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Monday, November 18, 2019

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP WINES AT VINTAGES: under/over $20 for NOVEMBER 23, 2019

 
WORLD WINE WATCH TOP WINES AT VINTAGES:  under/over $20 for NOVEMBER 23, 2019
 
By DEAN TUDOR, Gothic Epicures Writing deantudor@deantudor.com. My "Wines, Beers and Spirits of the Net", a guide to thousands of news items and RSS feeds, plus references to wines, beers and spirits, has been at http://www.deantudor.com since 1994.
 
These notes for good wines available through  LCBO Vintages (on a bi-weekly basis)  can always be found at http://www.gothicepicures.blogspot.ca  or at  http://www.deantudor.com No winery can buy their way into – or out of – this publication.
 
Scores are a combination of MVC (Modal Varietal Character, e.g. a Southern Rhone would taste like a Southern Rhone) and QPR (Quality/Price Ratio value in the marketplace above or below its price).
 
NOTE: The first portion  is based on my sampling of the table wines chosen by the LCBO from this release for tasting. That presentation is about 50+  different labels out of about 125 released every two weeks. These wines are basically those that fit the categories of  any of the Featured Themes, Wines of the Month, Local Talent, and "new" -- wines that the LCBO has ordered in sufficient quantities for the Ontario marketplace. Not put out for us are the re-orders (even though they may be of a different vintage) , ISDs, or the expensive wines.  Thus, my report comes from a restricted database. I did not taste every one of these 50+ category wines, nor did I rate several of the wines I did sample because they did not seem to be of particularly good value in terms of their price.
 
NOTE: The second part (at the end) is a simple listing of  those wines that were NOT presented to the media, and are given here simply as a record of  what sampling I could not do. I have left in the name of the agency, in fairness to all.
 
PART ONE:  The "best" wines of a reduced tasting  --
 
THIS MONTH'S SPECIAL FINDS --
 
Fortified+70193 BLANDY'S 5-YEAR-OLD MALMSEY RICH MADEIRA DOC $31.95 QPR: 93
Fizz+438994    KEW BARREL AGED BLANC DE BLANC    Traditional method, VQA Niagara Peninsula     2011    $29.95 MVC/QPR: 92
 
Under $20
=========
W+144386    SOHO WHITE COLLECTION SAUVIGNON BLANC    Marlborough, South Island    2018    $19.95 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+259788    JOSEPH CATTIN RIESLING    AC Alsace    2017    $14.95     12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR:  90
W+156943    DOMAINE DE ROCHEBIN CHARDONNAY MÂCON-AZÉ    AC    2017    $17.95 12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+147975    GÉRARD BERTRAND RÉSERVE SPÉCIALE VIOGNIER    IGP Pays d'Oc    2017    $14.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 92
W+65086    FRESCOBALDI CASTELLO DI POMINO POMINO BIANCO    DOC    2017    $19.95 12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+11138    CA' D'OR BIANCO PAGUS SOAVE CLASSICO    DOC    2017    $17.95    12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+488981    FOLLAS NOVAS ALBARIÑO    DO Rías Baixas    2018    $17.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+R+606764    ARBOLEDA SINGLE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON    DO Aconcagua Valley    2017    $19.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
W+18721    VIÑA TARAPACÁ GRAN RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON    Maipo Valley    2017    $17.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+15495    3 RINGS SHIRAZ    Barossa Valley, South Australia    2016    $17.95    14.9% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+343517    TESSELLAE OLD VINES GRENACHE/SYRAH/MOURVÈDRE    AP Côtes du Roussillon    2017    $18.95  14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 91
R+10676    SIERRA NORTE EQUILIBRIO 9 MONASTRELL    DOP Jumilla    2016    $15.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 92
R+276030    MURIEL FINCAS DE LA VILLA RESERVA    DOCa Rioja    2014    $19.95 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 92
R+11195    COLINAS DE ANÇÃ BAGA RESERVA    DOC Bairrada    2014    $16.95     13.5%ABV, MVC/QPR: 91
R+11152    COUTADA VELHA SIGNATURE RED    Vingo Regional Alentejano    2017    $15.95    13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+40964    CHÂTEAU DE NAGES VIEILLES VIGNES COSTIÈRES DE NÎMES    AP    2016    $19.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
 
Over $20
+=========
W+184549    LE CLOS JORDANNE LE GRAND CLOS CHARDONNAY    VQA Niagara Peninsula    2017    $44.95     MVC/QPR: 92
W+208694    BURROWING OWL ESTATE BOTTLED CHARDONNAY    BC VQA Okanagan Valley    2017    $33.95  13.9% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
W+346304    GRGICH HILLS ESTATE GROWN CHARDONNAY    Napa Valley    2014    $67.95  MVC/QPR: 93
W+677450    DOG POINT SAUVIGNON BLANC    Marlborough, South Island    2018    $26.95 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+13421    HENRY OF PELHAM BIN 106 BACO NOIR    30th anniversary limited edition, VQA Short Hills Bench, Niagara Escarpment    2018    $29.95    13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 92
R+505610    HIDDEN BENCH TERROIR CACHÉ    Unfiltered, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment    2016    $44.95 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+184564    LE CLOS JORDANNE LE GRAND CLOS PINOT NOIR    VQA Niagara Peninsula    2017    $44.95    12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90
R+392738    QUEYLUS TRADITION PINOT NOIR    VQA Niagara Peninsula    2016    $31.95 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+312058    STRATUS RED    VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake    2016    $49.20    13.3% ABV,  MVC/QPR:  89
R+320986    THIRTY BENCH WINEMAKER'S BLEND RED    VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment    2017    $24.95 13.3% ABV, MVC/QPR: 88
R+11819    JACKSON-TRIGGS OKANAGAN GRAND RESERVE RED MERITAGE    BC VQA Okanagan Valley    2016    $25.95     13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 92
R+143784    SUMAC RIDGE BLACK SAGE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON    BC VQA Okanagan Valley    2017    $28.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+906404    LA CREMA RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR    Russian River Valley, Sonoma County    2015    $49.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+466938    UNÁNIME GRAN VINO TINTO    Uco Valley, Mendoza    2015    $29.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+129353    THE CHOCOLATE BLOCK    WO Swartland    2017    $39.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+167700    ARDAL SELECCIÓN ESPECIAL RESERVA    DO Ribera del Duero    2006    $23.95 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.5
R+261784    PAPALE LINEA ORO PRIMITIVO DI MANDURIA    DOP    2015    $22.95 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+63891    EMILIANA COYAM    Los Robles Estate, Colchagua Valley    2016    $29.95    14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
R+568774    QUINTA DO SAGRADO RESERVA    DOC Douro    2016    $29.95    14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89
 
PART TWO: The "rest" of the release [not offered for sampling by media] with agency names --
 
294041    2027 FALLS VINEYARD RIESLING    VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula    2017    $18.95    2027 CELLARS LTD.   
578625    FLAT ROCK NADJA'S VINEYARD RIESLING    VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Escarpment    2018    $24.95    FLAT ROCK CELLARS   
581231    TZAFONA CELLARS NAVA BLANC KPM    VQA Ontario    2016    $19.95    NORTHERN WINE CORP   
485276    TZAFONA CELLARS COLD CLIMATE UNOAKED CHARDONNAY KP    Vegan friendly, VQA Niagara Peninsula    2015    $22.95    TRAJECTORY BEVERAGE PARTNERS   
566026    CAVE SPRING CSV RIESLING    Cave Spring Vineyard, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment    2016    $29.95    CAVE SPRING CELLARS LTD.,   
469023    CUDDY BY TAWSE CHARDONNAY    VQA Niagara Peninsula    2014    $25.95    TAWSE WINERY INC.   
94375    DUCKHORN SAUVIGNON BLANC    Napa Valley    2017    $37.95    ROGERS & COMPANY   
288555    WILLIAM HILL NORTH COAST CHARDONNAY    North Coast    2017    $19.95    E&J GALLO WINERY CANADA LTD.   
125310    NORMAN HARDIE COUNTY UNFILTERED PINOT NOIR    VQA Prince Edward County    2017    $45.20    HARDIE WINES   
284570    TAWSE GROWER'S BLEND CABERNET FRANC    VQA Niagara Peninsula    2015    $28.95    TAWSE WINERY INC.   
246918    J. LOHR CAROL'S VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON    St. Helena, Napa Valley    2014    $89.95    BARRIQUE WINE IMPORTS LTD.   
723478    ZUCCARDI Q MALBEC    Uco Valley, Mendoza    2016    $19.95    DIONYSUS WINES & SPIRITS LTD.   
166298    LA POSTA PIZZELLA MALBEC    Mendoza    2017    $15.95    TRIALTO WINE GROUP LTD.   
256685    MONTES LIMITED SELECTION CARMENÈRE    DO Colchagua Valley    2016    $14.95    VIN VINO WINE MERCHANTS INC.   
546424    ERRAZURIZ ACONCAGUA ALTO CARMENÈRE    DO Valle de Aconcagua    2017    $21.95    PHILIPPE DANDURAND WINES LTD.   
357475    DANDELION VINEYARDS LIONESS OF MCLAREN VALE SHIRAZ    McLaren Vale, South Australia    2017    $20.95    DU CHASSE WINES & SPIRITS   
684753    PORCA DE MURÇA RESERVA TINTO    DOC Douro    2014    $17.95    H.H.D. IMPORTS   
371518    BORSAO BEROLA    DO Campo de Borja    2015    $18.95    CHARTON HOBBS INC   
927    SOMMAVITE SANTOVINO VINO LIQUOROSO    Italy        $10.95    RUBAIYAT WINE AND SPIRIT MERCH.   
437319    ROSEWOOD MEAD ROYALE HONEY WINE    Barrel aged, Canada    2017    $19.95    CHURCHILL CELLARS LTD.   
709717    CAKEBREAD CELLARS CHARDONNAY    Napa Valley    2017    $69.95    CHARTON HOBBS INC   
21303    CAVE DE TURCKHEIM BRAND RIESLING    AC Alsace Grand Cru    2013    $38.95    NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.   
10468    STAGS' LEAP THE INVESTOR RED BLEND    Napa Valley    2015    $64.95    MARK ANTHONY WINE & SPIRITS   
11166    YOUNGBERG HILL J BLOCK PINOT NOIR    Willamette Valley    2016    $67.95    LOYAL IMPORTS   
309625    PENFOLDS BIN 389 CABERNET/SHIRAZ    South Australia    2017    $99.95    MARK ANTHONY WINE & SPIRITS   
11082    AURORE DEZAT SANCERRE ROUGE    AC Sancerre    2016    $31.95    TOCADE   
466110    DOMAIN MEGA SPILEO GRAND CAVE DRY RED    PGI Achaia    2013    $29.95    THE KOLONAKI GROUP INC   
568857    JOÃO BRITO E CUNHA QUINTA DE S. JOSÉ TOURIGA NACIONAL    DOC Douro    2016    $39.95    NATURAL VINES   
368373    VIÑA ARANA RESERVA    DOCa Rioja    2011    $49.95    JOHN HANNA & SONS LIMITED   
10493    CELESTE RESERVA    DO Ribera del Duero    2014    $34.95    PHILIPPE DANDURAND WINES LTD.   
10901    TORO ALBALÁ DON PX    DO Montilla-Moriles    2017    $21.95    LE SOMMELIER INC.

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