New in the LCBO (a new product available in LCBO stores by June 20, 2021)

91 
Buena Vista ‘the Legendary Badge – Boisset Collection’ Zinfandel 2019
California $17.95 (20806) 13.5% alcohol
Exotic spice and brambleberry dominate the nose decorated with sprigs of savoury herbs. It surges over the palate with flavours galore—black currant, juicy ripe black cherry and notions of kirsch liqueur adorned with mixed spice and superb balance provided by plenty of tang and pizzazz. It’s medium-plus bodied with good mouthfeel, delicious flavours that are balanced and bountiful. Zin-lovers should make certain they have a few bottles on hand during barbecue season.

New in LCBO (expected arrival is July 24, 2021)

• The following 2018 Lapis Luna Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from 100% cabernet sauvignon from the California AVA of Lodi. All fruit was gently destemmed and crushed then inoculated with select strains of yeast then pumped-over twice daily with a temperature peak of 32.2 °C. It was macerated for 12 to 28 days and matured in barrel for 10 months.

91 
Lapis Luna Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Lodi, California $19.95 (17809) 14.4% alcohol
Gentle aromas of floral, herbs and notions of ripe dark fruit—plum, currant and cherry—provide segue for a delightful river of smooth and mellow, palate-bathing flavour with black currant, dark bittersweet chocolate and notions of pie cherry to the fore. The finish and aftertaste replay palate flavours along with a hint of chalky tannin. This is medium-full bodied and nicely balanced with persistent purity of fruit and plenty of pizzazz. Pick up an armful and pour with grilled rack of lamb or barbecued beefsteak. (Vic Harradine)

Vintages Release: July 24, 2021

91 
Ferraton Père & Fils Plan de Dieu 2019
AOP Côtes-Du-Rhône Villages, Plan de Dieu, France $19.95 (74229) 15% alcohol
This red blend—cariñena/garnacha/mourvèdre\syrah—opens with aromas of bramble berry and herbs. It’s quite smooth with great mouthfeel on the palate as it delivers well-balanced and delicious mouthfuls of flavour—bramble berry and vanilla balanced with racy tang of pie cherry—that replay and persist through the finish and aftertaste. Lovely to sip on, it’s also versatile at the table as it matches nicely with roast chicken, burgers and steak. (Vic Harradine)

Vintages Release: July 24, 2021

• The following 2020 Cote des Roses Chardonnay was sourced from vineyards grown in varied compositions but mainly in pebble-strewn soils with a sub-soil of limestone and schist. Grapes are mechanically harvested and optically sorted at the same time. Grapes are destemmed at the winery and cooled down to 8 °C and transferred to press. Only the first, high-quality juice makes its way to this wine. The fermentation of this 100% Chardonnay lasts between 15 and thirty-plus days depending on temperature and clarification. After light fining, the wine is bottled quite early to preserve the fresh, fruity character of this wine. The bottom of the bottle is carved in the shape of a rose and makes an elegant flower vase and the bottle is sealed with an ingenious glass and plastic stopper.

91 
Cote des Roses Chardonnay 2020
IGP Pays D’Oc, France $18.95 (10621) 13.5% alcohol
Aromas of pineapple, exotic floral notes and lemon pastille abound on the nose. It surges over the palate with flavours of lemon zest, lime juice and plenty of nerve and verve, tang and acidity, tempered with saline minerality and orchard fruit—pear and apple—on the mouth-watering finish and lip-smacking aftertaste. This is crisp, clean and refreshing. Delightful on its own, it pours particularly well with pan-seared salmon, steamed mussels or grilled calamari—all with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon. (Vic Harradine)

Vintages Release: August 7, 2021

• The following 2018 Domaine Berger-Rive ‘Manoir de Mercey - Au Paradis’ was sourced from +50-year-old vines of 100% pinot noir at 300 m elevation near the southernmost village of the Côtes de Beaune. The fruit in this wine was macerated for eight days at 28 to 30 °C with a peak of 34 °C. After approximately three weeks fermentation the wine was aged for 12 months in oak barrels where it underwent a malolactic fermentation.

89 
Domaine Berger-Rive ‘Manoir de Mercey - Au Paradis’ 2018
AOC Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune, France $26.95 (20913) 13% alcohol
Aromas of piquant spice and savoury herbs leap from the glass intertwined with red cherry/berry fruit and notions of passionfruit and wood smoke. It races over the palate with tang-infused acidity and drying tannins riding a wave of passionfruit and pie cherry that persist through the finish and aftertaste. Careful cellaring for two or more years should be handsomely rewarded. (Vic Harradine)

Vintages Release: August 7, 2021

• The following wine is named 96 Points, though no wine critic that I know of has rated it this highly. The marketing people at the winery believe this to be both a good marketing ploy and use it as a tongue in cheek approach that you can read on the back label. This 100% cabernet sauvignon was sourced from the warm Lodi AVA in California. All fruit was gently destemmed and crushed then inoculated with selected yeast before being pumped-over twice daily with temperature peaking at 32.2 °C. Fruit was macerated for 12 to 18 days and barrel-aged for 12 months.

90
96 Points Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Lodi, California $23.95 (19316) 14.4% alcohol
Aromas of floral, mixed field berry and spice can be coaxed from the glass after a few vigorous swirls. It blankets the palate with medium-plus bodied, well-textured stream of ripe black cherry, sweet vanilla and hints of black licorice. It’s sweet-tinged throughout with a mid-length finish and aftertaste. This would be a fine candidate for pulled pork or grilled back ribs slathered in spicy barbecue sauce. (Vic Harradine)

Vintages Release: August 7, 2021

• The following 2018 Gérard Bertrand Heresie is a new GSM blend of grenache noir/syrah/mourvèdre that were vinified separately with a traditional vatting period of ten days. The grenache noir is destemmed entirely and is macerated at a lower temperature to better express itself. The wines are then racked at the end of the malo-lactic fermentation.

91 
Gérard Bertrand Heresie 2018
AOC Corbières, France $19.95 (20582) 14.0% alcohol
Purple-black and almost opaque in the glass, a gentle swirl pays dividends with alluring aromas of exotic spice, black juicy Bing cherry and ripe mulberry intertwining with savoury herbs and hints of black licorice and espresso roast. It blankets the palate, mellow and smooth, with palate-flavours of dark cherry/berry fruit robed in a ripe tannin underpinning and oodles of tang and pizzazz. It’s medium-full bodied, with good balance and finishes with drying tannins. Aerate/decant for three hours before service. Pour with grilled gourmet sausage or backyard burgers after a two-hour aeration/decant. (Vic Harradine)

Vintages Release: September 4, 2021

• The following 2018 Pagos de Viña Real Tempranillo was sourced from estate owned and grown vines of 100% Tempranillo from the two hectare vineyard named, ‘La Romara’. Grapes are hand selected and handpicked in the vineyard and placed into 20 kg crates. A second sorting selection takes place at the winery and the selected premium grapes then begin to ferment with the help of ambient wild yeasts followed by post-fermentation maceration for several days with malolactic fermentation taking place in 300L French oak barrels where it remained for 12 months with regular batonnage for 12 months before being clarified and bottled.

93
Pagos de Viña Real Tempranillo Rioja 2018
DOCa Rioja, Spain $69.95 (18595) 14.0% alcohol
Alluring, even sexy, aromas of exotic spice and incense, floral and musky notes abound. It captures the palate with a smooth-as-silk swath of nectar of the gods with ripe, juicy cherry/berry fruit and baking spice robed in tang and pizzazz and soft, ripe tannin. This showcases a winery that’s meticulous in all they do along with win’s attributes—deft balance, purity of fruit and a monumentally lengthy and luscious finish and aftertaste. If you fish in these rarified, pricey waters, it’s worth every penny. (Vic Harradine)

Vintages Release: TBD, 2021

• Fruit for the following 2018 Vignobles Pelvillain ‘Domaine du Théron’ Malbec was sourced from 100% estate-grown and managed Malbec and this winery belongs to a group of sustainable wineries applying many techniques that are environmentally sound in both viticulture and viniculture. Soils are a combination of limestone and clay and a sand and clay while vines are an average age of about 28 years. Green harvest is applied after flowering that lower overall yields. Grass is also grown between the rows of vines to improve soils, fight erosion, make the use of herbicides unnecessary and control production. Grapes were macerated for 12 to 22 days in temperature controlled stainless steel vats then fermented at a maximum of 28 °C. Following fermentation wine aged 25% in oak barrels and 75% in stainless steel.

89
Vignobles Pelvillain ‘Domaine du Théron’ Malbec 2018
AOP Cahors, France $16.95 13.0% alcohol
Deep purple, almost black and opaque in the glass, lifted aromas of floral notes, sprigs of mixed herbs and cherry/berry fruit abound. It surges over the palate with tang-infused flavours of Montmorency cherry, cranberry and passionfruit with an underpinning of still-evolving tannin. It’s medium weight with good concentration of fruit and would benefit from another year in bottle or a three-hour aeration/decant. (Vic Harradine)

• Fruit for the following 2018 Vignobles Pelvillain ‘Château du Port – Les Terrasses’ Malbec was sourced from 100% estate-grown and managed Malbec comprising of 17.5 acres of vines at 300 m above sea level that have gravel and clay, chalky soil. This winery belongs to a group of sustainable wineries applying many techniques that are environmentally sound in both viticulture and viniculture.

90 
Vignobles Pelvillain ‘Château du Port – Les Terrasses’ Malbec 2018
AOC Cahors, France $15.95 13.5% alcohol
There are alluring aromas of exotic incense, floral notes and hints of red cherry/berry fruit on the nose. It rolls over the palate with flavours of bramble berry, black Bing cherry tinged with excellent tang and pizzazz joined by a ripe tannin underpinning that is easily ameliorated by a two-hour aeration/decant. The finish and aftertaste linger with palate flavour replays. Pour now with backyard burgers, grilled gourmet sausage or beer-can chicken. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2019 Villa Mottura Primitivo di Manduria is managed by a family of 4th generation vignerons and this wine is sourced from 100% hand-harvested, ripe, primitivo grapes. It underwent traditional maceration of 10 to 12 days and fermentation of must under controlled temperature using delestage and pump-overs. The wine then spent six to eight months in oak barrel and a further two to three months in bottle before release.

89
Villa Mottura Primitivo di Manduria 2019
DOC Primitivo di Manduria, Italy $18.95 14.0% alcohol
Fresh and lively aromas of exotic incense, red cherry/berry fruit and floral notes jump from the glass. A medium-plus bodied surge of sweet vanilla, cherry clafoutie and ripe red cherry capture the palate robed in piquant spice and underpinned with ripe, soft fine-grained tannin. It finishes with pronounced flavours of sweet candy floss, cherry pastille and strawberry jam. This sweet-tinged red would be a near-perfect partner with grilled and smoked back ribs mopped with spicy barbecue sauce. (Vic Harradine)

• The following 2020 Villa Mottura Primitivo del Salento is primarily sourced from hand-picked primitivo grapes – 85% and 15% ‘other’ red grapes. The winery is managed by a family of 4th generation vignerons. The wine underwent traditional maceration for 10 to 12 days and fermentation of must under a controlled temperature of 20 °C with constant use of pumping over and delestage followed by full malo-lactic fermentation. It spent two months of refinement in bottle before release. This wine is certified, ‘Organic’.

90 
Villa Mottura Primitivo del Salento 2020
IGT Primitivo del Salento, Italy $15.95 13.0% alcohol
Primary aromas of piquant spice, mixed field berry fruit and floral notes dominate the nose. Palate flavours of pie cherry and passionfruit supported by black juicy plum and notions of ripe bramble berry meet up with mixed herbs and excellent tang and pizzazz underpinned by soft, ripe tannin. This is medium-plus bodied with good mouthfeel and nicely balanced. The purity of fruit and flavour persist through the finish and aftertaste. The price-quality ratio skews wildly in your favour. (Vic Harradine)