January 20, 2024 LCBO VINTAGES Release Wine Picks: California's Central Coast

Here's my top wine picks from the January 20, 2024 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection that features California's Central Coast as the theme of the release. Overall, it is a small release with only 70 products on offer, and more than 70% of the wines coming in at under $30. All the wines should be available on LCBO shelves across Ontario by this Saturday.

There are only nine wines as part of the theme on California's Central Coast, a vast area runs along the Pacific Ocean from the Monterey region, just south of the Bay Area in the north, to the Santa Barbara region in the south, which is just north of Los Angeles. The only wine recommendation from the theme is a sustainably crafted Chardonnay from the Monterey region, with fruit coming from San Bernabe and Santa Lucia Highlands, and was barrel-fermented and aged in predominantly French oak.

At the top of the stack of my top red wine picks from this release is a 2011 Rioja that is typically made with 75% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho, and 10% Graciano / Mazuelo. On the local front, there are a couple of Bordeaux-blends from the great 2020 vintage - the Thirty Bench wine is composed of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, and 22% Merlot, while the Creekside wine is a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Franc. From France, there are a pair of similarly blended Syrah-Grenache wines, with the Languedoc red composed of 85% Syrah and 15% Grenache, while the Roussillon red is a blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache. Other red wines in this release include a Chianti Classico Riserva that is made with Sangiovese, a lovely Pinot Noir from New Zealand, and a Nerello Mascalese from Sicily.

Among my top white wine recommendations, the only blend is the 2019 white wine from Sicily that is crafted with 90% Catarratto and 10% Chardonnay. The other whites are a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, a Chardonnay from Sicily, and if you want to go off the beaten path, try the white wine from Marche that is made using the rare Passerina varietal.

Enjoy my top wine recommendations from this release! Cheers!

Red Wine:

• TENUTE ORESTIADI MOLINO A VENTO NERELLO MASCALESE 2022 - IGP Terre Siciliane, Italy (#36295) (XD) - $14.95
• SAINT-ROCH CORBAROL SYRAH/GRENACHE 2021 - AP Côtes du Roussillon, France (#195107) (XD) - $16.95
• CREEKSIDE RED TRACTOR CABERNET/MERLOT 2020 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#11851) (D) - $17.95  88+ pts  wine review
• ALKOOMI GRAZING COLLECTION SHIRAZ 2021 - Frankland River, Western Australia (#33369) (XD) - $17.95
• CHÂTEAU PAUL MAS CLOS DES MÛRES 2021 - Sustainable, AP Languedoc, France (#286393) (XD) - $17.95
• TORRE IL CERRETO CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA 2018 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#33410) (XD) - $24.95
• THIRTY BENCH WINEMAKER'S BLEND RED 2020 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#320986) (XD) - $26.95
• SPY VALLEY PINOT NOIR 2020 - Sustainable, Southern Valleys, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#734681) (XD) - $26.95
• R. LÓPEZ DE HEREDIA VIÑA TONDONIA RESERVA 2011 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#356337) (XD) - $70.95

White Wine:

• COLOMBA BIANCA VITESE CHARDONNAY 2022 - DOC Sicilia, Italy (#35952) (XD) - $14.95
• FAZI BATTAGLIA PASSERINA 2022 - IGT Marche, Italy (#36275) (XD) - $16.95  89 pts review coming
• TENUTE ORESTIADI IL BIANCO DI LUDOVICO RISERVA 2019 - DOC Sicilia, Italy (#36478) (XD) - $18.95
• SPY VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC 2022 - Sustainable, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#686675) (XD) - $19.95  89 pts  wine review
• DIORA LA SPLENDEUR DU SOLEIL CHARDONNAY 2020 - Sustainable, Monterey County, California, USA (#24293) (XD) - $24.95

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Treana Chardonnay 2021 (California) - Wine Review

After enjoying the delicious 2020 Treana Cabernet Sauvignon late last year, tonight's white wine review is its companion Chardonnay that arrived at the LCBO last month in the January 7th LCBO VINTAGES Release.

It is produced by Hope Family Wines, a winemaking family that has been farming the lands in Paso Robles, a sub-region within the Central Coast AVA, for over 30 years. When the family first arrived in this barely-discovered region, they planted apples and grapes. Over time, the rolling, oak-studded terrain of Paso Robles would become a viticultural terroir of significance and one of the top winegrowing regions for quality red wine within the Central Coast.

Hope Family Wines consists of five individual wine brands. Like the aforementioned Cabernet Savuginon, this white wine is from the Hope family's Treana line of wines. The name "Treana" is inspired by Spanish word for trio of natural elements. It represents the sum of three elements that influences their wines: the land that their families farm, the warm California sun that nurtures, and the cooling ocean breeze that balances.

This Chardonnay is crafted with fruit sourced from some very distinctive vineyards mainly in Santa Barbara County - all of which have sandy loam soils that provide good drainage and a climate that experiences marine layers that typically dominate the summer mornings and lead into warm afternoons. After harvesting, the grapes were whole-cluster pressed into stainless steel tanks. The juice was fermented in a combination of barrel and stainless steel. 65% of the wine was barrel-fermented in American and French oak followed by 7 months of sur-lie ageing, while the other 35% was fermented in stainless steel. The two wines were blended together and a portion was barrel-aged for 1 month in new French oak. The barrels used to craft this wine offer a distinctive nuance. Let's see how this 2021 California Chardonnay is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

TREANA CHARDONNAY 2021 - Central Coast, California, USA (#481523) (D) - $25.95
Screw cap. Rich, fragrant aromas of vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, pineapple, butter, and poached apple rise out of the glass. On the medium-full bodied palate it is ripe, creamy, and sweet with oak-influenced flavours of vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, lemon, pineapple, butter, and apple. The textured mid-palate gives way to smoky, toasty oak flavours on the finish, with good length. A crowd-pleasing Chardonnay. Score: 87 pts

Other delicious wines from Hope Family Wines are available at the LCBO and through their Agent - Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits.

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Treana Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 (Paso Robles) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is this delicious, crowd-pleasing Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles that arrived at the LCBO some weeks ago as part of the September 24th LCBO VINTAGES Release.

It is produced by Hope Family Wines, a family that has been farming the land in Paso Robles for more than 30 years. When the family arrived in this barely-discovered region, they planted apples and grapes. Little did they know that the rolling, oak-studded terrain of Paso Robles would one day become a viticultural terroir of significance and one of the top winegrowing regions for quality red wine within the Central Coast.

Today, the Hope family cultivates mature vineyards of varieties best suited to their area including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Mourvedre and Grenache. Vine density has increased and each vine is asked to produce very little fruit. The terroir of the domain expresses itself in its unique regional character which includes spice, licorice, and berry notes to go along with soft textures and silky tannins.

The Hope family range of wines consists of five individual brands, and this particular wine is from their Treana label that began as a dream when the family arrived in Paso Robles at a time when it was a rural, grain farming community with very few grape vines and even fewer wineries. The dream was to create world-class wines that could compete on the world stage, and yet be approachable for all to enjoy. The name "Treana" is inspired by the Spanish word for a trio of natural elements and in Paso Robles it is represented by the sun, soil, and sea - the three elements that make Paso Robles an exceptional winegrowing region. In 1996, the first Treana wines were crafted and became the benchmark for Paso Robles blends. In very recent news, Hope Family Wines won the 2022 American Winery of the Year at Wine Enthusiast's Wine Star Awards.

Owner and winemaker Austin Hope grew up in his family's vineyards and much of his life around Cabernet Sauvignon and three men who helped guide his path - his father Chuck Hope, his Uncle Paul, and winemaker Chuck Wagner. As a tribute to these three men, Austin created the Treana Cabernet Sauvignon that encapsulates the quintessential learning over the course of this career.

To craft this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon red wine from the Paso Robles AVA, the grapes from each vineyard lot were vinified separately. Each lot was fermented in stainless steel tanks, underwent extended maceration, and carefully managed pump overs to enhance the extraction of colour and tannin. Furthermore, each lot was aged for 14 months in a combination of 25% once used French oak and 75% neutral French and American oak. After blending the lots together, the wine spent three months in new French oak. Let's see how this 2020 California Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

TREANA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2020 - Paso Robles, California, USA (#639518) (D) - $39.95
100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The fragrant nose offers sweet and lush aromas of ripe dark berry, blackberry, cassis, sweet oak, milk chocolate, green herbs, licorice, and spice. It's full-bodied and concentrated with sweet chocolatey oak flavours over shadowing the dark berry fruit, cassis, spice, and licorice notes. It's all supported by fresh, juicy acidity and smooth, supple, and lightly chalky tannins. Savoury chocolate with touches of coffee linger on the dry finish, with very good length. Reminds me of a chocolate milkshake. Will be enjoyed by many! Score: 89 pts

Other delicious wines from Hope Family Wines are available at the LCBO and through their Agent - Mark Anthony Group.

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