6 products
6 products
- Sparkling Wine
- Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir
- Sustainable, Vegan-Friendly
- Dry
- Residual Sugar: 5.00 g/l
- Medium Bodied
- 750ml
- 12.00% alc./vol
About the Winery
Champagne Fresne Ducret
Fresne-Ducret is rich in family history and has been rooted in the premier cru village of Villedommange since the mid 1800s. Originally growing grapes for the big champagne houses, it wasn’t until the end of the second world war that the family decided to make their own wine. The tradition carries on today with Pierre Fresne and his wife Daniella (an Oakville ex-pat). Their philosophy is to produce wines that best exemplify the terroir of Villedommange, and they do this with sustainability in mind.
In 2014, Pierre Fresne embarked on a new adventure by creating a limited series of champagnes based on his desire for experimentation. Since then, he has produced one or two of these wines each year. Each are unique, according to his wishes and the profile of the vintage. This unique collection is called Arquémie, the term for alchemy in the Middle Ages. In 2018 Pierre began converting the vineyards to organic viticulture, and 2021 will be their first organic certified vintage.
Press Reviews
WineAlign
93 Points - Michael Godel
The Lot number on this bottle is L012303 for what it’s worth and almost surely not the same as was tasted 14 months ago. No matter because the oxidative style delivers as rich and unctuous a Champagne as it gets. Some will find this a bit over in that regard, even caramelized but the nuances and flavours are exceptional, gingery, with dried nuts fruits and earthy accents. The sugars compensate and mix in so well for a very specific style of Champagne with length that goes on and on. Last tasted November 2023.
Properly toasty and decidedly autolytic Champagne here from Fresne Ducret’s inquisitive label, “The New Explorers.” Fashioned in the oxidative yet spirited way, gingered and arid, dried herbal and crunchy as they come. Just plain exciting and complex non-vintage Champagne in a true grower’s style. Drink 2022-2024.
- Sparkling Wine
- Chardonnay
- Sustainable, Vegan-Friendly
- Dry
- Residual Sugar: 4.00 g/l
- Medium Bodied
- 750ml
- 12.00% alc./vol
About the Winery
Champagne Fresne Ducret
Fresne-Ducret is rich in family history and has been rooted in the premier cru village of Villedommange since the mid 1800s. Originally growing grapes for the big champagne houses, it wasn’t until the end of the second world war that the family decided to make their own wine. The tradition carries on today with Pierre Fresne and his wife Daniella (an Oakville ex-pat). Their philosophy is to produce wines that best exemplify the terroir of Villedommange, and they do this with sustainability in mind.
In 2014, Pierre Fresne embarked on a new adventure by creating a limited series of champagnes based on his desire for experimentation. Since then, he has produced one or two of these wines each year. Each are unique, according to his wishes and the profile of the vintage. This unique collection is called Arquémie, the term for alchemy in the Middle Ages. In 2018 Pierre began converting the vineyards to organic viticulture, and 2021 will be their first organic certified vintage.
Press Reviews
WineAlign
94 Points - Michael Godel
Seventh iteration of this small lot luxury Champagne and one to sink both your nose and teeth into its blanc de blancs textures. This is indeed bubbles conceived and consummated for mouthfeel and the way its presence settles so prominently upon your palate. Truly alchemic with essential oils, bitters and tinctures of a mixologists’s pallet to impress upon all that we can assimilate in our assessment and enjoyment of such a sturdy, complex, converse and polemic Champagne. Beautifully oxidative, furthest from the region's pedagogy and simply a concern of the real to potentially profound. Drink 2024-2029.
- Red Wine
- Syrah
- Vegan-Friendly
- Dry
- Residual Sugar: 2.00 g/l
- Full Bodied
- 750ml
- 14.50% alc./vol
Press Reviews
Wine Orbit
94 Points - Sam Kim
Wonderfully fruited and composed, showing dark fruit intensity, assorted nut, mixed spice and floral characters on the nose with a hint of cocoa complexity. It's plump and flavoursome in the mouth, offering terrific fruit weight and richly textured mouthfeel, leading to a splendidly long, satisfying finish. At its best: now to 2035.
- White Wine
- Chardonnay
- Sustainable, Vegan-Friendly
- Dry
- Residual Sugar: 2.00 g/l
- Medium Bodied
- 750ml
- 12.00% alc./vol
About the Winery
Radford Dale
Radford Dale and The Winery of Good Hope are two brands made by the same people, in the same winery. The team behind these wineries has been an industry leader since the 1990s in chemical free farming, and more recently in low and no sulfur winemaking. They are a founding member of PIWOSA (Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa) which sets ethical, environmental and social uplift standards. Recognizing the social inequality present in South Africa Radford Dale has also set up a trust called Land of Hope to help facilitate bright futures for children, focusing heavily on education.
Alex Dale who owns and manages both projects is an Englishman who grew up spending summers in Burgundy, France. He moved there in his late teens to follow a passion for winemaking and also opened a wine bar in Beaune. He lived in Burgundy for many years before moving to South Africa in 1998, starting Radford Dale with Ben Radford, an Australian. The idea was to produce wines using modern techniques and technology with a healthy respect for tradition, something Alex came to understand well while living in Burgundy.
Wines are made with minimal intervention in order to best express each vineyard’s individuality.Press Reviews
WineAlign
92 Points - John Szabo, MS
Radford Dale's 'entry' level chardonnay from Stellenbosch, this 2022 Vinum is a flinty-reductive bomb in the style that we like, all struck match and other sulfides, with underlying yellow fruit, though fruit is very much a secondary aspect. It's a polarizing style when taken to this extreme, though the impressive depth and texture are undeniable, as is the perfectly integrated oak and the excellent length. I have to say, for $19, you'll be hard pressed to find a more interesting chardonnay from anywhere, one that if the price were tripled, wouldn't cause a second glance from those in the know. Drink or hold into the early '30s.
- Red Wine
- Sangiovese
- Organic, Vegan-Friendly
- Dry
- Residual Sugar: 2.00 g/l
- Medium Bodied
- 750ml
- 14.00% alc./vol
About the Winery
Villa Calcinaia
Villa Calcinaia is situated in the centre of Chianti Classico near the town of Greve-in-Chianti. This historic estate has been home to the Counts Capponi since 1524, and is maintained by Sebastiano Capponi and his brother Niccolo. In 1992, Count Sebastiano Capponi became the first in the history of the family to manage the winery personally, giving a new life to the vineyards and the cellar.
The family owns 200 hectares of land planted with olive trees, vines and pine trees. Organic farming is the standard at Villa Calcinaia where 75 acres of vineyard are planted with Sangiovese, Merlot, Canaiolo, Grechetto, Vernaccia, Trebbiano, and Malvasia. Through every vintage, the wines are crafted with food in mind. They are balanced, elegant, perfumed, and savoury yet refreshing with restrained vigour and intensity that ensures longevity.
Press Reviews
Tony Wood Italian Wine
93-95 Points
Medium ruby red in colour. Floral aromas of red rose petal, gardenia, ground ginger and blackberry. Rainier cherry, pomegranate, spiced orange peel, salty liquorice and crushed terracotta. Waves of minty freshness. Silky red with a razor sharp edge of acidity. Linear. Balanced. Focused.
- White Wine
- Chenin Blanc
- Sustainable, Vegan-Friendly
- Dry
- Residual Sugar: 2.00 g/l
- Light Bodied
- 750ml
- 13.00% alc./vol
About the Winery
Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines
Mullineux Family Wines, established in 2007 in the Swartland region of South Africa, is owned and managed by Chris and Andrea Mullineux. Since its inception the winery has established itself as one of South Africa’s most celebrated wine brands, both locally and internationally. Originally from Northern California, Winemaker Andrea Mullineux studied Viticulture and Oenology at UC-Davis before working in Stellenbosch and meeting Chris at a wine festival in Champagne. Chris is the Viticulturist in charge of the vineyards on their farm on Kasteelberg Mountain as well as fruit sourcing for their value Kloof Street wines.
The vineyards at Roundstone are farmed organically and are in the process of becoming Regenerative Organic certified. This involves practices like crop rotation, no-till farming, and eliminating chemical pesticides and fertilizers. These methods help rehabilitate soil, promote animal welfare, and improve farmers' livelihoods while sequestering carbon and producing healthier yields. In the winery, no additives are used aside from minimal sulfur dioxide, and all operations are IPW certified, following environmental best practices. Waste, including grape skins and lees, is recycled or repurposed, and cellar effluent is processed through an eco-friendly wetland system.
Press Reviews
James Suckling
91 Points
Freshly sliced apples, crushed stones, lemons and white pears on the nose. Lovely freshness and creaminess, with a medium body and bright, sleek finish. Drink now.