Gaba Mencia 2020

Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Telmo RodriguezCountry: SpainRegion: GaliciaAppellation: Valdeorras DO Grapes: MenciaAlcohol by Volume: 12.5%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre The tasting notes on the LCBO website for this red wine from the Northwestern corner of Spain, are all about juicy bright cherry red fruit. I agree, but a few years later, there’s more going on like rose aromatics and a tar or leather note. Those notes point to a comparison with Pinot Noir, but I’m getting more…

Malivoire Estate Chradonnay

Malivoire Estate Chardonnay 2023

Malivoire Estate Chardonnay 2023 Price: $21.95 ($23.95 after April 27) or $21.00 plus deposit, taxes, etc.Channel: LCBO Vintages or direct from Malivoire Producer: Malivoire Wine Co.Country: CanadaRegion: NiagaraAppellation: Beamsville Bench VQA Grapes: Chardonnay (62%), Chardonnay Musqué (38%)Alcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre I nearly didn’t recommend Malivoire’s latest Estate Chardonnay because I thought I had just written it up. I looked it up and sure enough I did write about the Estate Chardonnay… it was in this post almost exactly…

Garzon Rosé

Garzón Estate Pinot Rosé de Corte 2024

Garzón Estate Pinot Rosé de Corte 2024 Price: $17.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Bodega GarzónCountry: UruguayRegion: Punta del EsteAppellation: Uruguay Wine Grapes: Pinot Noir (50%), Merlot (30%), Marselan (20%)Alcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 2 grams per litre I went to the Halpern Premier Cru Portfolio Tasting this week (much more on this to come). There I tasted a 2023 rosé from Louis Jadot made from Pinot Noir grown in Marsannay. It was a kind of Platonic ideal of a Burgundy red turned…

Bachelder L’Ardoise Chardonnay 2023

Price: $25.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: BachelderCountry: CanadaRegion: NiagaraAppellation: Niagara Peninsula VQA Grapes: ChardonnayAlcohol by Volume: 13%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre I’m not sure how he’s managed to do it, but Thomas Bachelder has slipped one of his celebrated boutique Niagara Chardonnays into the LCBO for under $30. The man is clearly a wino democrat, as the Ardoise is in direct competition wuth fancy local whites priced upwards of twice this… including some that he makes himself. More Montrachet…

La Ferme du Mont Première Côte Côtes du Rhône 2022

Price: $19.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: Les Domaines du MontCountry: FranceRegion: Southern Rhône ValleyAppellation: Côtes du Rhône Grapes: Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%), Mourvèdre (10%)Alcohol by Volume: 14.5%Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre Stéphane Vedeau makes some of the Southern Rhône Valley’s more prestigious wines, at Châteauneuf and Gigondas and the puts the same attention to detail, balance and finesse into his entry level Côtes du Rhône Première Côte wine. This must be one of the best value reds in Vintages…

Dogliani san Luigi

Pecchenino san Luigi Dogliani DOCG

Pecchenino san Luigi Dogliani DOCGPrice: $23.95Channel: LCBO Vintages Producer: PeccheninoCountry: ItalyRegion: PiedmontAppellation: Dogliani DOCG Grapes: DolcettoAlcohol by Volume: 13.5%Sugar Content: 4 grams per litre If I live to be one hundred years old, and if I am served a glass of Dolgiani on my birthday, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn from one of my wine loving descendants that Dolcetto had taken over from Nebbiolo as Piedmont’s most sought after grape. “Ah well,” I will say, “this is probably…