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Welcome to this not-for-profit paywall-free resource database & website created by Michael Vaughan PhD
Award-winning weekly columnist for Canada's top newspapers including the National Post, Globe& Mail and Financial Times
 Wednesday April 2, 2025

About Vintage Assessments
our roots - check it out here
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SEE YOU AT THE SHOW NEXT WEEK

2025 Exhibitor List
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JUST POSTED
A SPECIAL EXCLUSIVE FOR OUR SUPPORTERS
APRIL 12 VINTAGES RELEASE
see all 102 linked new releases

JUST UPDATED
MARCH 29 RELEASE

see our march 29 buyers summary
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New Ontario Discovery
Best Buy Vintages Sauvignon Blanc

Trius Distinction Sauvignon Blanc 2022
VINTAGES MARCH 15 - 19379 - $19.95
Elegant, Bright, Fresh, Ripe *** (91-points)
This potential gold medal award winner has a bright light straw colour. Attractive, fairly intense, very slightly spicy, gently grassy, ripe, peachy apple-lemon-melon nose with some minerally notes. Dry, medium bodied, bright, faintly grassy, fresh, ripe, lemon-apple-pear fruit flavours with a crisp, well balanced, lingering, harmonious finish. Has 12.7% alcohol, 1.6 g/L residual sugar and 6.4 g/L total acidity. Some 60% was made in stainless steel and 40% fermented and aged in in a mix French oak. A versatile, genuine crowd-pleaser that would be great with fish, oysters, an omelette, even poultry. Not to be missed (only 60 cases).

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GREAT SPRINGTIME ROSE
Lafage Miraflors Rose 2023

VINTAGES ESSENTIAL - 367375 - $19.95
Fresh, Bright, Youthful **+ (89 points)
This just retasted VINTAGES ESSENTIAL release of Lafage's 2023 classic southern French Rose is perfect for the Valentine loong weekend. It comes in a very attractive, designer bottle with a convenient recyclable glass stopper. Bright very pale pink colour, it has fresh, gently spicy, floral, ripe, melon-apple-pear aromatics. Dry, medium to medium-light bodied, youthful, slightly spicy, fresh, honeycrisp apple flavours and a lingering bright finish. A tasty blend of 50% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache Gris and 20% Grenache with 12.5% alcohol. Versatile and ready-to-enjoy.
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Best Buy Vintages Niagara Pinot Noir

Le Clos Jordanne
Jordan Village Pinot Noir 2021
VINTAGES - 33894 - $30.00
Elegant, Bright, Ripe, Plum-Cherry-Cassis *** (92-points)
This award-winning Pinot Noir has a garnet red colour and very bright, slightly spicy, perfumed, ripe, plum-cherry-cassis fruit aromas with some refined cedary notes. Dry, medium bodied, nicely structured, gently complex, intense, ripe, plum-cherry-cassis flavours with a crisp, lingering, gentle cedar-tinged finish. Aged for 20 months in premium French oak barrels (20% new), it is one of the best yet with a screwcap closure.


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73,000+ LINKED SCORES/NOTES
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JUST RELEASED
NEW ITALIAN WHITE HIGHLIGHT
Villa Antinori Bianco 2023
#620948 - $19.95 - 90-points
This bright, fresh, crowd-pleasing Tuscan white hits the value pleasure spot. Pale straw in colour, the nose exudes freshness with some floral, ripe winter melon fruit along with a hints of minerality. Dry, medium bodied, fresh, bright, citrus-tinged, ripe, honeydew flavours with a lingering, harmonious, faintly minerally, crisp finish. Delicious, versatile and perfectly ready-to-enjoy, this tasty unoaked bend of Trebbiano, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Riesling has a modest 12% alcohol.

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A Premium Best Buy Chardonnay

Westcott Estate Chardonnay 2022
VINTAGES MARCH 29 - 424507 - $29.95
Dry, Ripe, Rich, Gently Toasty *** (92-points)
Bright medium straw colour. Intense, gently spicy, ripe, lemon-key-lime fruit on the nose with elegant, pear-tinged, toasty notes. Dry, medium bodied, well structured, bright, harmonious, very slightly spicy, intense, ripe, lemon-apple meringue flavours with a lingering, gently complex, harmonious, gently toasty finish. Perfect with poultry, it seems quite ready-to-drink. This 100% Chardonnay (clones 96 and 95) was barrel fermented with wild yeast and aged for 10 months in French oak. It has 13% alcohol, 3.8 g/L residual sugar and 5.7 g/L total acidity.
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March 15th Release

MARCH 15 BUYERS GUIDE
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A Tuscan Destination
Villa Poggio Salvi
Brunello di Montalcino 2019
MARCH 1 VINTAGES - 363028 - $56.95
Intense, Well Structured, Ripe *** (93-points)
Fairly deep garnet red colour. Classy, fairly intense, chestnut-tinged, ripe Damson plum nose with some floral (dried roses) and sandalwood notes. Dry, medium-full bodied, extracty, faintly spicy, firm, ripe, Damson plum flavours with some sandalwood and red licorice notes on the lingering, still somewhat youthful finish. This very tasty 100% Sangiovese grosso was aged for 30 months in Slavonian oak barrels (30 to 100 hl in size) and has 14.5% alcohol and under 3 g/L residual sugar with lot number LB2432 on the back label. the best vintage tasted to date - serve in a large glass. Shows well with a rack of lamb and/or a rib steak..

Vintages 2025 Buyers Guide
unpaid-for non-advertorial reviews

LINKED 2025 VINTAGES BUYERS GUIDE
March 29 release and back to October

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Copyright Michael Vaughan 2025
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