barbuVINS Newsletter

 

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"...but sometimes a glass of wine may help."

-François Legault, Prime Minister 

Status at the SAQ

The situation is still evolving at the SAQ.
Starting this week, the SAQ has implemented a temporary mixed case policy. Agencies can register for the program and then offer some (not all) products in blended cases. Since all our products are in cases of 6, it would allow to split cases in 2: two products, three bottles each. We have decided not to enroll in this program given the small size of our agency and that by experience, most people that split cases with friends end up buying another case soon after...

Please note that the SAQ has modified its order processing delay from 24hrs to 48hrs. For instance, an order placed after 3pm on Thursday would not be ready until the follwoing Tuesday. 

Deliveries

Given the shipping to the stores will experience some delays, we will continue free deliveries in the Montreal region: Laval, Montreal, South-Shore and the Vaudreuil area. The new measures still allow us to deliver cases for the time being.

Terms of this offer:

• Deliveries 1-2 times per week

• Orders of 2 cases of 6 bottles min.

• Payment of the invoice for agent fees and wine before delivery (interac transfer)

Allow us to process your order, by sending us your order before 2pm.

We will notify you to coordinate delivery to ensure that you are present. The boxes will be left outside (balcony, in front of the garage). We will greet you from our car !!!
No kisses, no handshakes! ;)

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The recently updated price list of available products can be found on our website. The list was updated earlier today. Several wines are in low availability (less than 5 cases), so don't wait too long!

Remember to tell your friends and the sommelier of your favorite restaurant(s) to look at our wine list! Also, we'd appreciate to receive your comments on our Facebook page or on Instagram.

Thanks for sharing our passion.

Marie-Claude & Benoît

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Do you know Rufete?

Rufete, the indigenous variant of northwestern Spain, is known as Tinta Pinheira in Portugal and is frequently used in port blends.

In Spain, the rufete vineyards are almost all located in Sierra de Salamanca. Difficult to describe, it is a grape whose aromatic profile is similar to pinot on steroids (!) because of its finesse, its delicate floral notes and its rather earthy or mineral character that will depend on the type of soil on which it grows.

The vines grown by David and Melanie are located on acid soils which differ greatly from the alkaline clay-limestone soils of Rioja, also known for their water retention. Over 80% of the vines they cultivate are at least 50 years old.

The Phinca Encanto 2015 cuvée, still available in small quantities, was produced according to the usual non-interventionist methods of Bodegas Bhilar, namely manual harvesting, destemming above an open oak vat of 500 liters, then foot-trodden to start fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The wine is racked about 15 days after the start of fermentation, then aged for 30 months in neutral French oak barrels allowing the malolactic fermentation to take place naturally.

Do not miss this.

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Rioja Nouveau?

You surely associate carbonic maceration with Beaujolais Nouveau. Would you have guessed (semi) carbonic maceration was the dominant method of winemaking in Rioja until the end of the 1700s?
Here, we speak of "semi" carbonic maceration because it was a question of letting the grapes macerate in closed tanks before crushing them. Even without adding carbon dioxide to the vats, the berries will begin an intracellular fermentation that enhances fruit flavors.

Here is the cuvée Berria 2018 by Bodegas Bhilar. You should know that even if in Spanish, "berria" means berries, the name takes on its full meaning in Basque, where "berria" means new!

For this first Berria cuvée, half of the harvest was destemmed, then the entire harvest was subjected to carbonic maceration, half in 225 liter barrels and the other half in vats. Once the alcohol level reaches 2%, the grapes naturally split open and the natural fermentation process begins. After about 50% of the fermentation, the barrels were taken out of the cellar to complete the fermentation. As soon as the fermentation was completed, the wine was transferred to a tank, racked, then bottled directly, without added sulfur.

We are talking here about a natural wine, a real fruit bomb with only 11% alcohol.

Ask David what the DOCa Rioja Regulatory Council thought of his wine… always the rebel of Rioja Alavesa! He had to give them a history lesson in winemaking.

Only produced in 2018 because the very low yields of 2019 did not allow experimenting.

A fruit wine that smells of Spring.

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Inventory (cases)

Here is our current inventory. All products are in cases of 6 bottles.

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Spring Bubbles ...

With incredible freshness and finesse, the Sekt Brut 2016 cuvée by Maximin Grünhaus is not to be missed. 

Less than 10 cases available.

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Although we’re repeating ourselves, don’t forget to engage with barbuVINS on social media. For those following us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter, your comments, review, pictures (I'm sure you look great in a barbuVINS apron) and references are a great help.  

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbuvins/

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