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Cameron Hughes Lot 136 Cabernet Sauvignon

Cameron Hughes buys the excess grapes from high-end producers who have too much, then makes his own great wines. Full of ripe blackberry fruit on the nose with a hint of mint, the palate has lush dark berry fruit, a light touch of anise and a hint of earthiness, giving the wine dimension and depth. Lovely structure, with a silky firmness, and a long, mouth-filling finish. It's drinking beautifully right now, and will get better with age. Decant an hour before serving, and pair with Lamb with a Rosemary crust. And when this Lot 136 is gone, it is really gone! To preserve the integrity of each Lot it’s only made once.

Penfolds 2006 Cellar Reserve Pinot Noir

When thinking about excellent Pinot Noir your mind likely doesn't flash to Penfolds, who are more famous for their amazing Shiraz, but this wine will change your mind. The palate has more of the classic Pinot Noir elements of dark cherry fruit, clean minerality, notes of dark chocolate and gamey meat on the finish. With a firm tannic structure this wine has a delicious longevity, and benefits greatly from an hour of decanting. Pair with earthier flavors, such as duck, or game meats. Made in small amounts, and in the past only available at the cellar door, it has been brought into Canada for the first time ever. This wine is in very limited supply.

2006 Deerfield Reserve Zinfandel

This rich, lush Zinfandel is the product of hand picking, in small batches from gnarled old vines that produce grapes, which are incredibly flavorful, and produce incredibly little fruit. This lends a deep character only found in old vines. This careful attention to detail continued in the winery, as the grapes were hand sorted for optimal quality. This produced only 25 barrels of this lovely wine. The nose is fruity with nuances of blackberries, ripe cherries, chocolate, tobacco, licorice and oak, with hints of allspice and cedar. A rich explosion of fruit expands in the middle of the palate. Everything about this wine is intense. The finish is exceptionally long and lingering. This wine can be aged for at least 12 years, maybe 20.

2005 Nicolis Amarone

Amarone is made in Italy's northeast Veneto region, and is made with grapes that are dried for several months on straw mats in the lofts above the farm houses or barns at the winery before being pressed and fermented. The dried fruit has a higher residual sugar which is mostly fermented away. The Nicolis Amarone is a deep dark ruby red which gradually turns into garnet. A powerful and aristocratic nose made of ripe fruit, jam, sensations of cocoa, walnut, tobacco and leather. Elegant and powerful wine with a distinct spicy bouquet, with utterly distinctive flavors; it shows an impressive balance between volume and smoothness, warmth and crispness, austerity and richness, and has a lingering finish. Winner of the People's Choice award at the Italian Chamber of Commerce, and the People's Choice Award at the 2011 Calgary Wine Fest.

2006 Elderton Command Shiraz

The Command Shiraz is a flagship wine for the Ashmead family. This wine has been winning award after award since it was first produced in 1984. The color is very dark purple with bright magenta hues. On the nose there are lashings of chocolate, violet and delicious cedar. These flavours carry through to the palate, which is rich and generous, with a wondrous dark chocolate, plums and black pepper flavours that persist through to a fleshy finish. It is held together beautifully with refinement and amazing focus. Awarded 94 pts from Wine Spectator. Drink from 2012 to 2018.