• Order the following wines by the case for home, restaurant or office delivery in Ontario from VinoLuna wine agency. Contact via VinoLuna website, by Email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or, in the GTA phone 416 587-6691. 

89  
Château la Vieille Eglise 2017
AOP Côtes du Marmandais, France $14.95 13.5% alcohol
This red blend—89% malbec/11% merlot—matured 6 months in stainless steel tank. Alluring aromas of rosewood, dark cherry and exotic spice provide segue for a fully fruited, palate-bathing wash of red berry fruit and cassis mingling with tang-laden acidity and wisps of soft supple tannin. Palate flavours replay and persist through the lengthy finish. This is medium weight with generous mouthfeel and a lip-smacking good aftertaste. The quality-price balance tips wildly in your favour. Pour with beef or chicken fajitas, just-off-the-grill burgers or grilled gourmet sausage. (Vic Harradine)
• The following 2015 Fattoria La Torre ‘Rosso delle Chiacchere’ red blend—45% cabernet sauvignon/35% merlot/20% sangiovese—was sourced from hand-picked fruit and matured 24 months in large and small French oak barrels and settled a further 12 months in bottle before release.

88 
Fattoria La Torre ‘Rosso delle Chiacchere’ 2015
IGT Toscano Rosso, Italy $16.95 14.0% alcohol
Aromas of exotic spice, iodine and berry fruit abound. A racy, tang-laden wash of red currant and sour cherry race over the palate decorated with still-evolving tannin followed by a dry and drying finish and aftertaste. Tuck this way for an additional 12 months or aerate/decant for three hours pouring alongside pasta Bolognese. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2014 Faustino Rivero Ulecia ‘Silver Label’ Reserva was sourced from 85% tempranillo/15% garnacha fruit from vines averaging 25 years old. Grapes were fermented by wild yeast with the wine spending 24 months in medium-toast American oak casks and at least 12 months in bottle before release.

90  
Faustino Rivero Ulecia ‘Silver Label’ Reserva 2014
DOCa Rioja, Spain $16.95 13.5% alcohol
Aromas of forest floor, earthy notes and black plum make way for a spirited, fresh stream of palate-streaking, crunchy red fruit—currant, cherry and raspberry—framed by racy acidity and underpinned by ripe supple tannin. This is straightforward, medium bodied and nicely textured with a dry, lengthy, nicely balanced finish. Pour with pasta puttanesca now and over the next five years. (Vic Harradine).

91  
Alberto Bartali Chianti Riserva 2015
DOCG Chianti, Italy $18.95 13.0% alcohol 
This is sourced from 100% sangiovese grapes, kept on lees a couple of weeks after fermentation and malolactic conversion enhancing mouthfeel and flavours. It opens with aromas of earthy, savoury, gamy notes robed in red berry fruit. It bathes the palate with ripe, medium-bodied flavours of dark cherry and black plum interwoven with spice, excellent racy tang and wisps of supple tannin. This finishes balanced, tangy and quite smooth. Aerate/decant a couple of hours before serving with your favourite pasta and meat dish in tomato sauce. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2015 Château Sainte-Marie ‘Alios’ was sourced from vines with an average age of 24 years. After fermentation, the red blend—74% merlot/21% cabernet sauvignon/5% petit verdot—matured 12 months in French oak.

91  
Château Sainte-Marie ‘Alios’ 2015
AOC Côtes de Bordeaux, France $15.95 13.5% alcohol
This punches well above the price showcasing lively, fresh red and dark cherry/berry fruit flavour persisting throughout, deft balance, good weight and structure, soft ripe tannin and lingering finish. On the nose, aromas of piquant spice, floral notes and grilled savoury herbs make way for a medium-plus bodied, nicely textured river of juicy briary berry and black Bing cherry interlaced with peppery spice and notions of fig and mocha. This is drinking well now and on to, at least, 2024. Aerate/decant two hours before serving with roast leg of lamb. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2016 Vaucher Pere & Fils Fleurie is 100% gamay and underwent full carbonic maceration—a unique type of fermentation (anaerobic) used in virtually all red wines in Beaujolais and occasionally in other parts of the wine world—before settling in 100% stainless steel tank—no oak. Fleurie is one of ten special Cru areas in Beaujolais and, perhaps, the best known and most highly regarded; it’s not to be confused with, or thought of as similar to, the much lighter, less age-worthy, less structured, Beaujolais Nouveau.

90  
Vaucher Pere & Fils Fleurie 2016
AOC Fleurie, France $16.95 13.0% alcohol
Aromas of violets, dark berry fruit and mixed spice spill from this medium-bodied, lively gem. It glides over the palate, creamy smooth and well textured revealing fresh flavours of red currant and sweet-tinged cherry/berry fruit intertwined with excellent tangy acidity. This pours exceptionally well with a selection of sliced deli meat, pate, assorted cheese along with sliced tomato, baguette and condiments. (Vic Harradine)