Past tastings

Burgundy, France

You might recognise our next producer from Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding, but Olivier Leflaive has been one of the most recognisable names in Burgundy, producing some of the finest whites of Côte de Beaune.  Founded in 1984, Olivier took the expertise from his family’s estate, Domaine Leflaive, to make his own mark. Using wines from their own vineyards and those bought from carefully selected plots, they create wines with excellent elegance and finesse.  Please join us for this exciting tasting!

Please note: we will be implementing a ballot system for this event. Register below for tickets before 6pm Thursday 31 October (you will not be charged). We will then randomly allocate tickets and if successful you will receive a link for payment. Please pay before 10pm, Friday 1 November, otherwise your tickets will be reallocated. Limit of 1 ticket per transaction, members-only.

You’ve probably heard of Thirsty for their craft beer, nightly food trucks, and biergarten, but did you know they also do wine?  Join us at their newest King Street location, Thirsty & Hungry, to sample some of their low intervention wine collection – and perhaps find a new favourite to make use of that CUWS 10% discount!

Lebanon

Domaine des Tourelles is one of the oldest and most highly acclaimed wineries in Lebanon.  Originally founded in 1868 by French adventurer François-Eugène Brun, it was the first commercial winery in ‘modern’ Lebanon.  It was held by the Brun family until 2003 and is now owned by the Issa and Issa el-Khoury families. Winemaker Faouzi Issa has worked with Rhône legend, René Rostaing, and at Château Margaux, combining this experience with his own techniques, including the use of indigenous natural yeasts, to create some fabulous boutique wines.  Join us in tasting his wines all the way from Lebanon!

Tasting Sheet

Janet Z. Wang, the author of The Chinese Wine Renaissance, will be presenting a portfolio of premium wines from Great Wall.

A subsidiary of state-owned COFCO Group, Great Wall is China’s largest wine producer. They have substantial vineyard holdings in four Chinese provinces: Hebei, Shandong, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. Using modern equipment, mostly sourced from Europe, they produce a wide variety of wine styles, including dry, sweet, fortified, distilled, and sparkling wines. They are advised by international consultants, such as top Bordeaux consultant Michel Rolland. Great Wall has grown to produce premium ranges that have become the preferred choice for diplomatic receptions in China. Please join us in tasting these premium wines with Janet Z. Wang, author of The Chinese Wine Renaissance, contributing author on decanterchina.com, and shortlisted writer for the Circle of Wine Writers’ Young Wine Writer’s Award.

Janet will be showing us the following wines:

1. Great Wall Longyan 2018 (Shacheng) – white
2. Five Star Cab Suav (Shacheng)
3. Ch. Tianfu Cab Sauv. 2015 (Ningxia)
4. Great Wall Cab Sauv./Syrah (Ningxia)
5. Five star Marselan/Syrah (Shandong)
6. Coastal Marselan / Cab Sauv (Shandong)

Tuscany, Italy

Producing the original Super Tuscan, Sassicaia brought Italian wine into the modern era.

It is today, one of the most sought-after wines in the world. Its first vintage was released in 1968 to universal acclaim and is now widely accepted as one of the world’s best Cabernet Sauvignon wines.  In 1994, it made history as it became the only wine from a single estate to be granted its own DOC (Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC). Join us in tasting these intense, extraordinary wines.