“The September 12th release features the most ambitious and highest quality selection of Ontario wines ever undertaken by Vintages. It is focused on 2007 vintage, the year that appears to have finally blessed sun worshipping winemakers’ and consumers’ with a hot and more importantly – dry – growing season. The cover of the LCBO’s Vintages magazine enthuses that it is “Ontario’s Shining Moment: Our Sensational 2007 Vintage”. The vintage certainly has more ripe, rich wines than normal, but quality – especially balance – remains patchy based on winemaking philosophy and expertise. And there is nothing like tasting all these wines shoulder to shoulder with their global peers in Vintages tasting lab to put it all in perspective. There are several very good Ontario wines but only one has hit 90 points in my opinion, and none make my list of the six best value and most interesting buys in the release. The rest of the release has a few bargain highlights – especially from Portugal – which is the subject of a minor spotlight. Elsewhere there is not a lot to really get excited about either – a global smattering of mid-priced wines scoring in the mid-range from all over the world. Ontario is not alone. The more interesting subtext is that Vintages is focusing its purchasing on the $15 to $25 range, which of course is where the majority of wine enthusiasts generally shop. The result is a majority of wines scoring in the 85 to 89 range (very good). Our job is to expose the exceptions – both to the 90 pointer great buys, and the troubled underperformers. Please note that due to summer travel plans I was only able to attend one tasting for this release and have only been able to cover about 75% of the wines offered.” - David Lawrason, VP of Wine at WineAlign
Click here to see ranked lists and reviews of close to 100 wines in this release.
David’s Half Dozen
Domaine Raphael Sallet Mâcon Uchizy 2007, Burgundy, $17.95, 90pts
Quinta De Ventozelo Touriga Nacional 2005, Doc Douro, Portugal, $19.95, 91pts
Château La Fleur De Boüard 2005, Ac Lalande De Pomerol, Bordeaux, $60.00, 93pts
Paul Dolan Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, California, $21.95, 90pts
Finca Flichman Gestos Malbec 2007, Mendoza, Argentina, $15.95, 90pts
Herdade Paço Do Conde 2006, Vinho Regional Alentejano, Portugal, $14.95, 89pts
Filed under: News, "Top Picks", "Top Values", LCBO, release, Vintages
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