Hey, it's the BLUE MOON release at the LCBO....!!!!
WORLD WINE WATCH TOP WINES AT VINTAGES: under/over $20 for APRIL 30, 2022 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 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).
Currently, the wine media have no access to the tasting samples usually provided to us in the LCBO lab on a fortnightly basis. This will go on or some time. HOWEVER, the wine media will still have access to the advance spreadsheet of the wines to be released. So I know what is to be released and when. SOME (but not many) of these 100 or so biweekly released wines I have recently tasted since January 2020 or so, and I can comfortably recommend them based on this prior sampling.
**Some recently reviewed wine bottles, from Featherstone (all available NOW at LCBO and winery) --
1.Featherstone Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2021 VQA Niagara Peninsula $17.95 +89011 Vintages April 30 and and again on October 8: 20% of this wine went into neutral Canadian oak barrel fermentation, leaving 80% for stainless steel. That contributed to the softness and to the muted tones of grassiness. Tropical flowers are accented rather than tropical fruit, and this too adds to its dryness culminating with ending citrus notes for a long finish. It's a great wine for savvy lovers who go for complexity rather than just herbs. At the same time, this allows for more food choices. Only 542 cases. 4g/L residual sugar, 12% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
2.Featherstone Estate Winery Black Sheep Riesling 2020 VQA Niagara Peninsula $18.95 +80234 Vintages Essential: more in the Mosel mode than Rhine wine, this delicious sipper is loaded with a nose of citrus highlights (lemon, plentiful lime, grapefruit) evolving to Ontario orchard fruit on the mid-palate with some minerality and a long lean-ish finish which also makes it nifty food wine for many Asiatic dishes. Medium body, off-dry. Suitable for aging, to get that "petrol" character. 2573 cases made. 10.5% ABV. RS 20.7g/L. Quality/Price rating is 91 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
3.Featherstone Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2021 VQA Niagara Peninsula $17.95 +89011 Vintages April 30 and and again on October 8: 20% of this wine went into neutral Canadian oak barrel fermentation, leaving 80% for stainless steel. That contributed to the softness and to the muted tones of grassiness. Tropical flowers are accented rather than tropical fruit, and this too adds to its dryness culminating with ending citrus notes for a long finish. It's a great wine for savvy lovers who go for complexity rather than just herbs. At the same time, this allows for more food choices. Only 542 cases. 4g/L residual sugar, 12% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
4.Featherstone Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2020 VQA Niagara Peninsula $19.95 +64618
Vintages Essential: a blend of 95% cabernet franc and 5% merlot. All US oak was used – 25% new, balance into 1 to 4 year old barrels. Full malolactic fermentation. Medium-bodied with an assortment of tastes of cherry-berries and plums, leafy qualities. Black pepper. Long, long finish showing tart-ish food-loving acid balances. Vegan. Should go well with BBQ veggies. Keep for another few years (I tasted one bottle over a week). 2106 cases. 2.59g/L residual sugar. 12.5% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
5.Featherstone Estate Winery Red Tail Merlot 2020 VQA Niagara Peninsula $19.95 +131540 Vintages April 30 and again on Nov 5: Merlot is still recovering from its dissing by Pinot Noir in the movie "Sideways". But a lot of wineries are still making it. David Johnson the winemaker has here produced a delightfully fruity but dryish (RS 2g/L) drop that is also affordable. Aged 10 months in French oak, 100% malolactic fermentation. Expect black fruit cherry-berry complexity, headed by cassis. Both a patio sipper and a food wine, and ready now for current drinking and accompanying any kind of comfort food. 12.5% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
** Some Recommended Wines from the LCBO's Limited Time Offers selections...these are good value...on sale through Sunday May 22 --
[red]CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES GAMAY NOIR VQA LCBO +57349 WAS: $ 15.95 |
NOW: $14.45 SAVE: $ 1.50.
[rose]CAVE SPRING DRY ROSÉ VQA LCBO +295006 WAS: $ 15.95 | NOW: $ 13.95 | SAVE: $ 2.00
[white] PENINSULA RIDGE INOX CHARDONNAY VQA LCBO +594200 | WAS: $ 15.95 |
NOW: $ 13.95 | SAVE: $ 2.00
From the Vintages Catalogue --
Rose+559088 Malivoire Ladybug Rose $15.95, normally $17.95, save $2.
Fizz+213983 Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling $29.95, normally $32.95, save $3.
FizzyRose+48793 Louis Bouillot Perle d'Aurore Brut Rosé Crémant de Bourgogne $20.95, normally $22.95, save $2.
MAJOR THEME: CLASSIC EUROPEAN REGIONS
Wines Under $20
=========
W+89011 FEATHERSTONE SAUVIGNON BLANC VQA Niagara Peninsula 2021 $17.95 MVC/QPR: 92.
R+131540 FEATHERSTONE RED TAIL MERLOT VQA Niagara Peninsula 2019 $19.95
MVC/QPR: 92.
R+64618 FEATHERSTONE CABERNET FRANC Vegan, VQA Niagara Peninsula 2020 $19.95 MVC/QPR: 92.
R+14667 CHÂTEAU HYOT RÉSERVE AC Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2018 $17.95
MVC/QPR: 89.
R+24210 PELLEGRINO CASALLAIA IGT Toscana 2018 $17.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
R+548867 CASA SANTOS LIMA COLOSSAL RESERVA Vinho Regional Lisboa 2018 $16.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
Wines Over $20
=========
W+49302 FEATHERSTONE CANADIAN OAK CHARDONNAY VQA Niagara Peninsula 2019 $24.95 MVC/QPR: 92.
W+184549 LE CLOS JORDANNE LE GRAND CLOS CHARDONNAY VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Escarpment 2019 $44.95 MVC/QPR: 90.
R+573451 CAPRAIA EFFE 55 GRAN SELEZIONE CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG 2016 $43.95
MVC/QPR: 89.
R+165662 MONTE DEL FRÀ LENA DI MEZZO VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO CLASSICO SUPERIORE DOC 2018 Veneto $24.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
Fizz+460832 WOLFBERGER BRUT CRÉMANT D'ALSACE Traditional method, AC, Alsace, $20.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
WORLD WINE WATCH TOP WINES AT VINTAGES: under/over $20 for APRIL 30, 2022 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 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).
Currently, the wine media have no access to the tasting samples usually provided to us in the LCBO lab on a fortnightly basis. This will go on or some time. HOWEVER, the wine media will still have access to the advance spreadsheet of the wines to be released. So I know what is to be released and when. SOME (but not many) of these 100 or so biweekly released wines I have recently tasted since January 2020 or so, and I can comfortably recommend them based on this prior sampling.
**Some recently reviewed wine bottles, from Featherstone (all available NOW at LCBO and winery) --
1.Featherstone Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2021 VQA Niagara Peninsula $17.95 +89011 Vintages April 30 and and again on October 8: 20% of this wine went into neutral Canadian oak barrel fermentation, leaving 80% for stainless steel. That contributed to the softness and to the muted tones of grassiness. Tropical flowers are accented rather than tropical fruit, and this too adds to its dryness culminating with ending citrus notes for a long finish. It's a great wine for savvy lovers who go for complexity rather than just herbs. At the same time, this allows for more food choices. Only 542 cases. 4g/L residual sugar, 12% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
2.Featherstone Estate Winery Black Sheep Riesling 2020 VQA Niagara Peninsula $18.95 +80234 Vintages Essential: more in the Mosel mode than Rhine wine, this delicious sipper is loaded with a nose of citrus highlights (lemon, plentiful lime, grapefruit) evolving to Ontario orchard fruit on the mid-palate with some minerality and a long lean-ish finish which also makes it nifty food wine for many Asiatic dishes. Medium body, off-dry. Suitable for aging, to get that "petrol" character. 2573 cases made. 10.5% ABV. RS 20.7g/L. Quality/Price rating is 91 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
3.Featherstone Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2021 VQA Niagara Peninsula $17.95 +89011 Vintages April 30 and and again on October 8: 20% of this wine went into neutral Canadian oak barrel fermentation, leaving 80% for stainless steel. That contributed to the softness and to the muted tones of grassiness. Tropical flowers are accented rather than tropical fruit, and this too adds to its dryness culminating with ending citrus notes for a long finish. It's a great wine for savvy lovers who go for complexity rather than just herbs. At the same time, this allows for more food choices. Only 542 cases. 4g/L residual sugar, 12% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
4.Featherstone Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2020 VQA Niagara Peninsula $19.95 +64618
Vintages Essential: a blend of 95% cabernet franc and 5% merlot. All US oak was used – 25% new, balance into 1 to 4 year old barrels. Full malolactic fermentation. Medium-bodied with an assortment of tastes of cherry-berries and plums, leafy qualities. Black pepper. Long, long finish showing tart-ish food-loving acid balances. Vegan. Should go well with BBQ veggies. Keep for another few years (I tasted one bottle over a week). 2106 cases. 2.59g/L residual sugar. 12.5% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
5.Featherstone Estate Winery Red Tail Merlot 2020 VQA Niagara Peninsula $19.95 +131540 Vintages April 30 and again on Nov 5: Merlot is still recovering from its dissing by Pinot Noir in the movie "Sideways". But a lot of wineries are still making it. David Johnson the winemaker has here produced a delightfully fruity but dryish (RS 2g/L) drop that is also affordable. Aged 10 months in French oak, 100% malolactic fermentation. Expect black fruit cherry-berry complexity, headed by cassis. Both a patio sipper and a food wine, and ready now for current drinking and accompanying any kind of comfort food. 12.5% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.
** Some Recommended Wines from the LCBO's Limited Time Offers selections...these are good value...on sale through Sunday May 22 --
[red]CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES GAMAY NOIR VQA LCBO +57349 WAS: $ 15.95 |
NOW: $14.45 SAVE: $ 1.50.
[rose]CAVE SPRING DRY ROSÉ VQA LCBO +295006 WAS: $ 15.95 | NOW: $ 13.95 | SAVE: $ 2.00
[white] PENINSULA RIDGE INOX CHARDONNAY VQA LCBO +594200 | WAS: $ 15.95 |
NOW: $ 13.95 | SAVE: $ 2.00
From the Vintages Catalogue --
Rose+559088 Malivoire Ladybug Rose $15.95, normally $17.95, save $2.
Fizz+213983 Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling $29.95, normally $32.95, save $3.
FizzyRose+48793 Louis Bouillot Perle d'Aurore Brut Rosé Crémant de Bourgogne $20.95, normally $22.95, save $2.
MAJOR THEME: CLASSIC EUROPEAN REGIONS
Wines Under $20
=========
W+89011 FEATHERSTONE SAUVIGNON BLANC VQA Niagara Peninsula 2021 $17.95 MVC/QPR: 92.
R+131540 FEATHERSTONE RED TAIL MERLOT VQA Niagara Peninsula 2019 $19.95
MVC/QPR: 92.
R+64618 FEATHERSTONE CABERNET FRANC Vegan, VQA Niagara Peninsula 2020 $19.95 MVC/QPR: 92.
R+14667 CHÂTEAU HYOT RÉSERVE AC Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2018 $17.95
MVC/QPR: 89.
R+24210 PELLEGRINO CASALLAIA IGT Toscana 2018 $17.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
R+548867 CASA SANTOS LIMA COLOSSAL RESERVA Vinho Regional Lisboa 2018 $16.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
Wines Over $20
=========
W+49302 FEATHERSTONE CANADIAN OAK CHARDONNAY VQA Niagara Peninsula 2019 $24.95 MVC/QPR: 92.
W+184549 LE CLOS JORDANNE LE GRAND CLOS CHARDONNAY VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Escarpment 2019 $44.95 MVC/QPR: 90.
R+573451 CAPRAIA EFFE 55 GRAN SELEZIONE CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG 2016 $43.95
MVC/QPR: 89.
R+165662 MONTE DEL FRÀ LENA DI MEZZO VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO CLASSICO SUPERIORE DOC 2018 Veneto $24.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
Fizz+460832 WOLFBERGER BRUT CRÉMANT D'ALSACE Traditional method, AC, Alsace, $20.95 MVC/QPR: 89.
Dean Tudor, Prof Emeritus Toronto Metropolitan University School of Journalism
http://gothicepicures.blogspot.com
