This year, with COVID, my exposure to wines from around the world was limited. But I still did have one major wine tasting event before COVID lockdown: the Vancouver International Wine Festival. All my 5 star rated wines for this year come from this single event. I was very surprised as I went through my posts for the entire year. The other shocking observation is that they are primarily white, sparkling, or rose wines. Only 1 red wine.
I am posting in a separate article, the wines that I rated between 4.5-5 stars. There are a large number, and many are from BC.
If you can find these 5 star rated wines, which come from Argentina, France, and Italy, don’t hesitate to buy as they are probably quite limited in distribution.
My 5 Star Rated Wines
Catena Alta Chardonnay 2017 (Argentina) – It has a nice tropical fruit nose. Full-bodied, round, with a full mouthfeel. Medium acidity. Light spice, tropical fruit and butterscotch flavours. A delicious wine. 
Catena Malbec Argentino 2017 (Argentina) – 100% opaque ruby from the core to the rim. It has a light intensity purple fruit nose. It is full-bodied, round, with medium intensity fine-grained tannins. It is round and soft but does have a tannic edge. Flavours of rich ripe purple fruit. A quality wine.
Alfred Gratien Champagne Brut Classique NV (France) – Bright lemon colour. A nice nose with toast and bruise apple aromas. This wine has higher acidity and creamy bubble. Bruised apple and tart crab apple flavours.
Alfred Gratien Champagne Rosé Classique NV (France) – A nice orangy rose colour. Wonderful nose with crisp red fruits and red apples. Full body, dry, with higher acidity. Tiny creamy bubbles. Crab apple flavour.
Champagne Taittinger Prelude Grands Cru NV (France) – Light apple and stone fruit nose. Medium-plus body with higher acidity. Citrus apple and light toast on the palate. Very creamy bubbles.
Poderi Dal Nespoli Metodo Classico Nespoli Pas Dose NV (Italy) – This sparkling wine has nice apple aromas. This wine is dry with medium-sized creamy bubbles. Light body with crisp apple flavour.
Thanks to Argentina, France, and Italy for these wines.
