We archived some of our favourite news and events over the years they will no doubt bring back some great memories. Check out some of the events below if you missed them, maybe we see you at a future Clarus attended or organized event.
Watch 1st edition of "Grape Tapes" on YouTube featuring Patz & Hall...
July 28th, 2010
Hello everyone,
Ever the innovators, Clarus Wines are proud to bring you thier own video channel, courtesy of YouTube. The first edition "Grape Tapes" features a short (5 minute) video about the fantastic California Wines that come from Patz & Hall. Just click on the link, to hear about some great Pinot's & Chard's...http://www.youtube.com/user/RenaissanceWine
Bollinger RD select tasting back to 1959! - London, UK
July 16th, 2010
On July 13th the annual Bollinger press lunch was held in London at the superb Champagne Bar; Texture. The theme this year was celebrating half a century since the creation of RD by Madame Bollinger. It was she who was responsible for the famous quote "I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and I drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it, unless I'm thirsty." RD stands for "recently disgorged", denoting their special policy of seperating the wine from the enriching effect of the lees of the second fermentation much later than is usually the case. The initial RD was a vintage 1952 (at the same time in Jamaica, Ian Fleming would write his first novel Casino Royale…), released on the market in 1961, but we can actually track from internal documents that the initial thoughts of Madame Bollinger are dated from 1960. We tasted 6 wines, starting with the mythic trilogy of RD 97/96/95 (all so unique), followed by a timeless RD 88, an always sensationally fresh RD76 despite the historical heat wave that had struck France, leading that year to a very low acidity at the harvest, and we finished off with a truly exceptional RD59. We are happy to share with you Jancis Robinson’s comments on the event in the attached PDF file.Jancis Robinsons tasting of Bollinger RD
2009 - An Exceptional Vintage in The Mose
May 7th, 2010
Earlier this week Annegret Reh-Gartner from the famous Mosel Estate, Reichsgraf von Kesselstat toured Calgary to taste some of her new vintages and prepare us for the receipt of the spectacular 2009 vintage. Her wines all show such class and elegance (just like her). What a great style of wine and so easy to drink and enjoy with or without food.
The picture shows from the left Darcy Wood (Highlander Liquor Store), Annegret, Al Hunt (Renaissance) and Richie Breen (Highlander Liquor Store)
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Bollinger 007 Bullet and the new Aston Martins!
November 18th, 2008
Mark Wight and Marion Webb were on hand to pour Bollinger Special Cuvee at the new Aston Martin dealership in Alberta. In one of the first sequences in the new Quantum of Solace movie, Commander Bond drives one of these beauties and manages to survive some serious life threats. Of course unwinding after a stressful day with your enemies is always better with Bolly!
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A tasting of 2006 Bouchard Pere & Fils Burgundies
October 17th, 2008
The newly arrived 2006 Bouchard Pere & Fils Burgundies have been very highly rated by the wine experts. Yesterday we gathered together a small but very keen group of trade people to try 16 of these new wines (plus an assortment of William Fevre Chablis wine also from the 2006 vintage). The overall impression was that we loved the wines and lamented our currency's poor strength! These new Bouchard wines are so pure and elegant. The Fevre Chablis wines showed great potential in the classic 'steely edged' sort of way. Glad we have a commercial dishwasher with a brief clean cycle.[gallery]
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2008 Harvest begins in California
September 4th, 2008
Considering that the average winemaker has only 40-50 harvests in his or her lifetime, picking grapes each year is a big deal. Now that we are all back from summer vacation the real work begins again. Donald PATZ from Patz and Hall in northern California sent us this shot of Pinot Noir grapes coming in to the winery last weekend. No information yet on the quality but everything looks good so let's hope for another fine crop of Pinot Noir from Patz and Hall.
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Bouchard Pere & Fils 2006: White Burgundies arrive in Alberta
August 21st, 2008
the eagerly awaited single vineyard 2006 white Burgundies from Maison Bouchard Pere & Fils. have arrived. The vintage 2006 in Burgundy was a very fine year that many experts are saying is superior to 2005 for many whites. Fortunately, in early March 2008 we were able to attend LES GRANDS JOURS in Burgundy which allowed us to taste through literally thousands of Burgundies. The wines showed real class with bright fruit acids and soft, layered textures. This would be the third vintage in a row for exciting and age-worthy white Burgundies. Just remember 'M' for this vintage because the highlights have to include the Meursault wines, many Maconnais wines surprisingly, and of course the 'big dogs' from the various Montrachet sites.
