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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

Bonnigal-Bodet

Loire, France

Jean-Baptiste Bonnigal (son in law of François Chidaine!) and Stéphane Bodet met while completing their viticulture and winemaking studies in Montagne-Saint-Emilion. Fourth generation vigneron Jean-Baptiste and Stéphane jointly took over the Bonnigal family domaine, which was established in 1927. Based in the village of Limeray, they are farming around 40 hectares of vineyards. With a focus on biodynamic viticultural practices and long, slow élevage in the cellar, they have a strong focus on making cuvées parcellaires from Chenin Blanc to showcase the diversity of terroirs in the lesser-known Amboise appellation, which is begins just east of the appellation of Vouvray. Today, Bonnigal-Bodet is among the newest generation aiming to revive the profile of the Amboise appellation, which has a rich history of winemaking excellence dating back to the mid-1400s.

Website

Thibaud Boudignon

Loire, France

In just 10 years, Thibaud Boudignon is making waves not just in the Loire Valley but across France for singular expressions of Chenin Blanc from Savennières. Originally from Bordeaux, Thibaud studied viticulture and winemaking in Beaune, alongside the likes of David Croix and others. Following his studies, he began making wine under his own name from a mere 3.5 hectares of vines in Anjou and Savennières. The majority of vines were planted in the 1990s, with new parcels being established via selection massale with cuttings from Domaine Huet, François Chidaine and Clos Rougeard. He is working biodynamically in the vineyard, with a very meticulous and precise approach in the cellar. The wines combine finesse and richness, with great purity and persistence. Thibaud’s accomplishments in the vineyard and cellar have garnered much praise and his wines are found on 30 of the 33 3-Michelin star restaurants in France - a remarkable accomplishment for such a new domaine.

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

Clos Figueras

Catalonia, Spain

Way back in 1997, Christopher Cannan, the founder of Europvin (based in Bordeaux), acquired Clos Figueras with his wife Charlotte. The estate consists of 18 acres in the heart of Priorat, due north of Gratallops. A few years earlier, several meetings with Alvaro Palacios and Rene Barbier, pioneers of the then-fledgling appellation, gave Mr. Cannan an opportunity to realize the immense potential lying in the soils of Priorat.

Website

Ingrid Groiss

Niederösterreich, Austria

A native of the Wienveritel, Ingrid Groiss returned to her home town of Breitenwaida in northeastern Austria to pursue the path of the vine. In keeping with her family’s long tradition of winemaking, she farms her vines organically, in tune with nature, and takes a minimal approach in the cellar. The Wienvertiel is Austria’s oldest and largest winemaking region. With a large diversity of microclimates and soils, it is delivering some of the country's best value wines.
Among the wines that Ingrid is most passionate about is the long Austrian tradition of the field blend, or Gemischter Satz. Ingrid crafts her field blend from 17 native grape varieties from a parcel of vines planted by her grandmother.

Website

Ontario wine lists

Licensee - Price List

Consumer - Price List