Here’s my top wine picks from the June 22, 2024 LCBO VINTAGES New Release Collection, which is an Online & Flagship Exclusives release. There are forty-two wines in this release, with thirteen included among my top wine picks. As noted by the title of the release, all the wines will be available for purchase only online through LCBO.com, and the 16 Flagship Stores that are located mostly in and around Toronto, and a few other cities in Ontario. All of these wines can be purchased by this Saturday.
While there is no theme to the release, it could have very well been South Africa as they had a number of lovely wines in this release, including four wines among my top wine recommendations. The vintage sparkling wine and the white wine from South Africa are both crafted with Chardonnay, while the red wine from WO Piekenierskloof is made with Grenache. One of the few red blends in the release is the Black Rock, which is composed of 43% Syrah, 19% Cinsault, 16% Carignan, 14% Grenache, and 8% Mourvèdre.
Most of my other red wine recommendations from this release are mono-varietal wines, with the only blend being the Chianti Classico, which is made predominantly with Sangiovese. The other two wines are a Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale, and a Barbera from Piedmont.
Among my top white wine picks, all the wines are single varietal wines. We start in Santorini with a fine Assyrtiko, followed by a lovely Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley, as well as a Gewürztraminer from Niagara. If you prefer sweeter wines, seek out the excellent Riesling Kabinett from Mosel. The last wine is a skin contact Viognier from Colchagua Valley, otherwise known as an Orange Wine.
Enjoy my top wine recommendations from this release! Cheers!
Red Wine:
REVA BARBERA D’ALBA SUPERIORE 2021 – DOC, Piedmont, Italy (#36427) (XD) – $29.95RADFORD DALE BLACK ROCK 2020 – Vegan, WO Swartland, South Africa (#485490) (XD) – $29.95VILLA CALCINAIA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2020 – DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#974006) (XD) – $32.95KEN FORRESTER THE MISFITS GRENACHE 2022 – WO Piekenierskloof, South Africa (#37380) (XD) – $34.95 92+ pts wine reviewPERTARINGA TIPSY HILL SINGLE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2018 – McLaren Vale, South Australia (#20408) (XD) – $95.00
White Wine:
RIVERVIEW ANGELINA’S RESERVE GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2020 – VQA Niagara River, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (#511642) (XD) – $25.15 90+ pts wine reviewSIEGEL NARANJO VIOGNIER 2022 – Skin contact, Sustainable, Valle de Colchagua, Chile (#37759) (XD) – $26.95RADFORD DALE CHARDONNAY 2021 – Vegan, WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#37732) (XD) – $29.95MAX FERD. RICHTER ELISENBERGER KABINETT RIESLING 2022 – Prädikatswein, Mosel, Germany (#665984) (S) – $31.95LA CREMA RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY CHARDONNAY 2021 – Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA (#67231) (XD) – $54.95 91+ pts wine reviewMIKRA THIRA ASSYRTIKO 2021 – PDO Santorini, Greece (#37210) (XD) – $69.95
Rosé Wine:
CAVES D’ESCLANS ROCK ANGEL ROSÉ 2023 – AC Côtes de Provence, France (#491027) (XD) – $48.95
Sparkling Wine:
PIERRE JOURDAN BLANC DE BLANCS CAP CLASSIQUE 2017 – Traditional method, WO Franschhoek, South Africa (#32668) (XD) – $41.00