January 4, 2025 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: Smart Buys

Happy New Year! Here's my top wine picks from the first release of the year, which is always the annual Smart Buys Release, where most of the wines are priced at under $20. In this release, 52 of the 74 wines are less than $20. Interestingly, the average price of a bottle is just north of $21, including HST. All the wines in this release should be available for purchase by Saturday, with many on shelves already. Please note that the prices indicated below include HST, which will be deducted when purchasing in-store, while the prices on lcbo.com have already deducted the HST.

We'll begin with the feature story that is titled "Smart Buys" and includes thirty wines, which represents surprisingly 40% of the Release. Five wines, of which four are red, are among my top wine recommendations from this Release, with the only blend a red wine from Greece that is composed of 90% Agiorgitiko and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The other wines are a Syrah from Hawke's Bay, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra, and the 2019 Chianti Classico Annata that is made with 100% Sangiovese. The lone white "Smart Buy" is a delicious Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

Among my top red wine picks, the Riserva Chianti Classico is a blend of 92% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Merlot, while the red from Jumilla, Spain, is composed of 85% Monastrell and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Côtes du Rhône is a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah, while the red from California is also mainly Grenache (61%) with 20% Syrah, 15% Cinsault, and 4% Petite Sirah completing the blend. The last red blend is from Costières de Nîmes, and it is crafted with 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache. Among the mono-varietal reds, there are a couple of wines from Chile - a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Carmenère. And lastly, the red wine from Beaujolais is a Gamay from 40-year-old vines.

There are two blends among my top white wine picks from this Release. The Creekside wine from Niagara is a 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, while the Chilean white is composed of 94% Chardonnay and 6% Roussanne. Mono-varietal dry white wines include the Muscadet from Loire, which is made using the Melon varietal, and the Verdicchio from Marche. If you enjoy sweeter wines, either Riesling from Mosel or Niagara will delight.

Enjoy my top recommendations from this Release and wish you all the best in 2025!

Red Wine:

• CHÂTEAU GRAND ESCALION 2021 - AP Costières de Nîmes, Rhône, France (#18141) (XD) - $13.95  89 pts  wine review
• DOMAINE SKOURAS CUVÉE PRESTIGE AGIORGITIKO / CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2023 - PGI Peloponnese, Greece (#38581) (XD) - $14.95  89 pts  wine review
• DOMAINE FOND CROZE LE SERRE DE LA GARDE CÔTES DU RHÔNE 2022 - AP, France (#28545) (XD) - $15.95
• TARAPACÁ GRAN RESERVA CARMENÈRE 2022 - Sustainable, Vegan, DO Valle del Maipo, Chile (#57513) (XD) - $15.95  89 pts  wine review
• KARL'S SCEPTER COONAWARRA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2022 - Coonawarra, South Australia (#33732) (XD) - $15.95
• VIGNERONS DES PIERRES DORÉES VIEILLES VIGNES LA ROSE POURPRE 2022 - AP Beaujolais, France (#42095) (XD) - $17.95  89 pts  wine review
• SAN PEDRO 1865 SELECTED VINEYARDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2022 - Las Piedras, DO Valle del Maipo, Chile (#37911) (XD) - $19.95  90 pts  wine review
• BONNY DOON LE CIGARE VOLANT 2022 - Central Coast, California, USA (#18516) (XD) - $21.95  89 pts  wine review
• LORNANO CHIANTI CLASSICO 2019 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#211599) (XD) - $21.95  91 pts  wine review
• EL GORU 38 BARRELS MONASTRELL / CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2020 - Vegan, DO Jumilla, Spain (#41096) (XD) - $22.95  90 pts  wine review
• TRINITY HILL SYRAH 2021 - Sustainable, Hawke's Bay, North Island, New Zealand (#194274) (XD) - $23.95
• TRASQUA FANATICO RISERVA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2018 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#283861) (XD) - $24.95  review coming soon...

White Wine:

• VELENOSI QUERCIANTICA VERDICCHIO DEI CASTELLI DI JESI CLASSICO 2023 - DOC, Marche, Italy (#16607) (XD) - $15.95
• DR. HEIDEMANNS-BERGWEILER RIESLING 2022 - QbA, Mosel, Germany (#39799) (M) - $15.95
• INVINITI SAUVIGNON BLANC 2023 - Carbon Zero, Sustainable, Vegan, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#36907) (XD) - $16.95  89 pts  wine review
• LE FILS DES GRAS MOUTONS SUR LIE MUSCADET SÈVRE-ET-MAINE 2023 - AC, Loire, France (#363150) (XD) - $18.95
• 13TH STREET EXPRESSION SERIES RIESLING 2022 - Sustainable, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#19345) (M) - $19.95
• EMILIANA SIGNOS DE ORIGEN CHARDONNAY / ROUSSANNE 2022 - DO Valle de Casablanca, Chile (#37756) (XD) - $21.95  90 pts  wine review
• CREEKSIDE ICONOCLAST SAUVIGNON BLANC / SEMILLON 2023 - Sustainable, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#520627) (XD) - $23.00