Category Archives: Highly Recommended

JULES TAYLOR CHARDONNAY 2018, Marlborough, New Zealand

21 Saturday Nov 2020

Posted by in Best Buys, Highly Recommended, White Wines

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Cost: $19.95
Grape: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: New Zealand
Region: Marlborough
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Jules Taylor Winery
Alcohol:  13.0% Alcohol/Vol.

A delightful complex & spicy Chard at a great price. Score: 90/100

Tasting Note: Light gold in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose & a long length on the finish. Wine features lemon, green & yellow apples, pear, peach, clementine, cloves, ginger, dill, oak spice & limestone.   

Negatives: None

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5-7 years & pair it with creamy risotto with roasted chicken thighs topped with fresh spring onion.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Best Buy

Tasted: November 21, 2020

LCBO: 14566

ROMBAUER CHARDONNAY 2018, Carneros, California, United States of America

17 Tuesday Nov 2020

Posted by in Highly Recommended, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding, White Wines

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Cost: $63.95
Grape: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: United States of America
Region: Carneros, California
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Rombauer Vineyards
Alcohol:  14.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Is this an expensive Chard? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes. Has Rombauer Chard been my favourite Chard bar none for the past 2 decades? Yes. Why? Rombauer makes what I love in a Chard, which it needs to be balanced between the oak, the fruit, the spiciness, the acidity & the mouth feel, as well as being complex. Score: 96/100

Tasting Note: Bright gold in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a long length on the finish. Wine features lemon, Fuji apple, peach, Edward mango, pineapple, papaya, ginger, dill, light oak spice, salted butter, vanilla, limestone & Easter Lily on the nose.  

Negatives: None

Interesting Note: So why not give this vintage a 99 or 100/100? Although I really love this vintages, I have tasted vintages from Rombauer that were even better.

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 7-10 years & pair it with lobster & drawn butter.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Top Pick

Tasted: November 17, 2020

LCBO: 441089

ROTARI BRUT ROSÉ SPARKLING WINE 2014, DOC Trento, Italy

15 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by in Best Buys, Highly Recommended, Sparkling Wine, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding

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Cost: $19.95
Grape: Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
Category: Sparkling Wine
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: Italy
Region: Trento
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Rotari
Alcohol:  12.5% Alcohol/Vol.

A fine and elegant vintage rosé sparkling wine at a great price. Score: 92/100

Tasting Note: Light copper in colour with good acidity, fine perlage (mousse in Italian), a medium intense nose, & a long length on the finish. Wine features light yeast & toast, strawberry, raspberry, pear, peach, cherry & limestone.  

Negatives: None

Interesting Point: “All the grapes are hand selected and picked from our wine growers and then brought into the cellar quickly to be processed and made into wine. To respect the rich aroma of red fruit of the Pinot noir and Chardonnay the wine is vinified only in steel with selected yeasts and without any aging in oak wood. The wines are aged in steel until February, then processed according to the champagne method with a maturation on the lees in bottle for at least 24 months. Only the Chardonnay basic wines are subjected to malolactic fermentation in order to smooth down the acidity of the Pinot noir and increase the roundness.” (Rotari Winery notes)

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3-5 years & pair it with pasta with olive oil paté, tomatoes & pecorino cheese.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Best Buy & Top Pick

Tasted: November 15, 2020

LCBO: 16601

TARLANT BRUT RESERVE CHAMPAGNE NV, France

08 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by in Champagne, Highly Recommended, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding

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Cost: $47.70
Grape: 1/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Meunier
Category: Champagne
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: France
Region: Oeuilly, Champagne
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Tarlant
Alcohol:  12.0% Alcohol/Vol.

In honour of Joe Biden’s victory & the next President of the United States of America, I present to you this very dry, crisp & elegant Champagne. Score: 92/100

Tasting Note: Gold in colour with good acidity, a low intense nose & a long length on the finish. Wine features toasted bread, brioche, sourdough, lemon, tangerine, baked apple, Anjou pear, hazelnut, ginger & Champagne mushrooms.     

Negatives: None

Interesting Point:

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 10+ years on its own or pair it with Shiny Sea oysters.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Top Pick

Tasted: November 8, 2020

LCBO: 325167

MANOIR DU CARRA BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES 2017, AOC Beaujolais, France

03 Tuesday Nov 2020

Posted by in Best Buys, Highly Recommended, Red Wines, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding

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Cost: $15.95
Grape: Gamay
Category: Red Wine
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: France
Region: Beaujolais
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Manoir du Carra
Alcohol:  13.0% Alcohol/Vol.

This maybe the best Beaujolais Villages I’ve tried. Full of flavour which taste more like a Cru rather than a Village. Score: 95/100

Tasting Note: Light to medium ruby in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose, soft tannin & a long length on the finish. Wine features Bing cherry, strawberry, pomegranate, raspberry, mulberry, cassis, cloves, leather & peat moss.  

Negatives: None

Interesting Point: Many thanks to Jean-Pierre Colas from 13th Street who 1st served this wine to me, and who happens to have taught the winemaker at Manoir du Carra. This wine is also unfiltered. Use a balloon style glass & chill the wine to about 15C.

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 3-5 of years on its own or pair it with Broiled Pork Loin with Pomegranate Clove Sauce.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Best Buy & Top Pick

Tasted: November 3, 2020

LCBO: 14735

KACABA FUMÉ BLANC 2016, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada

27 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by in Canadian Wines, Highly Recommended, Kacaba Vineyards & Winery, Non LCBO Wine, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding, White Wines, Winery Review Series

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Cost: $30.15
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
Category: White Wine
Location: Winery
Country: Canada
Region: Niagara Peninsula
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Kacaba Vineyards
Alcohol:  11.5% Alcohol/Vol.

There’s quality in this Fumé that has a nice crispness at the beginning & ending with a roundness. Score: 91/100

Tasting Note: Light gold in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a good length on the finish. Wine features lime, kiwi, gooseberry, green apple, shale rock & flint.   

Negatives: None

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5-7 of years on its own or pair it with ceviche.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Top Pick

Tasted: October 26, 2020

CHATEAU LA GRAVIÈRE, CUVÉE LES TERRASSES 2016, AOC Côtes De Bourg, Bordeaux, France

16 Friday Oct 2020

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Cost: $16.95
Grape: 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon
Category: Red Wine
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: France
Region: Côtes de Bourg, Bordeaux
Format: 750 mL
Producer: GFA Rodet Recapet
Alcohol:  14.0% Alcohol/Vol.

An excellent wine that you would easily pay twice the price. A nice, juicy Merlot based wine that is drinking well now and will also age nicely. Score: 92/100

Tasting Note: Dark to opaque ruby in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a long length on the finish. Wine features dark cherry, plum, blackcurrants, blackberries, turmeric, pencil shavings, leather & fresh cut carnations on the nose.  

Negatives: None

Interesting Point: This AOC is one of the oldest wine producing regions in France, in large part due to its highly trafficked location off the river and vine friendly soil. Historians date Côtes de Bourg”s viticulture back to the Second Century where Romans planted “Vitis Biturica”, an ancestor of Cabernet.

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5-7 of years on its own or pair it with .

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Best Buy & Top Pick

Tasted: October 15, 2020

LCBO: 14454

QUEENSTON MILE VINEYARD BARREL FERMENTED CHARDONNAY 2017, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara Region, Ontario

07 Wednesday Oct 2020

Posted by in Canadian Wines, Highly Recommended, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding, White Wines

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Cost: $35.00 (Clearance Price: 24.55)
Grape: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: Canada
Region: St. David’s Bench, Niagara Region, Ontario
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Queenston Mile Vineyard
Alcohol:  12.8% Alcohol/Vol.

Ontario winemakers are making top quality Chards that are not high in alcohol, so why go elsewhere? This is beautiful & bold, while still being in balance. Score: 93/100

Tasting Note: Bright yellow gold in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose & a long length on the finish. Wine features lemon, green & yellow apples, pear, peach, mango, pineapple, butterscotch, dill, oak spice, vanilla & some wet stone on the finish.  

Negatives: None

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5-7 of years on its own or pair it with

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Top Pick & Best Buy at Clearance Price

Tasted: October 6, 2020

LCBO: 10137

MARQUÉS DE CÁCERES EXCELLENS CUVÉE ESPECIAL 2016, DOC Rioja, Spain

04 Sunday Oct 2020

Posted by in Best Buys, Highly Recommended, Red Wines, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding

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Cost: $17.95
Grape: Tempranillo
Category: Red Wine
Location: LCBO Vintages
Country: Spain
Region: Rioja
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Marqués de Cáceres
Alcohol:  14.0% Alcohol/Vol.

This is a gem of a find for those who love their aged Tempranillos. The label is true to form as this wine is “excellens” Score: 92/100

Tasting Note: Deep dark blood ruby in colour with good acidity, a medium intense nose, firm tannin & a good long length on the finish. Wine features dark cherry, raspberry, tamarind, graphite, clove, black tea, espresso & sandalwood.  

Negatives: None

Interesting Point: Wine Spectator also rated this at 92.

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 7-10 of years on its own or pair it with rack of lamb.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Best Buy & Top Pick

Tasted: October 3, 2020

LCBO: 10684

GREENLANE ESTATE WINERY CHARDONNAY 2017, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara, Ontario, Canada

30 Wednesday Sep 2020

Posted by in Canadian Wines, Highly Recommended, Non LCBO Wine, Top Picks, Price Not Withstanding, White Wines

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Cost: $27.95
Grape: Chardonnay
Category: White Wine
Location: Winery
Country: Canada
Region: Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara, Ontario
Format: 750 mL
Producer: Greenlane Estate Winery
Alcohol:  14.5% Alcohol/Vol.

If the winemaker, Dianne Smith, wanted to make a quality, complex, balanced, full body buttery Chard in the style of California’s, at a reasonable price, well she has succeeded. Score: 92/100

Tasting Note: Bright gold in colour with good acidity, a medium+ intense nose & a fairly long length on the finish. Wine features lemon, green apples, pear, peach, pineapple, mango, dill, ginger, oak spice, limestone & vanilla custard.

Negatives: Some heat from the high alcohol

Interesting Point: “Hand-picked, whole bunch pressed, then fermented in 7 very different French oak barrels with 7 specially selected yeast strains, making this is our Winemaker’s ode to California. Aged in 20% new French oak barrels for 32 months, this hot climate style wine is luscious and ripe with notes of tropical fruit and custard.” Greenlane Winery

Pairings: Drink this now or in the next 5-7 of years on its own or pair it with Lobster Thermidor.

My Opinion: Highly Recommended

Top Pick

Tasted: September 30, 2020