July 7 Wine Picks: France + South Africa + Cool-Climate Chardonnay

The next LCBO VINTAGES wine release is on Saturday, July 7 and the main theme of this release coincides with the 99th annual Tour de France bike race that began on June 30th and runs to July 22nd. In the magazine, you will find the bike route runs through (or nearby) various French wine regions. This wine release offers up a few wines from some of these regions.

For my wine picks, I chose to stop in Alsace for a lovely Gewürztraminer, followed by a stop in Savoie for an off-dry white made with the Altesse varietal (also commonly known as Roussette). From here, I head to Southern Rhône for a GSM-blend Gigondas (Grenache 60%, Mourvedre 25%, Syrah 15%) and remain in Southern Rhône for an off-dry rosé made with Syrah. I finish our Tour of France in Languedoc for a lovely Syrah (#277046) which isn't part of the theme in this release, but was part of the May 26th release and wasn't available. Good to see that it will be available this time!

The secondary theme of this release is on wines from South Africa, with two white wines standing out. The off-dry Chenin Blanc offers great value, while the dry Waterkloof Circle of Life is blended with 60% Sauvignon Blanc, with Chenin Blanc and Semillion making up the other 40%.

With the International Cool-Climate Chardonnay Celebration approaching later this month, VINTAGES has also chosen to feature some of these delicious Chardonnay expressions from 7 regions around the globe. My pick among these is the Rosehall Run Chard from Prince Edward County, right here in Ontario.

Enjoy my picks for this week! Cheers!


Red Wine:

• SANTA RITA MEDALLA REAL GRAN RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008 - Maipo Valley, Chile (#275594) (D) - $17.95
• MAS D'AUZIÈRES SYMPATHIE POUR LES STONES 2009 - AC Côteaux du Languedoc, Midi, France (#277046) (XD) - $19.95
• E. GUIGAL GIGONDAS 2009 - AC, Rhône, France (#331900) (D) - $29.95
• FONTERUTOLI CHIANTI CLASSICO 2009 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#977629) (XD) - $25.95
• TERRESACRE NERAVITE MOLISE ROSSO 2009 - DOC, Molise, Italy (#280834) (XD) - $15.95
• GROVE STREET PINOT NOIR 2010 - Sonoma County, California, USA (#231613) (D) - $19.95

White Wine:

• PFAFFENHEIM CUVÉE BACCHUS GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2010 - AC Alsace, France (#996017) (M) - $19.95
• VINUM AFRICA CHENIN BLANC 2010 - WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#739995) (D) - $14.95
• BASTIANICH ADRIATICO FRIULANO 2010 - DOC Colli Orientali del Friuli, Italy (#277467) (XD) - $18.95
• DOMAINE EDMOND JACQUIN ALTESSE ROUSSETTE DE SAVOIE 2010 - AC, Savoie, France (#277335) (D) - $17.95
• ROSEHALL RUN CUVÉE COUNTY CHARDONNAY 2009 - VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada (#132928) (XD) - $21.95
• WATERKLOOF CIRCLE OF LIFE WHITE 2010 - WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#284588) (XD) - $26.95

Rosé Wine:

• CHÂTEAU VAL JOANIS TRADITION SYRAH ROSÉ 2011 - AC Luberon, Rhône, France (#707281) (D) - $14.95

The rest of the wines from this VINTAGES release can be found here.