December 14, 2024 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Bubbles

Happy holidays! Here are my top wine picks from the December 14, 2024 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection, which is the last release of the year. The feature story in this release focuses on - what else? - Sparkling Wines for holiday and end-of-year celebrations. There are 135 wines on offer in this release, and it includes a selection of Online & Flagship Exclusive (OFE) wines. All the wines should be available for purchase by Saturday.

We'll begin with the feature story that focuses on sparkling wines from around the world. Of the seventeen bubblies included as part of the theme, six are included among my top sparkling wine picks. Most of my sparkling wine picks from the theme are relatively wallet-friendly at under $33, with the exception being the 2017 vintage Champagne ($136) that is crafted with 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. On the local front, there are a couple of fine vintage sparkling wines from Niagara's Kew Vineyards - the Blanc de Blancs, which is crafted with Chardonnay, and the Blanc de Noirs, which is made with Pinot Noir. The sparkling wine from Loire is a blend of 80% Chenin Blanc and 20% Chardonnay, while the bubbles from Provence is composed of Syrah and Grenache. And lastly, the vintage Cava is a blend of 50% Xarel·lo, 35% Macabeu, and 15% Perallada.

There are two other sparkling wines not part of the feature story but also worth a look. From Champagne, the Bollinger Brut Rosé is crafted with 62% Pinot Noir, 24% Chardonnay, and 14% Meunier, while the Palmer Brut Réserve is approximately 50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, and 20% Meunier. Lastly, the Hidden Bench sparkling wine from Niagara is made using 57% Pinot Noir and 43% Chardonnay.

My top red wine picks begin in Napa Valley, with the iconic Silver Oak Cab Sauv that is actually a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Malbec. Tuscany has five wine recommendations among my picks, with Brunello di Montalcino made with 100% Sangiovese, while the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is 70% Sangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile) with Canaiolo making up most of the remaining blend. The Riserva Chianti Classico is composed of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Canaiolo + other varieties, while the Isole e Olena Chianti Classico is of a similar blend, and the Vallepicciola Chianti Classico is 100% Sangiovese. Also from Italy, the red wine from Sicily is crafted with Nero d'Avola, while the Barolo is made with, of course, Nebbiolo. The Côtes du Rhône red is a blend of 85% Grenache, 10% Shiraz, and 5% Mourvèdre, while the Australian GSM red is an unspecified blend of Grenache, Shiraz, and Mataro. From Chile, the Cabernet Franc includes 5% Petit Verdot, while the Argentine red is an 80/20 blend of Malbec and Touriga Nacional. Lastly, the red wine from Spain is composed of 40% Grenache, 40% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cariñena.

Among my white wine picks, the only blend is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, which is crafted with nearly half Grenache Blanc, plus Roussanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Piquepoul, and Picardin rounding out the blend. Other white wines include a Chardonnay from South Africa, and a couple of Sauvignon Blancs - one each from New Zealand and Friuli, and a pair of dry Rieslings - one each from Alsace and Austria. The sweet wine among the lot is the lovely Gewürztraminer from Alsace.

Enjoy my top wine recommendations from this release and have a safe and happy holiday season! Cheers!

Red Wine:

• MONTES LIMITED SELECTION PINOT NOIR 2022 - DO Aconcagua Costa, Chile (#37937) (XD) - $15.95  90 pts  wine review
• MONASTERIO DE LAS VIÑAS RESERVA 2019 - DO Cariñena, Spain (#166579) (XD) - $16.95
• HALOS DE JUPITER CÔTES DU RHÔNE 2022 - AC, France (#276956) (XD) - $19.95  89 pts  wine review
• KABILE RESERVE SYRAH 2016 - PGI Thracian Valley, Bulgaria (#41369) (XD) - $19.95
• VIÑALBA RESERVA MALBEC / TOURIGA NACIONAL 2022 - Vegan, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina (#442459) (XD) - $19.95
• VALLEPICCIOLA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2021 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#39690) (XD) - $19.95  review coming soon...
  

• PÉREZ CRUZ LIMITED EDITION CABERNET FRANC 2022 - DO Valle del Maipo, Chile (#10591) (XD) - $19.95  90+ pts  wine review
• TASCA D'ALMERITA REGALEALI LAMÙRI 2020 - DOC Sicily, Italy (#36750) (XD) - $23.95
• TORBRECK OLD VINES GRENACHE / MOURVÈDRE / SHIRAZ 2022 - Barossa Valley, South Australia (#10223) (XD) - $24.95
• CARPINETO RISERVA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2019 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#47118) (XD) - $31.95  90+ pts  wine review
• CARPINETO RISERVA VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO 2019 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#368910) (XD) - $34.95  91+ pts  wine review

• ISOLE E OLENA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2021 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#704346) (XD) - $45.95  93 pts  wine review
• FLOWERS PINOT NOIR 2022 - Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California, USA (#215202) (XD) - $69.95
• RENATO RATTI MARCENASCO BAROLO 2020 - DOCG, Piedmont, Italy (#713479) (XD) - $78.95  93 pts  wine review
• LA FIORITA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2019 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#998195) (XD) - $103.95  OFE  93 pts  wine review
• SILVER OAK NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2019 - Napa Valley, California, USA (#936039) (XD) - $325.95  94 pts  wine review

White Wine:

• PITARS BRAIDA SANTA CECILIA SAUVIGNON 2022 - DOC Friuli, Italy (#30119) (XD) - $16.95
• BABICH SINGLE VINEYARD SAUVIGNON BLANC 2022 - Sustainable, Vegan, Wairau Valley, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#36903) (XD) - $23.95
• DE WETSHOF BON VALLON CHARDONNAY 2023 - WO Robertson, South Africa (#403675) (XD) - $24.95
• TRIMBACH RIESLING 2022 - AC Alsace, France (#734517) (XD) - $29.95
• BRÜNDLMAYER TERRASSEN RIESLING 2023 - DAC Kamptal, Austria (#40885) (XD) - $34.95  OFE
• DOMAINES SCHLUMBERGER KESSLER GEWURZTRAMINER 2021 - AC Alsace Grand Cru, France (#307694) (MS) - $37.95  OFE
• E. GUIGAL CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE BLANC 2021 - AC, Rhône, France (#28618) (XD) - $71.95  OFE

Sparkling Wine:

• RIVAROSE BRUT PRESTIGE ROSÉ SPARKLING - IGP Méditerranée, Salon de Provence, France (#515288) (D) - $19.95  89 pts  wine review
• BOUVET LADUBAY BOUVET BRUT DE LOIRE SAUMUR BRUT SPARKLING - Traditional method, AC, Loire, France (#40866) (XD) - $19.95
• JUVE & CAMPS BRUT NATURE GRAN RESERVA RESERVA DE FAMILIA CAVA 2019 - Traditional method, Spain (#39815) (XD) - $27.95
• KEW BLANC DE BLANCS 2017 - Traditional method, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#438994) (D) - $32.95  review coming soon...
• KEW BLANC DE NOIRS 2020 - Traditional method, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#380030) (D) - $32.95  review coming soon...
  
• HIDDEN BENCH NATUR ZÉRO DOSAGE SPARKLING 2017 - Traditional method, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#42220) (XD) - $47.20
• PALMER BRUT RÉSERVE CHAMPAGNE - AC, France (#39865) (XD) - $85.95  review coming soon...
  
• LOUIS ROEDERER ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE 2017 - AC, France (#368415) (XD) - $135.95
• BOLLINGER BRUT ROSÉ CHAMPAGNE - AC, France (#100503) (XD) - $149.95  OFE

Fortified Wine:

• HIDALGO LA GITANA TRIANA PEDRO XIMENEZ SHERRY - DO, Spain (#39467, 500 mL) (S) - $25.95