Jan. 24 LCBO Wine Picks: Spain + Chile + Argentina

The next LCBO VINTAGES release will be on shelves across Ontario on Saturday, January 24th. The major theme of this release is on new value wines from Spain, while the mini-theme highlights wines from South America's two wine superpowers - Argentina and Chile.

Out of 22 Spanish wines featured, 6 made my list of wine picks - all are red wines. Four of these wines are made using grapes that don't quickly come to top of mind when thinking of Spanish wines - these are Mencía, Mazuelo (Carignan), Graciano, and the indigenous Prieto Picudo. All four wines can be enjoyed over the next few years. More familiar to those who drink Spanish wines is the Garnacha grape (a.k.a. Grenache) - the Casa Castillo el Molar is one such example made using young Garnacha (planted in only 2006).

Lastly, no conversation about Spanish wines would be complete without mentioning Tempranillo - the most widely planted red grape in Spain. In the Toro region, Tempranillo is referred to as Tinta de Toro. The Abelis Carthago William Selection Crianza, which you'll want to put away for a few years, is made using this grape from old vines.

The Argentina/Chile mini-feature yielded one wine worth mentioning - a Chilean Syrah. Chile has become one of my favourite places for Syrah - and this version from Casas del Bosque is a very fine example.The fruit for this wine was sourced from Casas del Bosque's own vineyard, from vines that are 8-13 years old and located on the coolest, westernmost area of the Casablanca Valley. This winery does practice some organic techniques, but is not certified organic.

From the rest of the release, there is a primarily Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (37/26/24) blend from South Africa, and also a Grenache-led blend from Rhône's André Aubert. Also a blend is a red wine from Tenuta Rocca - an unspecified (and not very common) blend of Barbera, Nebbiolo and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In white wines, there are 2 very good values under $14 - the extra-dry Garganega from Veneto and the dry (slightly sweet) Weissburgunder (a.k.a. Pinot Blanc) from Germany. If you want to try an Old World Sauvignon Blanc, check out the Pouilly Fumé from Loire. For those that prefer sweeter wines, take a look at the Riesling from Alsace, or the even more sweeter Ontario Riesling or Alsatian Pinot Gris.

Enjoy my wine recommendations for this week. Cheers!


Red Wine:

• AVONDALE JONTY’S DUCKS PEKIN RED 2011 - WO Paarl, South Africa (#383547) (XD) - $14.95
• GOTÍN DEL RISC MENCÍA 2010 - DO Bierzo, Spain (#391581) (XD) - $15.95
• DOMINIO DOSTARES ESTAY PRIETO PICUDO 2011 - DO La Mancha, Spain (#393140) (XD) - $15.95
• ANDRÉ AUBERT VISAN CÔTES DU RHÔNE-VILLAGES 2013 - AC, Rhône, France (#224915) (XD) - $15.95
• FINCA LOS ALIJARES GRACIANO 2009 - DO La Mancha, Spain (#392522) (XD) - $17.95
• CASA CASTILLO EL MOLAR 2011 - DO Jumilla, Spain (#397190) (XD) - $17.95
• SEÑORÍO DE SARRÍA VIÑEDO NO.8 MAZUELO CRIANZA 2009 - DO Navarra, Spain (#391656) (XD) - $17.95
• TENUTA ROCCA ORNATI LANGHE 2009 - DOC, Piedmont, Italy (#309369) (XD) - $21.95
• CASAS DEL BOSQUE GRAN RESERVA SYRAH 2012 - Casablanca Valley, Chile (#995092) (XD) - $22.95
• ABELIS CARTHAGO WILLIAM SELECTION CRIANZA 2011 - DO Toro, Spain (#399105) (XD) - $23.95
• NUGAN ESTATE ALCIRA VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2010 - Coonawarra, South Australia (#393686) (XD) - $24.95
• STOLLER PINOT NOIR 2012 - Dundee Hills, Oregon, USA (#401539) (XD) - $31.95

White Wine:

• RIONDO CASTELFORTE GARGANEGA 2013 - IGT Veronese, Veneto, Italy (#230656) (XD) - $13.95
• ANSELMANN EDESHEIMER ORDENSGUT WEISSBURGUNDER KABINETT TROCKEN 2012 - Pradikätswein, Pfalz, Germany (#394122) (D) - $13.95
• FEATHERSTONE BLACK SHEEP RIESLING 2013 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#080234) (M) - $16.95
• KELLEREI ST. MAGDALENA PINOT GRIGIO 2013 - DOC Südtirol, Alto Adige, Italy (#249466) (XD) - $16.95
• HENRI EHRHART RÉSERVE PARTICULIÈRE PINOT GRIS 2013 - AC Alsace, France (#392092) (M) - $18.95
• DOMAINE CHATELAIN LES VIGNES DE SAINT-LAURENT-L’ABBAYE POUILLY FUMÉ 2013 - AC, Loire, France (#958801) (XD) - $21.95
• CALERA CHARDONNAY 2012 - Central Coast, California, USA (#713313) (XD) - $24.95
• DOMAINES SCHLUMBERGER SAERING RIESLING 2011 - AC Alsace Grand Cru, France (#627950) (D) - $33.95
• BACHELDER BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY 2012 - AC, Burgundy, France (#272005) (XD) - $35.95

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