Buyer’s Guide to Vintages May 10th Release

Shadowing Vintages Features and Plucking the Best Values
by David Lawrason with notes from Megha Jandhyala, Sara d’Amato and John Szabo

We begin with an apology for the 48-hour delay of this report due to travels of three of our WineAlign Crü, which pushed our tasting until May 12. John and Michael were in Sicily, and Michael is still there (and watched Mount Etna erupt Monday night). I was in the Alentejo region of southeastern Portugal. We return in a moment to both locales as they are among the hot spots for value in Europe, witnessed by some of our picks below.

First let’s shadow Vintages May 10 catalogue, which, by the way, is now only available in its print version in LCBO stores. It is no longer being mailed to the citizenry. You can read it online at here.

Sparkling wine is featured on the cover as a fitting toast to spring, with a global cross section assembled. We did not get to taste many of the bubblies (and no Champagnes), nor did we find many that were exceptional in quality or value. But an often-released stand-by from South Africa again gets a nod: a Cap Classique Brut Rosé from Graham Beck, a house that specializes in sparkling wine. I was most impressed by Mimi Brut Reserve, an unusual grenache-based sparkling rosé from Provence. Ontario delivers three decent examples from Westcott and Flat Rock Cellars of Niagara and Huff Estate of Prince Edward County.

Prince Edward County is a sub-feature, with four wines being released. I was fortunate to taste the extraordinarily good Closson Chase 2022 Churchside Pinot Noir in February, and we are working on getting a sample for my colleagues to try. As I tasted the Lighthall 2023 Pinot Gris, with its superb linear structure, I was reminded of just what a special place The County is. Sometimes flavours go a bit awry, but the limestone-based elegance is undeniable. And by the way, a full slate of County wines is available at the Kingsway LCBO at Bloor and Royal York in Toronto. They occupy shelf space that once housed California wines.

Still local, Stratus is featured in a spread that highlights the Niagara-on-the-Lake winery’s dedication to environmentally sustainable production, going back to its opening in 2005 as Canada’s first LEED-certified building. The latest efforts are around bottles. Since the 2021 vintage they have been using bottles that are half the weight of the standard 790-gram bottles. And last year they launched the first wines in second-use bottles, a program developed by Circulr, a Guelph-based recycling innovations company. And yes, the wines being released are solid, stoic and serious. Cabernet franc is becoming a pillar of Stratus’ red wine portfolio, and Stratus White remains one the best high-end blends in the province.

Value is almost always the backbone of our recommendations in this newsletter, and top of mind for me as well. At the moment, three locales top my value chart, led by South Africa, Portugal and Sicily, and it is no coincidence that I have travelled to all three places since November. Each region has its style and strengths, but all are good value because their prices continue to be suppressed — usually for historic reasons — while quality barges ahead with the introduction of better viticulture and winemaking. I will expand on South Africa in the weeks ahead, especially around its chenin blancs.

Portugal’s new strength lies in the development of its white wines. From north to south: Vinho Verde’s vibrant alvarinhos; the solid mineral white blends from the Douro and Dao (love the encruzado grape); the arinto-based whites from more coastal Lisboa and Tejo; then the tropical whites from Alentejo based on viognier and antao vaz. Red wines continue to evolve as well, with more emphasis on balance and drinkability than tannin and ageability (see Guadalupe below). The Quadrus white and red pair from the Douro (released in April and still on shelf) are posters for the new Portugal.

Sicily is erupting with brilliant, exotic whites and reds, again based on its native grape varieties. There is no question that the surge is being led by the lighter yet complex and volcanic nerello mascalese-based reds from the north slope of Mount Etna, but elsewhere and everywhere nero d’avola based reds are much improved. And white grapes like inzolia, cataratto and grillo offer a tropical fruit salad of flavours, with the best grown at high altitude in this dramatically hilly island. In some cases, the prices are ridiculously inexpensive.

So here we go with this week’s picks, arranged in ascending price order within style groupings

Buyer’s Guide May 10th: Sparkling

Mimi Grande Réserve Brut Rosé, Provence, France
$19.95, Epic Wines & Spirits
David Lawrason – This is a rare sparkler made in the charmat method from 100% red grenache — a low acid grape that one would not expect to make sparkling. It has a pretty lifted and quite floral nose of strawberry, dried herbs/twig and white pepper. It is light bodied, dry to barely sweet with a certain softness. Chill well.
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And that’s a wrap for this edition. We return soon with a review of Vintages May 24 release, which features outdoor entertaining and “chillable” French reds.
– David

Use these quick links for access to all of our May10th Top Picks in the New Release. Non-premium members can select from all release dates 30 days prior.
John’s Top Picks – May 10th
Lawrason’s Take – May 10th
Megha’s Picks – May 10th
Sara’s Selections – May 10th

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