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Vintages Value List November 24, 2012

Hello Again Fellow Tipplers,

We are both extremely busy these days at the LCBO (tis the season!!!!) and were only available to taste the release on one of the two tasting days.  When we arrived, we found only red wines.  Our despair was short-lived as the reds we tasted were excellent!  Read on … Drink on …

Red Wine

213520 Santa Carolina Specialties Dry Farming Carignan 2009 (Chile) $15.95

Dry Farming = no irrigation.  Apparently this isn’t a necessary farming method in the Cauquenes Valley because this wine rocks!  Look for mushroom and dark berry notes before you face a delicious lingering finish. 

232561 Cennatoio Chianti Classico 2010 (Tuscany, Italy) $15.95

A classic Italian Chianti – dry, with smooth tannins and a smoky undertone. 

133033 Mas Estela Quindals 2007 (Spain) $17.95

A great label before a great wine.  It’s mouth-fiilling with distinct black cherry notes and a nice long finish.  Score: 91 (Jay Miller, erobertparker.com)

142935 Small Gully The Formula Robert’s Shiraz 2007 (South Australia) $18.95

It’s got some age – which is good.  It is rich and dense with leather and tobacco notes.  It is fruit-forward and large, but this is tempered by smooth tannins and a seam of acidity.

Vintages Value List November 10, 2012

Hello Again Fellow Tipplers,

We are heading into the holiday season and that means most retailers are gearing up for the onslaught of consumers who partake in all the celebrations that this time of year has to offer. Vintages is out of the starting gate this weekend with some ultra premium offerings at fairly hefty price points. Fortunately we were still able to find some great values in a variety of styles!

Sparkling Wine

297846 Cave De Lugny Brut RoséBrut Crémant De Bourgogne (Burgundy) $16.95

Cranberry, fresh orchard apple aromas and flavours with mineral leading out to a long apple flavoured finish. A good priced fizz for that after work pre-holiday libation with friends!

White Wine

86249 Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (California) $17.95

Cats pee, lime zest, lemon and zesty acidity are on order in this refreshingly light Sauv.

292227 Dopf & Irion Vorbourg Pinot Gris 2009 (Alsace, France) $17.95

Pretty, seductive and quite big for a Pinot Gris - featuring aromas of honeysuckle, white fruits, floral notes and spice on the palate. Thiis wine is off-dry. Bling factor – Silver Medal (Decanter World Wine Awards 2012)

Vintages Value List November 26, 2011

Season’s Greetings!

This is the 2nd last Vintages release before Christmas and the holiday wines are hitting the shelves.  That is not great news for you bargain hunters as the big guns tend to come out at this time of year and big guns = big $$$.  We still managed to taste a few great wines in the value range and we are even including some exceptional wines above the value threshold because they are fantastic and a bargain at the > $25 price point.  Besides – it’s pretty darn stressful this time of year and you deserve to pamper yourself with some extra special libations OR they will certainly make a generous gift for someone.

SPARKLING WINE

53215 Belcanto de Bellusi Extra Dry Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCg (Veneto, Italy) $17.95

A decent little sparkly number here.  It is ever-so-sweet with some oomph on the end.  A great evening starter …

Vintages Value List Release October 15, 2011

Hello Fellow Tipplers!
Hope you are all doing well and embracing the change of season – whatever that means to you!  For us, it means a pretty busy work schedule as we amp up for the busy holiday season here at the LCBO and we get back into the swing of things when people stop taking summer vacation and meetings are full and the ensuing task list fuller!  This preamble will be short and sweet, but we thoroughly appreciated being able to taste these past two weeks and there are some beauties on offer this weekend in Vintages :

SPARKLING WINE

163634 OYSTER BAY BRUT SPARKLING CUVÉE (NEW ZEALAND) $21.95
Made from 100% chardonnay this sparkler is packed with flavours of ripe peach, bitter peach pit on the mid-palate and lively acidity.  Fresh, lively and quenchable with anything. 

Vintages Values List Release July 23, 2011

Hello Fellow Tipplers!

Hope you’re all well in this sweltering miasma we have experienced this past week. Reaching for wine is not the best hydration strategy in this heat – but it does help to pass the time as you sit and do as little as possible to stay cool. We reviewed our notes and found that we only have one white wine on recommendation this week. There is no reason why you can’t cool down your reds a touch to make them a little more refreshing on a hot, hot day. Regardless, there are some great bargains to be had …

SPARKLING WINE

169128 TENUTA S. ANNA EXTRA DRY PROSECCO (VENETO) $15.95

This sparkler greets the palate with fresh citrus flavors and acidity and a creamy mouth feel! Serve as an aperitif or in your favorite Bellini recipe.

MAUSBERG BRUT BLANC DE BLANCS CRÉMANT D’ALSACE (ALSACE) $17.95

Light and refreshing sparkler that is big on citrus aromas and flavours, complimented by zesty racy acidity that persists.

Vintages Value List Release July 9, 2011

Hello Fellow Tipplers!

Hip hip hooray – the release we have all been waiting for – wines with a score of 90+. OK, there are a few that are out of our price range, but there are enough on offer to satisfy value-seekers like us. What’s in a high score you ask : critics have deemed the wine worthy of a higher than average rating and we really should take heed as these critics do a lot more tasting than the average joe and have learned to discern great from alright. These scores (and recommendations from us for that matter) come with a caveat – you still might not like them as your palate prefers other flavours. BUT these wines with big scores are definitely worth checking out.

SPARKLING WINE

48793 LOUIS BOUILLOT PERLE D’AURORE BRUT ROSÉ CRÉMANT DE BOURGOGNE (BURGUNDY) $18.95

Pretty and chic - boasting raspberry aromas and flavors and some spice. Delicate and light bodied with a lengthy finish this is a dry and fantastic fizz. (David Lawrason, winealign.com, 90)

WHITE WINE

221879 LEONE DE CASTRIS MESSAPIA VERDECA 2009 (PUGLIA) $14.95

This sexy Italian shows off pretty floral aromas and flavors of orange, lime and lemon peel bursting with freshness and a soft oily mouth feel! (Antonio Galloni, erobertparker.com, 90)

Vintages Value List Release June 25, 2011

Hello Fellow Tipplers!

We hope you are all doing well and gearing up for an exciting, fun-filled summer.  The kids are out of school and you may be craving the odd glass of vino now more than ever ;)

The last two weeks saw us quite busy on the work front and this called for a division of the  tasting duties.  Rose tasted whites and Karen reds.  Then Karen ran into an old pal from UNI on the way to the tasting room and consequently ran out of time to taste.  She enlisted the help of David Beauroy – a Vintages super-taster to point out a few gems.  Here are Rose’s whites  and David’s reds from this rather awesome release called « The Heat is On ». 

CHAMPAGNE

167502 PIERREL LES ORESSENCES BRUT CHAMPAGNE $42.95

Fresh baked bread aromas, ripe granny smith apple and distinct minerality that is very crisp and bursting with refreshing acidity.

FRUIT WINE

179473 CIDRERIE ST-NICOLAS POM”OR TRADITION CRACKLING CIDER (QUEBEC) $12.95

Something different - sparkling cider featuring crisp orchard apple flavours.  It is medium sweet with some creaminess and a refreshingly dry mid-palate.

Vintages Value List Release June 11, 2011

Hello Fellow Tipplers!

Some fabulous wines coming your way this Saturday!  We seem to be particularly taken with wines from Europe and California.  OH! There’s a fab 21 year old Single Malt from the Glenfiddich distillery that Dad would surely appreciate and you will too when you go and visit the homestead on occasion after Father’s Day. 

WHITE WINE

134551 GIUSEPPE CAMPAGNOLA LE BINE MONTE FOSCARINO SOAVE CLASSICO 2009 (VENETO) $13.95

Soave style is generally quite bold and full-flavoured.  Garganega is the primary grape used here and for those of you uninitiated risk-takers – give this a whirl and look for a dry, crisp wine with apple, pear and citrus notes. 

Vintages Value List Release Saturday Nov. 27, 2010

Hello Fellow Tipplers!

You all know it by now - Christmas is a month away! We are inundated with holiday shopping “guides”, festive music fills the stores and high anxiety is setting in as you realize that you haven’t finished your gift shopping and the calendar is full of gatherings both good and bad. Now is the time to drink - whether it is with friends and family or home alone after a particularly stressful outing. We have the suggestions for either of these scenarios.

Vintages is also promoting many special products of the “gifty” sort. There is a particular product that is in the “It’s Perfect” section of the release catalogue. We tasted this wine and were completely wowed – BUT – it does not meet our value criteria. SO – if you were thinking about buying us a Christmas present - a bottle of 539098 2006 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon from California ($114.95) would be greatly appreciated because it is perfect!

SPARKLING WINE

194803 LANGA HERMANOS REYES DE ARAGON BRUT RESERVA CAVA 2007 (SPAIN) $13.95

Unbelievable good value here. Distinct apple notes followed closely by apricot, toast and biscuit. It’s only $14 for pete’s sake – grab it while you can!!!

WHITE WINE

707158 ZENATO LUGANA 2009 (LOMBARDIA) $13.95

Opens up with a hint of lanolin on the nose followed by expressive flavors of melon, white grapefruit and clean crisp acidity.