July 8, 2023 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Online & Flagship Exclusives

Here's my top wine picks from the July 8, 2023 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection, which is this month's Online & Flagship Exclusives release. These wines are available exclusively on LCBO.com and the 10 Flagship stores in Ontario, and are ready to be purchased now.

With more than half of the forty-six wines in this release comprised of white wines and most of my recommendation being this colour, we'll begin with my top white wine recommendations. There is only one blend among my white wine picks - a Bordeaux Blanc that is composed of 73% Sauvignon Blanc and 27% Semillon. Single varietal wines include a trio of fine Chardonnays - one each from Burgundy (Chablis), Oregon, and South Africa, as well as an Arneis from Piedmont, a Pecorino from Abruzzo, and an Assyrtiko from Greece. For Riesling wine lovers, the wines from New York and Rheingau are both dry in style, while the Riesling from Niagara is crafted in an off-dry (i.e. slightly sweet) style.

Among my top red wine picks, the only blend is from Languedoc and it is composed of Syrah and Carignan. Also among my picks are a pair of wines made with relatively unknown varietals - the País grape is a varietal that has played a prominent role in the Chilean wine industry up until the 21st century, while the Refosco comes from a very old family of dark-skinned grapes native to Veneto and surrounding regions, with some of the best examples coming from Colli Orientali in nearby Friuli. The last two red wines are both fantastic and made with Pinot Noir - one is from New Zealand, while the other is from Oregon.

Enjoy my top wine recommendations from this release! Cheers!

Red Wine:

• GÉRARD BERTRAND AN 873 SYRAH/CARIGNAN 2019 - AP Minervois, Languedoc, France (#952804) (XD) - $19.95
• COPA PAÍS 2019 - DO Valle de Itata, Chile (#31000) (XD) - $29.95
• LE VIGNE DI ZAMÓ IL REFOSCO 2018 - DOC Collio Orientali del Friuli, Italy (#105882) (XD) - $32.95  90+ pts  wine review
• GREYSTONE PINOT NOIR 2018 - Waipara Valley, North Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand (#30151) (XD) - $33.95  93 pts  wine review
• REX HILL PINOT NOIR 2019 - Sustainable, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA (#275735) (XD) - $45.95  91 pts  wine review

White Wine:

• PAOLO CONTERNO A VAL ARNEIS 2021 - DOC Langhe, Piedmont, Italy (#30273) (XD) - $24.95
• UMANI RONCHI CENTOVIE PECORINO 2020 - IGT Colli Aprutini, Abruzzo, Italy (#11108) (XD) - $29.95  92 pts  wine review
• CAPE OF GOOD HOPE SERRURIA CHARDONNAY 2019 - WO Elandskloof, South Africa (#667196) (XD) - $30.95
• FORGE CLASSIQUE DRY RIESLING 2020 - Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York, USA (#32734) (XD) - $34.95  90 pts  wine review
• REX HILL SEVEN SOILS CHARDONNAY 2019 - Sustainable, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA (#458158) (XD) - $39.95  92 pts  wine review
• LANTIDES ABYSS ASSYRTIKO 2020 - PGI Peloponnese, Greece (#33161) (XD) - $39.95
• CHÂTEAU GRAND VILLAGE BLANC 2021 - AC Bordeaux, France (#25084) (XD) - $42.95
• DOMDECHANT WERNER HOCHHEIMER KIRCHENSTÜCK TROCKEN RIESLING 2019 - VDP Erste Lage, Rheingau, Germany (#32155) (XD) - $43.95
• CHARLES BAKER PICONE VINEYARD RIESLING 2020 - Sustainable, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#241182) (D) - $44.95  92 pts  wine review
• DOMAINE YVON & LAURENT VOCORET FOURCHAUME CHABLIS 1ER CRU 2021 - AC, Burgundy, France (#22776) (XD) - $52.95  93 pts  wine review