November 14 LCBO VINTAGES Release: Top Wines for the Holidays

The November 14 VINTAGES Release will be on LCBO shelves this coming Saturday. This is a thick release that is using a more expensive perfect bound to keep the magazine together. It features a star studded lineup of wines for the holidays as it's main theme, while the secondary theme highlights crowd pleasing wines that are available in large format magnum (1500 mL) bottles.

Thirty-two wines are featured as part of the star studded lineup, and eight are included among my wine picks. Red wines among my wine recommendations include the Versado Malbec, the organic Emiliana Coyam (38% Syrah, 31% Carmenère, 19% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Mourvedre, and 1% Malbec), and The Dead Arm Shiraz.

In white wines, there are a pair of cool-climate Chardonnays - the Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Bachelder Chardonnay from Niagara.

A trio of fortified wines are also available in this release, including a 2003 LBV Aged Port and a Vintage Port from the great 2011 vintage. There is also a very sweet Sherry that is made using the Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez grapes.

If you're looking to stock up on Amarone, this would be a great release to pick up a few bottles. The first wine recommendation is a single vineyard Amarone from Speri. Meanwhile, the big house of Masi has a 750 mL bottle of Campolongo di Torbe Amarone that also comes from a single vineyard that has been producing grapes since the 12th Century. There is also 1500 mL magnum bottling of the Masi Costasera Amarone. The primary grapes in all of these very special wines is a blend of Corvina and Rondinella.

Of the 10 magnum bottles featured in the mini-thematic, 2 are recommended buys. The Masi Amarone mentioned above is definitely a special buy, while at the lower end of the price spectrum is the Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon.

From the rest of the release, the Glenelly Red is 42% Shiraz, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, while the gorgeous PoggioVerrano Dròmos is an unspecified blend consisting of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Alicante, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. And last - but definitely not the least - is the second wine of Ornellaia that consists of 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 12% Petit Verdot.

Enjoy my wine recommendations for this week. Cheers!

Red Wine:

• BOUTARI GRANDE RESERVE XINOMAVRO 2008 - PDO Naoussa, Greece (#140111) (D) - $18.95
• CANTINA DEL TABURNO FIDELIS SANNIO AGLIANICO 2011 - DOP, Campania, Italy (#651299) (XD) - $19.95
• MICHELE CASTELLANI I CASTEI COSTAMARAN RIPASSO VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE 2012 - DOC, Veneto, Italy (#972406) (D) - $19.95
• GIACOMO MORI CHIANTI 2012 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#68858) (D) - $19.95  reviewed here
• GRAND VIN DE GLENELLY RED 2009 - WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#360339) (D) - $19.95  91 pts  wine review

• EMILIANA COYAM 2011 - Colchagua Valley, Chile (#063891) (XD) - $29.95  reviewed here
• MARCHESE ANTINORI CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA 2012 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#512384) (D) - $32.95
• SANTA CAROLINA RESERVA DE FAMILIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008 - Maipo Valley, Chile (#430728) (XD) (1500 mL) - $37.95
• POGGIOVERRANO DRÒMOS 2005 - IGT Maremma Toscana, Italy (#107383) (XD) - $39.95  reviewed here
• RUFFINO GREPPONE MAZZI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2008 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#926402) (XD) - $49.95  FSE
• D’ARENBERG THE DEAD ARM SHIRAZ 2010 - McLaren Vale, South Australia (#430512) (XD) - $54.95  reviewed here
• LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA 2013 - DOC Bolgheri Rosso, Tuscany, Italy (#606194) (XD) - $59.95  reviewed here
• VERSADO RESERVA ANCIENT MALBEC 2011 - Mendoza, Argentina (#316984) (D) - $59.95

• SPERI VIGNETO MONTE SANT’URBANO AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2010 - DOCG, Veneto, Italy (#205294) (D) - $74.95
• MASI CAMPOLONGO DI TORBE AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2009 - DOCG, Veneto, Italy (#548677) (D) - $101.95  reviewed here
• MASI RISERVA COSTASERA AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO RISERVA 2009 - DOC, Veneto, Italy (#348037) (D) (1500 mL) - $149.95  reviewed here

White Wine:

• QUERCUS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2014 - Goriška Brda, Slovenia (#429936) (XD) - $14.95
• TERREDORA FALANGHINA 2014 - IGT Campania, Italy (#642074) (XD) - $16.95
• CASA SILVA COOL COAST SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013 - Colchagua Valley, Chile (#419812) (XD) - $16.95
• FRITZ WILLI RIESLING 2013 - Mosel, Germany (#436873) (M) - $18.00
• J. FRITSCH RIESLING 2014 - AC Alsace, France (#430520) (XD) - $19.95
• CLOSSON CHASE CLOSSON CHASE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2013 - VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada (#148866) (D) - $27.95  reviewed here
• JERMANN PINOT GRIGIO 2014 - IGT Venezia Giulia, Friuli, Italy (#117093) (XD) - $32.95
• ZILLIKEN SAARBURGER RAUSCH RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2009 - Prädikatswein, Mosel, Germany (#949966) (S) - $43.00  FSE
• BACHELDER SAUNDERS VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2012 - VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#324103) (D) - $44.95
• DOMAINE BILLAUD-SIMON MONT DE MILIEU CHABLIS 1 ER CRU 2010 - AC, Burgundy, France (#373548) (XD) - $44.95  FSE
• FLOWERS SONOMA COAST CHARDONNAY 2013 - Sonoma Coast, California, USA (#215210) (XD) - $64.95

Fortifieds:

• WARRE’S LBV BOTTLE AGED PORT 2003 - Unfiltered, DOP, Portugal (#434936) (S) - $34.95
• SANDEMAN VINTAGE PORT 2011 - DOP, Portugal (#362491) (MS) - $70.00

Sherry:

• LUSTAU EAST INDIA SOLERA SHERRY - DO, Spain (#342931) (S) (500 mL) - $24.95