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Ontario

The Quest of Authenticity

Photo : Matt Morris

HUMANITY AND AUTHENTICITY

 

A wine promotional agency established in Quebec in 1997, Le Maître de Chai represents more than 200 wineries, serving both the Quebec and Ontario markets since 2015.

 

Over the past two decades, we have put together an enviable portfolio of world-class wineries and winemakers who are considered the elite in their respective regions.

 

To our clients, be it individual wine lovers or restaurants, we are proud to offer truly exceptional wines. To the wineries we represent, we take equal pride in our ability to communicate their stories. Wether these wine are sold on private ordering, directly through the LCBO stores, or both, we will find the ideal route to bring these wines to market.

 

To excel in this business, one must have, before anything else, a passion for not only wine, but also the people who are behind every bottle. It’s these enduring personal relationships we cultivate with our winemakers, restaurateurs and individual clients that is the ultimate reward.– Francis Martin, owner of Le Maitre de Chai

 

Our story began at the end of the 1980’s, when Gilles Martin and Josée Levert, founders of Le Maitre de Chai, traveled all over France searching for wines to stock their personal cellar. Along the way, they discovered not only great wines, but met truly memorable winemakers. Wether or not they realized it at the time, they were laying the foundation of not only a wine agency, but a philosophy of how to run a wine agency. We operate on the same principle today- that wine is ultimately about people.

 

Among the pioneers of selling wines on private import in Quebec, Gilles and Josée carefully expanded their portfolio by knocking on the doors of the world’s most respected wineries, adding one new client at a time. This passion for wine and desire to represent only the best was passed on their son Francis, who has been running Le Maitre de Chai since 2010.
Le Maitre de Chai is one of the most respected wine agencies in Quebec, and now we have set up shop in Ontario. But as we have grown over the years, we have never wavered from our founding principle: to seek out authentic and exceptional wines at all price levels and to transmit the passion and stories of those who make them.

Producers

François Cotat

Loire, France

One must distinguish between François Cotat and Pascal Cotat, who are cousins. The Cotat name was raised to mythical levels by Paul Cotat, Francois’ father. Paul loved very ripe grapes, and in hot vintages, he proudly made sought-after cuvées of semi-dry whites. François also harvests his grapes at high levels of ripeness. The soil in the town of Chavignol is composed of Kimmeridgian limestone which, as in Chablis, bestows longevity upon the wines. The strong identity of François Cotat’s wines is due as much to the glorious terroir itself as to the domaine’s patient manual harvesting. The domaine also knows a thing or two about pressurage and élevage. To discover the full potential of these mythical wines requires keeping a few bottles of Grande Côte, Culs de Beaujeu or Monts Damnés in the cellar for about twenty years.

Website

Domaine des Croix

Burgundy - Côte de Beaune, France

Founded in 2005, following the acquisition of the former Domaine Duchet by a group of US-led investors, the domaine can be found in the heart of the town of Beaune, and led by the dynamic co-owner David Croix, also the régisseur for Maison Camille Giroud.Croix produces wines that defy one’s conception of what is Beaune. The appellation’s production is largely under the control of large negociants, but Croix shows what attention to detail can achieve. His Pertuisots, Grèves and Bressandes show a body and texture rarely found in the AOC’s usual premiers crus. With four premier crus from Beaune to their name, as well as a village cuvée, Domaine des Croix is setting new standards for the appellation.

Website

Michel Bouzereau

Burgundy - Côte de Beaune, France

Domaine Michel Bouzereau is one of the two producers we've worked with since the inception of Maître de Chai. These wines offer a true expression of terroir. Their Meursaults in recent vintages have so much precision the domaine is now among the commune’s top producers. Their bottlings from Les Tessons and Le Limozin easily approach premier cru levels and are highly sought-after. They also farm four premier cru plots of Meursault as well as a choice section of the famous Puligny premier cru Le Cailleret. And despite the critical acclaim and undeniable quality of the wines, the price of their wines have stayed low. Are there still bargains in Burgundy? There’s one right here.

Website

Mas Cal Demoura

Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Since 2004, Vincent and Isabelle Goumard of Mas Cal Demoura have been lovingly continuing the work that was started by Jean-Pierre Jullien in the 1970s. In Occitan, ‘cal demoura’ means “one must remain” - which Jean-Pierre christened his domaine at a time when there was a mass exodus of people from the countryside to the city for work. Located in the Terrasses de Larzac, this is one of a handful of crus in the Languedoc. Situated about 30km northwest of Montpellier, in the village of Jonquières, Vincent and Isabelle are organically farming 17 hectares of vineyards that are planted with the traditional varieties of the region including Grenahce, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault. In a short period of time, the Goumards have elevated the domaine to one of the top estates, not only in the appellation, but across the Languedoc.

Website

Nada Fiorenzo

Piedmont, Italy

In 1920, Carlo Nada bought the family farm in Rombone in the village of Treiso. This estate was passed to his youngest son, Fiorenzo, who inherited the property in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until 1982, when Fiorenzo’s son Bruno returned to the estate after teaching for some period of time, that the family began producing and bottling their own wine. The family owns holdings in three key crus: Rombone, Manzola and Montaribaldi. The vineyards are farmed organically without any use of herbicides or pesticides. Today, Danilo is the 4th generation to have taken a leadership role in the estate, and he brings with him a deep awareness and respect for tradition, but with a modern outlook and a vision for the future.

Website

Ontario wine lists

Licensee - Price List

Consumer - Price List