WORLD WINE WATCH TOP WINES AT VINTAGES: under/over $20 for the January 6, 2024 release.
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 https://pages.pathcom.com/~dtudor 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 https://pages.pathcom.com/~dtudor 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).
I was one of the first to jump on the Robert Parker bandwagon, using numerical indications for scores. Why? Because with a database I could rate, rank and order wines in any fashion. It was just so convenient using databases. Unfortunately, the numerical system has been shown to be disgraced, so I am quitting any ranking by number. From now on, it will just be GOOD, BETTER and BEST, which will give me some wiggle room (e.g. is this wine an 87, 88, 89, or 90? Or all of them...depends on my mood and time of day). With the rigorous standards and lab testing by the LCBO, I can safely say that every single wine at the LCBO is at least GOOD, which I would numerically rank at 75-85 points. For reasons of time and space, I will NOT be listing GOOD wines. Just the BETTER (86-89) and BEST (90+ ) wines. This spread of points will probably relate to SILVER and GOLD medals, with BRONZE being "GOOD". Significantly, this also fits into my scheme for trade tastings (as noted below).
MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
MAJOR THEME: SMART BUYS 2024
Recommended Wines Under $20
======================
Fizz+648170 La Fleur de Francois Brut Cremant de Bordeaux, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+328559 Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay 2021 Western Cape South Africa, $18.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+599274 Dr. L Riesling 2022 Qualitatswein Mosel, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+637868 Chateau de la Grange Vieilles Vignes Cotes de Grand Lieu Muscadet 2021 Sur Lie, $13.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
R+354134 Chateau Bellevue La Foret Original 2020 Fronton France, $13.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+34815 Piedra Negra Alta Coleccion Torrontes 2023 Mendoza, $15.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+35965 Sutil Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Central Valley Chile, $15.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+17586 Mission Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 New Zealand, $17.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+22984 Mountadam Five-Fifty Chardonnay 2020 Eden Valley South Australia, $17.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+32555 Yalumba The Y Series Riesling 2021 South Australia, $14.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+577734 De Angelis Campo di Marte Offida Pecorino 2022 Marche Italy, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+744235 Wakefield Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Clare Valley South Australia, $19.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+35970 Tarapaca Gran Reserva Red Blend 2021 Maipo Chile, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+446245 Chateau de Marsan 2019 Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+18141 Chateau Grand Escalion 2020 Costieres de Nimes, $13.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+981399 Terra d'Aligi Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2022, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
Recommended Wines Over $20
======================
Sherry+35204 Gonzalez Byass Nutty Solera Medium Oloroso, $20.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+34135 Tawse Grower's Blend SauvignonBlanc 2020 VQA Niagara, $26.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
R+568741 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Valpantena 2020, $57.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+32955 Chartron et Trebuchet Chablis 2022, $30.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+421198 Union Wine Company Underwood Pinot Noir 2021 Oregon, $23.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+494674 La Nerthe Les Cassagnes Cotes du Rhone-Villages 2020, $25.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+455600 Ferruccio Deiana Sileno Riserva Cannonau de Sardegna 2018 Sardinia, $22.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
LIMITED TIME OFFERS: Some Recommended Wines from the LCBO's Limited Time Offers selections...these are good value...on sale through Sunday January 28, 2024
[fizz] +32209 Villa Sandi Valdobbiadene Extra Dry Prosecco Superior NV now $16.95, save $2
[rose]+25746 LVE French Rose Languedoc, now $27.95, save $2
R+328567 Cathedral Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon WO Western Cape South Africa now $16.95, save $3
R+258673 G.Marquis The Silver Line Pinot Noir VQA NOTL now $17.95, save $2
R+595280 Porcupine Ridhe Syrah WO Swartland South Africa now $14.95, save $3
R+360222 Seven Falls Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Washington State now $20.95, save $3
** Some New Wines I Tasted Over the Past Season ---
REPORT FROM THE NATURAL WINES FROM CHILE TRADE TASTING SEPTEMBER
The Venue: SIPS Toronto, Maud Street
The Target Audience: sommeliers, wine media
The Availability/Catalogue: at least two of these wines will be in the Ontario market, perhaps this year.
The Quote/Background: ProChile gave us (seminar of 20) local sommelier Heather MacDougall as moderator, and Chilean sommelier Mariana Martinez as principal speaker and discussant. She was on a hookup via the Internet. Natural wines is a large category that mainly includes no human or chemical interference with grapes. Categories include: transparency, sustainable, organic, biodynamic, and the like. Perhaps "orange wine" is where all the principles may intersect. Mariana talked about all of these and the various certification seals used in Chile. She also talked about Pais grapes and their usefulness in natural wine production. Much of the activity of natural wines occur in the Itata and Colchagua valleys. She spoke on details of all five wineries, plus of course she talked on tasting all the five wines with a palate. Discussions ensued on marketing, agents and prices.
The Wines:
**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Probulk Wine Buena Vida de Chile Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Leyda and Colchagua, with bought natural grapes.
-Vina Antiyal Kuyen 2019 Maipo, berries blue and black (syrah, cab sauv, carmenere, petit verdot), about $50 CDN.
***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Co-op Marga Marga La Zaranda Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ~$40 CDN
-Villalobos Silvestre Carignan Colchagua 2019 $28 CDN
-Wildmakers Sabatico Maule 2018 Garnacha - Cariñena $20 USD
The Food: we had a board with charcuterie (salumi. mortadella), cheese (pecorino, gruyere), empanadas (chicken, beef, veggie), Taralli Pugliese, and some really good bread.
The Downside: we only had five wines. I think we needed more, say 8 in all, in order to make comparisons and evaluate different vintages of the same wine to indicate aging possibilities or changes in palate, different winemakers, and stages in "naturalness" viniculture.
The Upside: well, despite the above, it was a good exercise in learning about the character of Chilean natural wines.
The Contact Person: lisa@androscom.com
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 88.
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 https://pages.pathcom.com/~dtudor 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 https://pages.pathcom.com/~dtudor 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).
I was one of the first to jump on the Robert Parker bandwagon, using numerical indications for scores. Why? Because with a database I could rate, rank and order wines in any fashion. It was just so convenient using databases. Unfortunately, the numerical system has been shown to be disgraced, so I am quitting any ranking by number. From now on, it will just be GOOD, BETTER and BEST, which will give me some wiggle room (e.g. is this wine an 87, 88, 89, or 90? Or all of them...depends on my mood and time of day). With the rigorous standards and lab testing by the LCBO, I can safely say that every single wine at the LCBO is at least GOOD, which I would numerically rank at 75-85 points. For reasons of time and space, I will NOT be listing GOOD wines. Just the BETTER (86-89) and BEST (90+ ) wines. This spread of points will probably relate to SILVER and GOLD medals, with BRONZE being "GOOD". Significantly, this also fits into my scheme for trade tastings (as noted below).
MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
MAJOR THEME: SMART BUYS 2024
Recommended Wines Under $20
======================
Fizz+648170 La Fleur de Francois Brut Cremant de Bordeaux, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+328559 Cathedral Cellar Chardonnay 2021 Western Cape South Africa, $18.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+599274 Dr. L Riesling 2022 Qualitatswein Mosel, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+637868 Chateau de la Grange Vieilles Vignes Cotes de Grand Lieu Muscadet 2021 Sur Lie, $13.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
R+354134 Chateau Bellevue La Foret Original 2020 Fronton France, $13.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+34815 Piedra Negra Alta Coleccion Torrontes 2023 Mendoza, $15.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+35965 Sutil Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Central Valley Chile, $15.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+17586 Mission Estate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2022 New Zealand, $17.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+22984 Mountadam Five-Fifty Chardonnay 2020 Eden Valley South Australia, $17.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+32555 Yalumba The Y Series Riesling 2021 South Australia, $14.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
W+577734 De Angelis Campo di Marte Offida Pecorino 2022 Marche Italy, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+744235 Wakefield Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 Clare Valley South Australia, $19.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+35970 Tarapaca Gran Reserva Red Blend 2021 Maipo Chile, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+446245 Chateau de Marsan 2019 Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+18141 Chateau Grand Escalion 2020 Costieres de Nimes, $13.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+981399 Terra d'Aligi Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2022, $16.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
Recommended Wines Over $20
======================
Sherry+35204 Gonzalez Byass Nutty Solera Medium Oloroso, $20.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+34135 Tawse Grower's Blend SauvignonBlanc 2020 VQA Niagara, $26.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
R+568741 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Valpantena 2020, $57.95 MVC/QPR: BEST (90+ )
W+32955 Chartron et Trebuchet Chablis 2022, $30.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+421198 Union Wine Company Underwood Pinot Noir 2021 Oregon, $23.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+494674 La Nerthe Les Cassagnes Cotes du Rhone-Villages 2020, $25.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
R+455600 Ferruccio Deiana Sileno Riserva Cannonau de Sardegna 2018 Sardinia, $22.95 MVC/QPR: BETTER (86-89)
LIMITED TIME OFFERS: Some Recommended Wines from the LCBO's Limited Time Offers selections...these are good value...on sale through Sunday January 28, 2024
[fizz] +32209 Villa Sandi Valdobbiadene Extra Dry Prosecco Superior NV now $16.95, save $2
[rose]+25746 LVE French Rose Languedoc, now $27.95, save $2
R+328567 Cathedral Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon WO Western Cape South Africa now $16.95, save $3
R+258673 G.Marquis The Silver Line Pinot Noir VQA NOTL now $17.95, save $2
R+595280 Porcupine Ridhe Syrah WO Swartland South Africa now $14.95, save $3
R+360222 Seven Falls Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Washington State now $20.95, save $3
** Some New Wines I Tasted Over the Past Season ---
REPORT FROM THE NATURAL WINES FROM CHILE TRADE TASTING SEPTEMBER
The Venue: SIPS Toronto, Maud Street
The Target Audience: sommeliers, wine media
The Availability/Catalogue: at least two of these wines will be in the Ontario market, perhaps this year.
The Quote/Background: ProChile gave us (seminar of 20) local sommelier Heather MacDougall as moderator, and Chilean sommelier Mariana Martinez as principal speaker and discussant. She was on a hookup via the Internet. Natural wines is a large category that mainly includes no human or chemical interference with grapes. Categories include: transparency, sustainable, organic, biodynamic, and the like. Perhaps "orange wine" is where all the principles may intersect. Mariana talked about all of these and the various certification seals used in Chile. She also talked about Pais grapes and their usefulness in natural wine production. Much of the activity of natural wines occur in the Itata and Colchagua valleys. She spoke on details of all five wineries, plus of course she talked on tasting all the five wines with a palate. Discussions ensued on marketing, agents and prices.
The Wines:
**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Probulk Wine Buena Vida de Chile Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Leyda and Colchagua, with bought natural grapes.
-Vina Antiyal Kuyen 2019 Maipo, berries blue and black (syrah, cab sauv, carmenere, petit verdot), about $50 CDN.
***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Co-op Marga Marga La Zaranda Sauvignon Blanc 2021 ~$40 CDN
-Villalobos Silvestre Carignan Colchagua 2019 $28 CDN
-Wildmakers Sabatico Maule 2018 Garnacha - Cariñena $20 USD
The Food: we had a board with charcuterie (salumi. mortadella), cheese (pecorino, gruyere), empanadas (chicken, beef, veggie), Taralli Pugliese, and some really good bread.
The Downside: we only had five wines. I think we needed more, say 8 in all, in order to make comparisons and evaluate different vintages of the same wine to indicate aging possibilities or changes in palate, different winemakers, and stages in "naturalness" viniculture.
The Upside: well, despite the above, it was a good exercise in learning about the character of Chilean natural wines.
The Contact Person: lisa@androscom.com
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 88.
Dean Tudor, Prof Emeritus T'karonto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) School of Journalism
Treasurer of Wine Writers' Circle of Canada http://www.deantudor.comhttp://gothicepicures.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/gothicepicures
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