July 28, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Online Exclusives

The July 28, 2022 LCBO VINTAGES Online Exclusives Release is the latest in a series of monthly online-only releases that are available exclusively on lcbo.com. There are forty-six wines as part of this Online Exclusives release and twelve are included among my recommendations. All of these wines should be available for purchase online via lcbo.com by Thursday.

There is no theme for these Online Exclusives Releases, so we begin with my top red wine picks from the release. The only blend among the red wines is the wine from Greece that is actually a blend of 87% Xinomavro and 13% Syrah. From Italy, there is a fine Barolo made with Nebbiolo that has some age on it, as well as a Brunello di Montalcino that is crafted with 100% Sangiovese. The last two single varietal wines are a Hawke's Bay red that is made with Syrah, while the Australian red is crafted with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Among my white wine recommendations, the only blend within the group is hails from Spain and consists of 50% Viura, 30% Malvasía, and 20% Garnacha Blanca that was fermented and aged in French oak barrels. The Pinot Grigio also spent some time in oak, while the Chinon (which is made with Chenin Blanc) was aged on its lees. The Riesling from Austria is crafted in a dry style, while the sixth wine in the group is actually an organic and biodynamic skin-fermented white wine, also known as Orange Wine, that is made with the Vidal grape variety.

For sweet wine lovers, the dessert wine from Spain is a botrytis affected blend composed of 50% Merseguera and 50% Chardonnay.

Enjoy my wine picks from this Release! Cheers!

Red Wine:

• DAMILANO LECINQUEVIGNE BAROLO 2013 - DOCG, Piedmont, Italy (#454488) (XD) - $38.95
• CRAGGY RANGE GIMBLETT GRAVELS VINEYARD SYRAH 2019 - Hawke’s Bay, North Island, Marlborough, New Zealand (#22879) (XD) - $39.95
• BLACK ANGUS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2017 - Single vineyard, Heathcote, Victoria, Australia (#23789) (XD) - $49.95
• KIR-YIANNI DIAPOROS SINGLE VINEYARD XINOMAVRO 2017 - PGI Imathia, Macedonia, Greece (#14131) (XD) - $49.95
• RIDOLFI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2016 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#644963) (XD) - $59.95

White Wine:

• COULY-DUTHEIL LES CHANTEAUX CHINON BLANC 2019 - AC, Loire, France (#532705) (D) - $26.95
• SIERRA CANTABRIA ORGANZA 2018 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#26684) (XD) - $29.95
• SOUTHBROOK VIDAL SKIN FERMENTED WHITE ORANGE WINE 2020 - Estate grown, VQA Ontario, Canada (#628065) (XD) - $29.95  90 pts  wine review
• PETER ZEMMER GIATL RISERVA PINOT GRIGIO 2018 - DOC Alto Adige, Italy (#11605) (XD) - $39.95
• DOMAINE HAMELIN VAU LIGNEAU CHABLIS 1ER CRU 2019 - AC, Burgundy, France (#21405) (XD) - $39.95  93 pts  wine review
• PICHLER-KRUTZLER RIED LOIBENBERG WACHAU RIESLING 2019 - DAC, Wachau, Austria (#25719) (XD) - $69.95

Dessert Wine:

• FINCA SAN BLAS DULCE UTIEL REQUENA 2016 - DO, Utiel-Requena, Spain (#25534) (S) (500 mL) - $57.95