We’ve had many special new wines released at the LCBO this month, and have captured them all in one convenient email for you.
Some of these wines are in very limited supply, so please don’t delay. You can view the inventory of the wines and order by the bottle on the LCBO website. *Please note that licensees receive 10% off the retail prices below.
Amuse Bouche Napa Valley Red 2019
“The 2019 Amuse Bouche, a Right Bank-inspired Merlot/Cabernet Franc blend is superb.Expansive, sweet aromatics are immediately seductive. Silky tannins wrap around a core of plum fruit, sweet tobacco, chocolate, spice and leather. This wonderfully expressive, elegant Napa Valley red hits all the right notes in a mid-weight, nuanced style that is all class. Drinking window: 2024-2034.” 96 points, Antonio Galloni, vinous.com
Read more about Amuse Bouche here.
Appellation : AVA Napa Valley
Region: California, USA
Grape(s) : Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Price : $468.00
LCBO : 362863
Au Sommet Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
“The 2019 Au Sommet Cabernet Sauvignon is magnificent. A classic mountain wine, the 2019 offers up an exciting mix of dark fruit, gravel, graphite, savory herbs, chocolate and menthol. The bouquet alone is mesmerizing, but there is plenty of fruit depth, complexity and overall structure, too. Quite simply, the 2019 is one of the best wines I have tasted from John Schwartz’s Atlas Peak estate. Sadly, there is no 2018 or 2020. Drinking window: 2025-2039.” 97 points, Antonio Galloni, vinous.com
Read more about Au Sommet here.
Appellation : AVA Napa Valley
Region: California, USA
Grape(s) : Cabernet Sauvignon
Price : $486.00
LCBO : 362582
Bodegas Peique Ramon Valle Mencia 2018
“100% Mencia. The astonishing slates and granites of Bierzo, and the region’s unique position both exposed to yet protected from the Atlantic, makes for some sensationally exciting wines based on the Mencia variety (the same as Dão’s Jaen). Our judges loved the brooding aromatic asperities of this jet-black wine, and its plunging wild-plum-and-mountain-herb flavours, improbably allied to a texture of pure velvet. Few wines, too, in our Best in Show selection this year have a longer finish than this eerie, haunting beauty. Best in Show.” 97 points, Decanter World Wine Awards 2020
Read more about Bodegas Peique here.
Appellation : DO Bierzo
Region: Spain
Grape(s) : Mencia
Price : $21.95
LCBO : 236943
Fita Preta Palpite Reserva 2019
This blend is Fitapreta’s top wine that they make every year. Very perfumed wild black fruit, blueberries, thorns, musk flood this full bodied Alentejo red, growing on schist soils. After a native ferment this aged 18 months in French oak prior to bottling. Tannins are dusky and soft, hugging the ripened fruit to a warming finish. Primed for drinking now, but with a future ahead.
“The 2019 Palpite Reserva is a blend of 36% Alicante Bouschet, 35% Aragonez and roughly equal amounts of Alfrocheiro, Trincadeira and Castelão for the rest, all aged for 18 months in 30% new French oak. It comes in at 15.3% alcohol. Simply gorgeous, this is ripe and expressive, yet it is also perfectly balanced and shows off its mid-palate finesse too. It’s hard to believe it is as big as it is given how precise it is and how well it is put together. It seems refined, not just full of fruit. It then adds fine structure. It shows off a serious backbone, but the tannins are ripe enough so that you can approach this in a year or two. You could drink it now if you had to, but that’s a really bad idea on many fronts. This wasn’t in bottle very long when seen, but right now it looks like a great moment in this brand. Does it have a ceiling even higher than this? It may well, but it’s a bit too disjointed today to be clear about that. This wasn’t in bottle very long (about two months) when tasted, but right now it looks like a great moment in this brand. It should show a lot better around 2025, even if approachable earlier. Drink date: 2023-2039.” 94 points, Mark Squires, robertparker.com
Read more about Fita Preta here.
Appellation : VR Alentejo
Region: Alentejo, Portugal
Grape(s) : Aragonez, Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira, Alfrocheiro, Castelão
Price : $35.00
LCBO : 326645
Donatella Cinelli Colombini Brunello di Montalcino 2016
From the organic Casato Prime Donne property, this Brunello comes from vineyards on the cooler northern side, around 225 m altitude, on soils rich in clay and silt. The native fermentation takes place in small stainless and bare concrete, after which it rests in older tonneaux and big barrels for at least 2 years, followed by a period of at least 6 months in bottles.
“The wines of Donatella Cinelli Colombini are always something of a homecoming for me as I vividly remember my first sips almost 20 years ago. It is a great honor to witness their evolution over all these years. The estate’s winning card is consistency, with steady results delivered year in and year out, although the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino takes the game up a notch. This wine offers purity and brightness to a degree I don’t remember seeing in past vintages. This Brunello fully embraces the sharpness and linearity that this classic vintage will be celebrated for. Red cherry fruit and fresh plum follow to earthy tones, leather and balsam herb. This vintage counts 35,000 bottles made. Drink 2023- 2040.” – 95 points, Monica Larner, Wine Advocate, November 30, 2020.
Read more about Donatella Cinelli Colombini here.
Appellation : DOCG Brunello di Montalcino
Region: Toscana, Italy
Grape(s) : Sangiovese
Price : $64.95
LCBO : 113357
The following wines will be available on Saturday, October 22 in
VINTAGES
Niepoort Vinhos Vintage Port 2019
From schistous vineyards in the Cima Corgo, and vines 80-100 years, this magisterial vintage port blends Touriga Franca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Francisca, Tinta Amarela, Sousão, Tinta Roriz and others. After foot treading in lagares, this aged 2 years in tonel, and was bottled in July 2021.
“The 2019 Vintage Port is a field blend from old vines (80 to 100 years old) aged for 21 months in large Portuguese oak vats. It comes in with 88 grams per liter of residual sugar and 19.3% alcohol. This was seen about three months after bottling. In its own notes, the winery says it emphasized balance and elegance, and that is certainly a fitting summary of this wine. Let’s not forget, though, the appealing aromatics laced with some eucalyptus and the grip on the finish. Plus, the texture is sensual and caressing on the palate. Then, the fruit adds waves of flavor. This finishes with some power and pop, making it a good candidate for the cellar. The tannins are not too hard, though, and they are nicely controlled. Its freshness will also serve it in good stead as it ages. If there’s a quibble, it most certainly is not the most concentrated Niepoort ever. Everything else is super, however. This should have good aging potential and the ability to improve more. It’s worth noting that on the first day tasted, this was good but not great. A couple of days later, it was far more impressive, still tight, precise and focused. This is not quite on the level of the 2017, which had better fruit in my view, but it is a good example of what the winery can do. There were 39,754 bottles produced, plus some half bottles and larger formats. Drink 2029 – 2065.” 96 points, Mark Squires, Wine Advocate
Read more about Niepoort Vinhos here.
Appellation : DOC Porto
Region: Douro Valley, Portugal
Grape(s) : Old field blend
Price : $135.95
LCBO : 27485
Selvapiana Chianti Rufina Bucherchiale Riserva DOCG 2018
Rufina is the smallest sub-region of Chianti Classico, northeast of Florence, and prized for its elevation (up to 900m) and soils (galestro, chalk, and marl). This estate, originally built as a summer residence for Florentine bishops, is 240 hectares, 45 of which are planted to vine and 31 to olives. It was purchased in 1827 by Michele Giuntini Selvapiana and since 1957 it has been run by the fifth generation Giuntini family member, Francesco Giuntini Antinori. Consulting winemaker Franco Bernabei has been at Selvapiana since 1978, and Bucerchiale, their flagship wine and only made in the very best years, was born the year after he arrived.
“A very pure and beautiful red with cherry and strawberry. Subtle spice, such as nutmeg and cedar. Orange peel, too. Medium to full body. Firm, silky tannins melt nicely into the wine. Fresh and clean finish. A little tight at the end. A beautiful single-vineyard Chianti Rufina with structure. Drinkable now, but better after 2023, when it will have softened a little. [Drink for another 6+ years.]” 94 points, jamessuckling.com
Read more about Selvapiana here.
Appellation : DOCG Chianti Rufina
Region: Toscana, Italy
Grape(s) : Sangiovese
Price : $39.95
LCBO : 645218
Most of our producers are small, independently owned and operated businesses, like ours. You can view our complete portfolio here. Thank you for letting us share these producers and wines with you.
Cheers,
Le Sommelier
416.603.7026
bernard@lesommelier.com
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