Michael Vaughan's Backgrounder
Our roots 30+ years in the making
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Vintages 2024 Buyers Guide unpaid-for non-advertorial reviews
LINKED 2024 VINTAGES BUYERS GUIDE
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20th Annual UHN Grand Cru
October 24-26 Culinary Wine Festival * * * *
Eduardo Chadwick Chile's Iconic Reds in Toronto
available at October 22 LCBO Anniversary dinner
Here are my 4 TOP BUYS of the 11 reds (4-flights) tasted on October 21 & sorted from low to highest price
#1 Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founders Reserve 2011
LCBO 39611 - $110 - 94.5 points
#2 Errazuriz KAI Carmenere 2013
LCBO 55863 (order only) -
$100 - 95-points (Best Buy)
#3 Sena 2011
LCBO 39612 - $239 - 96-points
#4 Vinedo Chadwick 2014
LCBO 39613 - $609 -
97-points
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BEST BUY VINTAGES RELEASE CHAMPAGNE
A personal favourite - consistently
great!
Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Champagne
VINTAGES OCTOBER 19 - #35962 - $94.95
Rich, Complex, Toasty ***+ (94-points)
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BEST BUY VINTAGES RELEASE CALI CHARD
Tyler Chardonnay 2023
VINTAGES OCTOBER 19 - #28952 - $45.95
Intense, Complex, Elegant *** (93-points)
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OCT 19 VINTAGES RELEASE BEST BUY RED
R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia
Vina Cubillo Crianza 2016
VINTAGES OCTOBER 19- #692780 - $33.95
Youthful, Bright, Ripe, Plum-Cassis ***+ (94-points)
This 2016 is the highest scoring Rioja I have tasted in over 240 Vintages Crianza releases since 2020. It has a very deep intense dark purple-ruby colour with a youthful edge. Complex, mineral-driven, intense, ripe, plum-raspberry-cassis nose with expansive, elegant, cedar-sandalwood notes. Dry, medium-full bodied, quite extracty, minerally, bright, ripe, raspberry-red-cherry-cassis-Damson-plum flavours with a lingering, still fairly youthful, gently complex, cedar-chestnut finish. It is now 8-years-old and there are still lots of youthful ripe tannins present. This blend of 65% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacho and 10% Mazuelo and Graciano has 13.5% alcohol with a hefty 6.5 g/L total acidity. It was aged for 3 years in American oak barrels (225 l) and is unfiltered.
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STUNNING CAB FRANC HIGHLIGHT
Cave Spring Estate Cave Spring
Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2022
VINTAGES SEPTEMBER - #523001 - $20.95
Rich, Bright, Ripe, Well Balanced *** (91.5-points)
This excellent ripe 2022 has a bright fairly deep purple-red colour. The nose is slightly spicy and quite intense with bright, plummy fruit along with some gentle minerally, faintly cedary, raspberry notes. Dry, medium-plus bodied, bright, fresh, still youthful, ripe plum flavours with a lingering, crisp, faintly cedary finish. A very well-made, perfectly ripe Cab Franc (with no green tonality), it has a hefty 6.5 g/L total acidity and was aged for 14 months in 225L (80%) and 500L (20%) French oak barrels (95% neutral and 5% new). Note that it is bottled unfiltered thereby greatly increasing mouthfeel and ageability. This well structured 100% Cabernet Franc has 14% alcohol and under 2 g/L residual sugar. Winemaker Gabe Demarco has come up with a very tasty versatile crowd-pleaser that represents terrific Cab Franc value. Bottled last April, only 527 cases produced.
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