May 11 LCBO Wine Picks: Australia + Rosé

The next batch of wines from LCBO Vintages release will be on shelves on Saturday, May 11, 2013. The major focus of this release is on the "great, powerful and diverse" wines from Australia. However, in my opinion, the majority of these wines are rather uninspiring. So, we'll focus on the secondary feature - Rosé wines that are food-friendly.

Rosé wines are generally blends of various varietals and range from dry to off-dry (i.e. slightly sweet). Which do you prefer? Of the 11 Rosé wines featured, 4 made my list, 3 of which are made in the dry-style.

We'll begin with the dry Muga from Spain, which is made using 60% Garnacha (Grenache), 30% Viura and 10% Tempranillo, and at $12.95, you really can't go wrong with this one.

All wines from the Tavel AOC in southern Rhône are Rosé wines. Tavel is historically famous because the French kings Philippe le Bel and Louis XIV both favoured wines from this region. Grenache and Cinsault are the primary grapes in grown in Tavel. The version from Domaine Maby is dry and made with 57% Grenache Noir and 27% Cinsaut. Seven other varietals make up the rest.

The dry Rosé from Château la Tour de l'Évêque is an organic wine and consists of 46% Cinsault, 25% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Rolle.

And finally, we have a local off-dry Rosé wine from Status Wines called "Wildass". Most Rosé wines are a blend of red grapes only, but the Wildass is a blend of 30% Semillon, 25% Gamay, 22% Syrah, 12% Malbec, and 11% Cab Franc.

Not part of the Rosé wine feature, we also have a Sparkling Rosé Crémant d'Alsace that is dry and consists of 100% Pinot Noir.

From the rest of the release, we have the PI-3.1415 that is made using the local Spanish varietal Concejón (thought to be a clone of Tempranillo) from 80-year-old vines. The Famille Perrin is a red-blend consisting of mostly Grenache, with Mourvèdre and Syrah playing a supporting role. The Château Puech-Haut is a blend of 55% Grenache Noir, 35% Syrah and 10% Carignan.

Enjoy my wine picks for this week! Let me know if you buy and try anything. I'd love to hear from you! Cheers!


Red Wine:

• BODEGAS LANGA PI-3.1415 CONCEJÓN 2008 - Wine of Aragón, Spain (#313841) (XD) - $17.95
• CATENA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2010 - Mendoza, Argentina (#985002) (XD) - $19.95
• DOMAINE LES GRANDS BOIS CUVÉE PHILIPPINE CÔTES DU RHÔNE-VILLAGES 2010 - AC, Rhône, France (#286344) (XD) - $19.95  reviewed here
• FAMILLE PERRIN LES SINARDS CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2010 - AC, Rhône, France (#005975) (XD) (375 mL) - $19.95
• CHÂTEAU VIALLET NOUHANT 2009 - Cru Artisan, AC Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France (#321398) (XD) - $21.95
• CHÂTEAU PUECH-HAUT PRESTIGE SAINT-DRÉZÉRY 2010 - DOP Languedoc, Midi, France (#237289) (XD) - $26.95
• LADIES WHO SHOOT THEIR LUNCH SHIRAZ 2010 - Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria, Australia (#243592) (D) - $35.95

White Wine:

• WILLIAM FÈVRE SAUVIGNON BLANC SAINT-BRIS 2011 - AC, Burgundy, France (#626523) (XD) - $17.95
• TIEFENBRUNNER PINOT GRIGIO 2012 - DOC Südtirol-Alto Adige, Italy (#954024) (XD) - $18.95
• TYRRELL’S BROOKDALE SEMILLON 2012 - Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia (#269316) (D) - $19.95
• FORREST ESTATE THE DOCTORS’ SAUVIGNON BLANC 2011 - Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#317842) (XD) - $19.95
• DOMAINE SERGE DAGUENEAU & FILLES TRADITION POUILLY-FUMÉ 2011 - AC, Loire, France (#323634) (XD) - $28.95
• DR. PAULY-BERGWEILER BERNKASTELER BADSTUBE RIESLING AUSLESE 2010 - Prädikatswein, Mosel, Germany (#678011) (MS) - $29.95
• HARTFORD FOUR HEARTS VINEYARDS CHARDONNAY 2010 - Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA (#095919) (D) - $49.95

Rosé Wine:

• MUGA ROSÉ 2012 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#603795) (XD) - $12.95
• DOMAINE MABY LA FORCADIÈRE TAVEL ROSÉ 2012 - AC, Rhône, France (#701318) (XD) - $16.95
• CHÂTEAU LA TOUR DE L’ÉVÊQUE ROSÉ 2012 - Hand Harvested, AC Côtes de Provence, France (#319392) (XD) - $18.95
• WILDASS ROSÉ 2012 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#071712) (D) - $19.95

Sparkling Wine:

• DOMAINE ALLIMANT-LAUGNER ROSÉ CRÉMANT D’ALSACE - AC, Alsace, France (#319939) (XD) - $19.95

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