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Welcome to this not-for-profit educational resource database & website created by Michael Vaughan PhD
An award-winnng weekly columnist for Canada's top newpapers including the National Post, Globe & Mail and the Financial Times
This not-for-profit website is dedicated to providing readers with professional non-advertorial reviews
Sunday - August 9, 2020 - Vintages Release Weekend

About Vintage Assessments
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Supporters receive exclusive advance detailed reviews for each biweekly Vintages release + special summaries & hidden LCBO sales


Vintage Assessments Report
394 NEW LCBO Promotions

Our Exclusive NEW Linked PT5 Summary
106 Bonus Airmiles Offers valid until August 15
plus 288 LTO Offers valid until August 16

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SPECIAL PREVIEW
SEE AUGUST 22 VINTAGES CATALOGUE

see our linked August 22 Release Summary

Discover a new delisting
A Classic Cognac Bites the Dust
Save $50.30 on a $181.65 bottle
* * * *
see our previous July 1st newsletter
Vintage Assessments
VINTAGES DELISTING ALERT
A new Best Buy Chard - Only $21.25
* * * * *
Remembering
The First Week of March
It's hard to believe that I was in the beautiful Touraine town of Blois on the Loire River judging the 2020 Concours Mondial du Sauvignon. As the only Canadian judge, I joined 74 colleagues from 24 countries and we worked our way through 1,110 sub-missions on Friday and Saturday (March 6 and 7).  Getting up at 2 am to start tasting wines is not much fun - but I survived. 

It really helped that I brought two dozen of my ISO tasting glasses (vs. the larger glasses used at the competition) as the ISOs really concentrated the aromatics and provided me with a level playing field for the thousands of other wines I taste annually. This was the LAST major international tasting event of 2020!
Here are the tasting results

* * * History in the Making * * *
THE BIRTH OF VINTAGES


In 1974 the LCBO opened its first Vintages outlet.  In those days it was called the Rare Wines & Spirits Shop & was initially located in a tiny small third floor room at 43 Freeland Street. It then moved to an upscale location across from St. Lawrence Market.
READ MORE FROM MY NATIONAL POST FEATURE
Believe it or not - I wrote this 46 years ago for Toronto Life for $750 per feature
the original Toronto Life feature from March 1974
when BOLLINGER CHAMPAGNE BRUT RD 1961 was $16.45

* * * * * * *

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ACCESS TO ALL RELEASES
61,000+ LINKED SCORES & NOTES
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* * * * *

CELEBRATE CARIBANA ALL AUGUST
with our highest rated 12-year-old
EL DORADO 12-YEAR-OLD GUYANA RUM
now with a $3 LTO

See our PRELIMINARY linked Buyers Guide
to the Vintages August 8 Release

See our August 8 Linked Summary

JUST-UPDATED
NEW BUYERS GUIDE
1,036 VINTAGES RELEASES
SEE OUR 209 TOP CHOICES
notes & scores fully-linked selections
from April 4 to July 25
* * * *
July 25 Vintages Release
See our linked Buyers Guide
Vintages July 25 Release

SEE OUR LINKED JULY 25 RELEASE SUMMARY


MEET OUR CHIEF TASTER
A happy youthful Michael Vaughan at Thornbury's Beaver River
FISHING FOR THE TRUTH
"THE ONE THAT DIDN'T GET AWAY"
real reviews for people who know & love qualiity

* * * * * *

HAVING A LOCK DOWN BAD HAIR DAY?
relax with El Goru for only $13.95
Beware of "Free" Wine
a shocking new video from one of my readers

* * * A blast from the Past * * *
See the results of Canada's
1st tasting in London England
with top critics Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson, Steven Spurrier & many more
READ MORE FROM MY TORONTO LIFE FEATURE

(see Michael Vaughan's Oyster feature)

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and/or quotation (electronic or otherwise) of anything that appears on this website.
Copyright Michael Vaughan 2020
Contact Michael Vaughan at mbv@uniserve.com