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Friday, October 17, 2025

October 11, 2025 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Italy

LCBO Wine Picks: October 11, 2025 VINTAGES New Release Collection

Here are my top wine picks from the October 11, 2025 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection (digital edition here), with "Inimitable Italy" the feature story of the release, while Chile gets the mini-spotlight. Also included in this release is a large selection of Online & Flagship Exclusive (OFE) wines. As we get closer to the holiday and gift-giving season, the releases tend to get larger and more expensive, and this release is no exception, with 137 products offered and the average price per bottle coming in at just under $33. Overall, this is a very good release with many fine wines at various price points, and all the wines should be readily available for purchase.

We'll begin with the feature story that focuses on wines from Italy, and of the twenty wines featured in the theme, five are included among my top wine recommendations. Starting in Tuscany and at the top of the list is the Cepparello Super Tuscan that is crafted with 100% Sangiovese, followed by the Chianti Classico that is also Sangiovese. The last wine from Tuscany is a Bolgheri crafted with 44% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Petit Verdot. From Campania, there is a fine Falanghina, and the last wine is a Prosecco made with Glera.

Carpenè Malvolti 1868 Brut Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore (90 pts)

Il Poggio Falanghina del Sannio 2023 (90 pts)

Staying in Italy for red wine picks from the main release, there is the Brunello di Montalcino that is made with 100% Sangiovese, as well as the wine from Sicily that is a blend of 80% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot. From Portugal, the Douro red is a blend of 55% Touriga Nacional, 40% Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), and 5% Sezão, while the Alentejo red is composed of 42.5% Alicante Bouschet, 27.5% Alfrocheiro, 15% Syrah, and 15% Touriga Nacional. The only other blend is from Bordeaux, and it is composed of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot. My remaining red wine picks are single varietal wines, including the Rioja that is Tempranillo, and the wine from Bulgaria that is crafted with Gamza (aka Kadarka).

Most of my top white wine recommendations in this release are mono-varietal wines, with the only blends being the McLaren Vale white that is composed of 55% Viognier and 45% Marsanne, and the Marsanne from Niagara that actually includes 2.4% Viognier and 2.4% Pinot Gris. Chardonnay wine lovers will find joy in this release with a quartet of wines — two from South Africa, and singletons from Margaret River (Australia) and Niagara. There's also a fine Melon de Bourgogne from the Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine appellation. And lastly, for Riesling fans, there is the dry Riesling by Cave Spring, and a medium-sweet Riesling by Tawse.

Cave Spring Csv Cave Spring Vineyard Estate Grown Riesling 2022 (91+ pts)

Fleuron de La Rebourgère Sur Lie Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine 2023

Featherstone Canadian Oak Chardonnay 2023

Among my rosé wine picks, the Tavel is a blend of 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Clairette, 10% Mourvèdre, 5% Cinsault, and 5% Bourboulenc, while the slightly off-dry rose from Niagara is a blend of 46.7% Gamay, 42.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 11.1% Cabernet Franc.

Château d'Aqueria Tavel Rosé 2024 (91+ pts)

Enjoy my top wine recommendations from this release! Cin cin!

Red Wine:

LOVICO GAMZA 2021 - AOC Suhindol, Bulgaria (#10877) (XD) - $17.95
JOURNEY'S END THE BLUEGUM MERLOT 2021 - WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#45381) (XD) - $18.95
HUGH HAMILTON JIM JIM CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2022 - Vegan, McLaren Vale, South Australia (#45334) (XD) - $19.95 89 pts wine review
FAMILLE LAFAGE CUVÉE NICOLAS VIEILLES VIGNES GRENACHE NOIR 2022 - IGP Côtes Catalanes, Roussillon, France (#354191) (XD) - $19.95
BEST'S BIN NO. 1 GREAT WESTERN SHIRAZ 2022 - Victoria, Australia (#222323) (XD) - $19.95

LORNANO CHIANTI CLASSICO 2020 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#211599) (XD) - $22.95 90+ pts wine review
CHÂTEAU TOUR DU HAUT-MOULIN 2015 - AOC Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France (#26295) (XD) - $27.95 review coming soon...
HIDDEN BENCH GAMAY 2023 - Sustainable, Unfiltered, VQA West Niagara, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#20422) (XD) - $29.95 90+ pts wine review
QUINTA DA FONTE SOUTO RED 2019 - DOC Alentejo - Portalegre, Portugal (#45163) (XD) - $29.95 OFE 91 pts wine review
OLABARRI GRAN RESERVA 2015 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#329102) (XD) - $29.95 91 pts wine review

SOLICCHIATA SECONDO DI CASTELLO 2012 - IGP Sicily, Italy (#46776) (XD) - $34.95 OFE review coming soon...
QUADRUS RESERVA 2017 - DOC Douro, Portugal (#534271) (XD) - $35.95
LEEU PASSANT CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2022 - WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#24601) (XD) - $49.95 OFE
LE SERRE NUOVE DELL'ORNELLAIA 2023 - Second Wine of Ornellaia, DOC Bolgheri Rosso, Tuscany, Italy (#606194) (XD) - $84.95
CASANOVA DI NERI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2020 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#85498) (XD) - $99.95 OFE
ISOLE E OLENA CEPPARELLO 2021 - IGT Toscana, Italy (#28768) (XD) - $198.95 96 pts wine review

Hugh Hamilton Jim Jim Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (89 pts)

White Wine:

FLEURON DE LA REBOURGÈRE SUR LIE MUSCADET SÈVRE-ET-MAINE 2023 - AOC, Loire, France (#557207) (XD) - $16.95 review coming soon...
D'ARENBERG THE HERMIT CRAB VIOGNIER/ MARSANNE 2024 - McLaren Vale, South Australia (#662775) (XD) - $17.95
ZUCCARDI SERIE A TORRONTÉS 2024 - Sustainable, Salta, Argentina (#389262) (XD) - $17.95
MILES FROM NOWHERE MARGARET RIVER SAUVIGNON BLANC 2023 - Western Australia (#41794) (XD) - $18.95 review coming soon...
IL POGGIO FALANGHINA DEL SANNIO 2023 - DOP, Campania, Italy (#17695) (XD) - $18.95 90 pts wine review
BLAAUWKLIPPEN CHARDONNAY 2023 - WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#45188) (XD) - $19.95

TAWSE LIMESTONE RIDGE-NORTH RIESLING 2021 - VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#431593) (M) - $21.95
KEW MARSANNE 2020 - VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#485334) (XD) - $21.95 91+ pts wine review
VASSE FELIX FILIUS CHARDONNAY 2023 - Margaret River, Western Australia (#416511) (XD) - $23.95 OFE
FEATHERSTONE CANADIAN OAK CHARDONNAY 2023 - Sustainable, Vegan, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#149302) (XD) - $24.95 review coming soon...
CAVE SPRING CSV CAVE SPRING VINEYARD ESTATE GROWN RIESLING 2022 - VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#566026) (XD) - $34.95 91+ pts wine review
HAMILTON RUSSELL CHARDONNAY 2024 - Vegan, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, South Africa (#931006) (XD) - $65.95

Miles From Nowhere Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Rosé Wine:

FEATHERSTONE ROSÉ 2024 - Sustainable, Vegan, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#117861) (D) - $16.95 88+ pts wine review
CHÂTEAU D'AQUERIA TAVEL ROSÉ 2024 - AOP, Cru des Côtes du Rhône, France (#319368) (XD) - $26.95 91+ pts wine review

Sparkling Wine:

CARPENÈ MALVOLTI 1868 BRUT CONEGLIANO VALDOBBIADENE PROSECCO SUPERIORE - DOCG, Veneto, Italy (#727438) (D) - $19.95 90 pts wine review
KEN FORRESTER SPARKLEHORSE CAP CLASSIQUE BRUT SPARKLING CHENIN BLANC 2022 - Traditional Method, WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#32030) (D) - $29.95 review coming soon...

Ken Forrester Sparklehorse Cap Classique Brut Sparkling Chenin Blanc 2022

September 27, 2025 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Mature Wines

LCBO Wine Picks: September 27, 2025 VINTAGES New Release Collection

Here's my top wine picks from the September 27, 2025 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection (digital edition here), where the feature story of the release focuses on Mature Wines, while the mini-spotlight looks at Kosher Wines. This is a good-sized release with nearly 100 products offered, and all the wines should be readily available for purchase across Ontario.

We'll begin with the feature story about Mature Wines, and of the thirteen wines included as part of the thematic, three are included among my top wine recommendations. Since a few of the bottles in this thematic are back vintage wines, some have surely shown up in VINTAGES in prior years, so, you may even have a bottle or two on-hand and could compare with a "fresh" bottle off the shelf that was aged at the winery. From the thematic, there are a couple of finely aged white wines from Niagara — a 2016 Riesling, and the 2007 Stratus White, which is composed of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Sémillon, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling. My lone red wine pick from the theme is a 2016 Super Tuscan that is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 30% Petit Verdot.

Flat Rock Nadja's Vineyard Riesling 2016 (92 pts)

Red wine picks from the main release begin in Spain with a 2013 Rioja that is a blend of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho, and the rest is Graciano and Mazuelo, followed by a 2020 Cariñena that is composed of Garnacha, Tempranillo, Cariñena, and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are also three wines from Tuscany, all blends — the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a blend of 90% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet, the 2020 Super Tuscan is primarily Sangiovese with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, and the Chianti Classico is a crafted with 95% Sangiovese and 5% Merlot. For blends of Bordeaux varieties, there is the wine from South Africa that is composed of 44% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot, as well as the Meritage from Niagara that is a blend of 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Other blends include a GSM from Australia that is crafted with 48% Grenache, 31% Shiraz, and 21% Mataro, while the red from Portugal that is a blend of 50% Castelão, 20% Camarate, and 15% Tinta Miuda.

Castelli del Grevepesa Castelgreve Chianti Classico 2021 (90 pts)

Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Meritage 2022 (91 pts)

Quinta das Setencostas Alenquer Red 2020 (89 pts)

Monasterio de las Viñas Reserva Garnacha / Tempranillo / Cariñena / Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 (89 pts)

There are two white wine blends of note. The first is the Rhône white that is composed of 30% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 18% Viognier, 17% Marsanne, 5% Bourboulenc, and 5% Clairette, while the white from Hungary is a 60/40 blend of Királyleányka and Pinot Gris. The other white wines are mono-varietals, including a top-notch Vernaccia from Tuscany, and a medium-sweet Riesling from Niagara.

Panizzi Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2023 (91+ pts)

Gabriel Meffre Laurus Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2023 (89 pts)

My lone rosé wine pick in this release is a dry rosé from Bordeaux that is a blend of traditional local varieties, with Merlot supported by Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Among the bubbly's, the Champagne is a blend of 55% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, and 15% Meunier, while the Crémant de Loire is composed of 70% Chenin, 15% Chardonnay, and 15% Cabernet Franc.

Ackerman Bulle Royale Crémant de Loire Brut Sparkling

Enjoy my top wine recommendations from this release! Cheers!