June 13 VINTAGES Release: Sparkling Wine + Italian Whites + Father's Day

The next LCBO VINTAGES release will be on shelves this Saturday, June 13th. The major theme of this release is on Sparkling Wines (I guess to coincide with wedding season?), while the mini-theme is on fine white wines from Italy. There is also a feature on gifts for Father's Day.

We'll begin with Sparkling Wines. Of the 20 wines featured, 5 are included among my wine picks below. At the top of the heap is the Bollinger Champagne that is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Meunier. The Cygnus Brut Cava is an organic sparkling wine made using Parellada, Xarel-lo and Macabeo grapes, while the Showcase 5 Blanc de Noirs is a unique sparkler made by Trius using 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier - this will have a hint of sweetness to it. Going up the sweetness scale a little bit is the latest vintage of the Tawse Spark Limestone Ridge Riesling. Last but not least is the off-dry (i.e. slightly sweet) Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad Cava that's made up of 9 different wines, each vinified in its own separate tanks. Macabeo is the most prominent grape in the Segura Viudas blend, and the bottle is finished with very nice Pewter accents that make the bottle a nice keepsake.

The mini-theme on Italian white wines is titled "White Knights" and features just 7 wines, two of which made my wine picks. The first of these wines is the Pieropan Soave Classico which is 100% Garganega and comes from the hillside La Rocca vineyard where vines range 10-50 years old. Harvesting occurs in late-October, providing some sweetness to the wine. An outstanding wine that is probably the white wine of the release. The second wine from this feature is from Le Monde and made using 100% Pinot Bianco - a grape which is a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir.

From the rest of the release, the Xavier Ventoux is a blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre, while the Cara Nord is a blend of 42% Garnacha (a.k.a. Grenache), 38% Syrah and 20% Garrut (a.k.a. Mourvèdre). Single-varietal wines include the Montebuena (100% Tempranillo) and the Moulin-à-Vent (100% Gamay).

In white wines, the Finca Nueva Blanco is made with Viura (a.k.a. Macabeo). The only rosé among my wine recommendations is a dry (i.e. not sweet) blend that is primarily Cinsault and blended with Grenache, Syrah and Merlot.

Enjoy my wine picks for this week. Cheers!

Red Wine:

• XAVIER VENTOUX 2012 - AP, Rhône, France (#413211) (XD) - $15.95
• MONTEBUENA CUVÉE KPF 2012 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#211029) (XD) - $15.95  reviewed here
• NINQUÉN ANTU CHILEAN MOUNTAIN VINEYARD SYRAH 2013 - Colchagua Valley, Chile (#675371) (XD) - $17.95
• CARA NORD 2013 - DO Conca de Barberà, Spain (#418186) (XD) - $19.95
• SAN LEONINO CHIANTI CLASSICO 2011 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#412387) (XD) - $19.95
• CHÂTEAU DES JACQUES MOULIN-À-VENT 2011 - AC, Beaujolais, France (#700187) (XD) - $29.95
• TWO HANDS BELLA’S GARDEN SHIRAZ 2012 - Barossa Valley, South Australia (#636407) (D) - $63.95
• WYNNS JOHN RIDDOCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2010 - Coonawarra, South Australia (#466748) (XD) - $99.95  FSE

White Wine:

• LE MONDE PINOT BIANCO 2013 - DOC Friuli Grave, Friuli, Italy (#372417) (XD) - $16.95
• FINCA NUEVA BLANCO 2013 - Barrel fermented, DOCa Rioja, Spain (#280560) (XD) - $16.95
• KURT ANGERER KIES GRÜNER VELTLINER 2013 - Estate bottled, Qualitätswein, Niederösterreich, Austria (#12138) (XD) - $18.95
• ST. URBANS-HOF RIESLING 2013 - Estate Bottled, from Old Vines, Qualitätswein, Mosel, Germany (#995746) (M) - $19.95
• LEYDA GARUMA SINGLE VINEYARD SAUVIGNON BLANC 2014 - Leyda Valley, Chile (#99309) (XD) - $19.95
• ARGYROS SANTORINI ASSYRTIKO 2014 - PDO Santorini, Greece (#387365) (XD) - $21.95  reviewed here
• MAX FERD. RICHTER WEHLENER SONNENUHR RIESLING KABINETT 2013 - Prädikatswein, Mosel, Germany (#998120) (MS) - $21.95  reviewed here
• DOMAINE ZIND-HUMBRECHT CALCAIRE GEWURZTRAMINER 2011 - AC Alsace, France (#320481) (M) - $39.95  FSE
• PIEROPAN LA ROCCA SOAVE CLASSICO 2011 - DOC, Veneto, Italy (#92437) (D) - $39.95
• VASSE FELIX HEYTESBURY CHARDONNAY 2013 - Margaret River, Western Australia (#674648) (XD) - $68.95  FSE

Rosé Wine:

• DOMAINE DE TRIENNES ROSÉ 2014 - IGP Méditerranée, Provence, France (#409771) (XD) - $17.95

Sparkling Wine:

• CYGNUS BRUT NATURE RESERVA CAVA - Méthode Champenoise, DO, Penedès, Spain (#352856) (XD) - $17.95
• TAWSE SPARK LIMESTONE RIDGE RIESLING SPARKLING 2013 - VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#370361) (D) - $19.95
• SEGURA VIUDAS BRUT RESERVA HEREDAD CAVA - Méthode Traditionnelle, DO, Penedès, Spain (#558825) (D) - $29.95
• SHOWCASE 5 BLANC DE NOIRS 2009 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#420521) (D) - $55.00
• BOLLINGER SPECIAL CUVÉE BRUT CHAMPAGNE - AC, France (#384529) (XD) - $73.95

Dessert Wine:

• PATRICIUS 5 PUTTONYOS TOKAJI ASZÚ 2003 - Hungary (#95901) (S) (500 mL) - $39.95  FSE

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