇷 IGP Côte Vermeille
🛩 Imported by: Volet Importation @martin_juneau 🛒 Available at: Facebook/Volet Importation.
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Collectif Anonyme are, as the name implies, an anonymous collective of winemakers in the Vermeille region of Southern France. Their clean and natural approach to winemaking through experimentation keeps them constantly evolving — with a chalk full of puns for names to boot.
August 14, 2018
Jean-Claude Chanudet - Cuvée du chat 2017
From raspberries, to strawberries, to boysenberries, the whole berry kingdom is here, playfully squeezed and meshing together in one bottle. This one is just plain fun. Want to fall even deeper in love with Beaujolais and its famed Gamay? This is your time: grab one of these (read: many) and enjoy it with someone special. Meow 😉
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🍷 Jean-Claude Chanudet - Cuvée du chat 2017
🍇 Gamay
🇫🇷 Beaujolais
🛩 Imported by: @oenopole
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
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Who is Jean-Claude “Le Chat” Chanudet? O.G. Beaujolais winemaker, he’s played a big role in the natural wine movement of the region, working alongside the likes of Marcel Lapierre. And of course he’s a legend himself and we’re lucky to have his wines available to us.
August 12, 2018
Domaine du Mortier - Brain de Folie
Basically grape juice, this stuff may as well have been squeezed directly from the vines right into the bottle (the actual process is surely more complicated, but just go with it). Take this one to your next BBQ and let yourself be delightfully surprised with this bottled madness.
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🍷 Domaine du Mortier - Brain de Folie @domainedumortier
🍇 Cabernet Franc, Grolleau
🇫🇷 Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil
🛩 Imported by: @winoimport
🛒 Available at: winoimport.com
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Run by the Boisard brothers, Fabien and Cyril, the 9-hectare domaine has been running for a good 10 years. A biodynamic approach from two creative minds make for seriously interesting wines that JOE will be looking out for in the future, so look out for more Domaine du Mortier in future posts.
August 8, 2018
Château Cambon - Récolte 2017
You’ll be charmed by whaffs of bright cherry and raspberry, only to become fully entranced by the Swedish Berry-like burst of flavor when it hits your mouth. This is Gamay, as pure and as fine as they make it. Gamay may be simple at times but this wine is straight regal and you will feel super fancy drinking it 💅
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🍷 Château Cambon - Récolte 2017
🍇 Gamay
🇫🇷 Beaujolais
🛩 Imported by: @rezin.selection
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
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For the (beautifully smart) people who read this second half, it may interest you to know this is a Marcel Lapierre project. Started alongside another Beaujolais great, Jean-Claude ‘Le Chat’ Chanudet, it is now run by Lapierre’s widow Marie with ‘Le Chat’ still present. Located between Morgon and Fleurie, they make unfiltered, unchaptalized, unfined and unsulphured gorgeous wine.
August 7, 2018
La Sorga - Ginnungagap
An electric, earth-shaking, and carnal wine; which is rather appropriate considering the name referring to some pretty epic Norse mythology. To spare you the Wikipedia search, it’s about the meeting of fire and ice (nbd). This macerated white wine is powerful, it is gluggable, and yes, even chuggable.
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🍷 La Sorga - Ginnungagap
🍇 60% Colombard, 40% Sauvignon
🇫🇷 Languedoc-Rousillon
🛩 Imported by: Importations du Moine @lemoineechanson
🛒 Available at: lesimportationsdumoine.com
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La Sorga is a name that carries quite a lot of importance these days in the natural wine world. And as we can tell, the grungier the labels are the better the wines get. Run by Anthony Tortul since 2008, La Sorga works biodynamically with 9 different vineyards over 25 hectors including 20 different grape varieties, and makes more wines than JOE can keep up with!
August 3, 2018
Enderle & Moll - Spatburgunder Rosé
From the German kings of Pinot themselves, comes another juicy delight that will push the boundaries of what you may believe to be rosé. This is about as close to liquid love you can get in the terms of wine. Serious, structured yet serene, light and composed, this wine will take you and lift you higher than even Patrick Swayze can. JOE's crushing pretty hard on this one right now.
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🍷 Enderle & Moll - Spatburgunder Rosé
🍇 Pinot Noir
🇩🇪 Baden
🛩 Imported by: @wardetassocies
🛒 Available at: wardetassocies.com
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Sven Enderle and Florian Moll. Remember these names. Having started their winemaking adventure together in 2007, they've made waves in the wine world, far beyond Deutschland. As you may expect, everything is done with the lightest tough possible so organic land, biodynamic viticulture and very little intervention. Pure love juice.
August 1, 2018
Pinard et Filles - Verre de gris
Not your typical rosé. Not your typical winemaker. Actually, we wonder if we can even call this rosé… And we mean that in the best possible way! Surely their most controversial wine yet, the 2017 “Verre de Gris” by @pinard_et_filles will make you question what wine can truly be. Quebec’s own pride and joy Pinard et Filles have concocted this bottle of liquid fireworks and it needs to be thoroughly enjoyed by all of you… like… right now.
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🍷 Pinard et Filles - Verre de gris
🍇 Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc
🇨🇦 Magog, Québec
📍 Purchased: @cabanedacote
👀 Available at: @pullman_bar_a_vin
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Pinard et filles, Quebec superstar winemakers extraordinaire, make real wine that is truly in a category of its own. The founders Frédéric Simon and his partner Catherine Bélanger of @pullman_bar_a_vin started the project back in 2011 out of Magog, Quebec. Disruptors of the wine industry, they have proven time and time again that they are not to be messed with, and they will change the perception around local wine.
July 29, 2018
Podere Pradarolo - Vej 270 Bianco Antico 2016
A freaking atomic bomb with a Gatorade orange only matched by the setting sun. Take note folks, this is some seriously good juice. It is so wild it needs its own #wildwine category. With enough life in it to bring Frankenstein back to his senses, this #vinvivant will shock some vitality back into that body of yours. Just try not to chug the whole thing at once.
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🍷 Podere Pradarolo - Vej 270 Bianco Antico 2016
🍇 100% Malvasia
🇮🇹 Parma hills
📍 Purchased: @septimeparis
🛩 Imported by: @winoimport (October 2018)
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This one brings long maceration to a whole new level (270 days of skin contact). Aged and fined in stainless steel and concrete containers, this beautiful orange uses local grapes and yeast to create what Podere Pradarolo do best: liquid gold.
July 24, 2018
Laurent Saillard - Lucky You!
So you’ll want to buy a lotto ticket this one is so good. This white is beachy and peachy, and goes down beautifully with a crisp splash of fresh citrus. It’s an easy win 😉.
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🍷 Laurent Saillard - Lucky You!
🍇 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Chardonnay
🇫🇷 Loire Valley
📍 Purchased: @la.buvette.paris
🛩 Imported by: Not yet in QC
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Laurent Saillard currently only makes two wines: this one and his juicy “La Pause” Gamay. After spending years curating wine in the restaurant industry in Brooklyn, Laurent moved to the Loire to make beautiful unfined and unfiltered natural wine. The wine loop closed again as he now sends all that wine back to his old local spots in New York.
July 19, 2018
Antika Miki-mauz - Milan Nestarec
Just as that classic Mickey Mouse song goes, this wine will have you singing N-E-S-T-A-R-E-C all the way home. This orange fantasy wine will cool you off like a sweet evening breeze (but tastier). Drink it and you will not be disappointed.
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🍷 Antika Miki-mauz - Milan Nestarec
🍇 Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Grüner Veltliner and Gewürztraminer
🇨🇿 Moravsky Zizkov
📍 Purchased: @lesgrandsverres
🛩Imported by: @Wardetassocies
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Miki-mauz is a skin contact wine, a true representation of Nestarec’s methods. Indigenous yeasts, minimal to no filtration, these are the cherries on Joe’s Sundaes.
July 18, 2018
Forks and Knives Pinot Noir - Milan Nestarec
A wild Pinot zinger with extra high drinkability and chuggability, with popping fruit and acidity. This red beauty by Milan Nestarec will bring you back to sucking on Rocket popsicles and signing to Springsteen on a hot summer day.
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🍷 Forks and Knives Pinot Noir - Milan Nestarec
🍇 Pinot Noir
🇨🇿 Moravsky Zizkov
📍Purchased: @lesgrandsverres
🛩 Imported by: @Wardetassocies
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One of the very few natural wine producers coming out of the Czech Republic (about three by our count), Milan Nestarec is a wine magician, having become a real star of the “Autentisté” (natural) movement in the country. With a small-production of low-intervention, unfiltered/un-stabilized/unfined wines, Nestarec makes some of the funkiest wines available today.
July 15, 2018
Rouge de Pinot Noir 2017 - Anna, André et Yann Durrmann
For Bastille day celebrations (and all other summer festivities) you may want to literally dive into this beautiful juice and feel the flowery love vibes all around you. At least we want to. It’s that good and it’s that refreshing. The fruity complexity of this unfiltered Pinot will most definitely quench your thirst during these blisteringly hot summer nights.
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🍷 Rouge de Pinot Noir 2017 - Anna, André et Yann Durrmann
🍇 Pinot Noir
🇫🇷 Andlau, Alsace
📍 Purchased: @la.buvette.paris
🛩 Imported by: @Jackandglou
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A photo of Andre could likely show up in the dictionary when searching for the word “biodynamic”. Along with his wife and son, Durrmann works his wines without the use of chemicals and with minimum intervention, using sheep to weed the land and fruit trees to assure good biodiversity.
Elixir de Jouvence - Xavier Marchais
This ‘skin contact’ wine is bright and beautiful and looks just as much as it tastes like lemon drops and pure sunshine. Maximum chewability and a salty sea breeze freshness will keep JOE coming back for more, and you probably should too.
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🍷 Elixir de Jouvence - Xavier Marchais
🍇 Chenin Blanc
🇫🇷 Anjou, Loire Valley
🛩 Imported by: @deuxcaves
🛒 Available at: deuxcaves.com
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A purist and an artist, this man takes the biodynamic approach to natural winemaking seriously. No pesticides or chemicals, hand harvested and works the land with a horse, not a tractor, a horse, folks.
June 27, 2018
Raisins Gaulois 2017 - Domaine Lapierre
From the late godson of natural wine, comes one of the juiciest arrivals this summer. Just like sipping cola in your mama’s basement after running through sprinklers all day, this wine will remind you of life’s little thrills. It is gluggable and chuggable, inspiring JOE to be BEAU.
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🍷 Raisins Gaulois 2017 - Domaine Lapierre
🍇 Gamay
🇫🇷 Beaujolais
🛩 Imported by: @rezin.selection
🛒 Available at: @lasaq
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Marcel Lapierre, une légende. Lapierre essentially started the modern natural wine movement, insisting on maintaining winemaking traditions. His name lives on since his kids Mathieu & Camille took over in his passing in 2010.