Mid-Month Mini-Release December 17, 2011 Release

Special mid-month release for December ... Here are my favourites of the 9 wines tasted along with some notes for the higher scoring wines:

Three-and-a-Half Star Wines (*** ½) …
Valpantena 2009 Torre del Falasco Ripasso Valpolicella ($16.95 - #0642421) – Veneto, Italy

Three-and-a-Half-Plus Star Wines (*** ½+) …
Santa Margherita 2007 Chianti Classico ($19.95 - #0091694) – Tuscany, Italy
Tedeschi 2009 Capitel Nicalo Appassimento Valpolicella Classico Superiore ($15.95 - #0984997) – Veneto, Italy

Four Star Wines (****) …
Irony 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($19.95 - #0025106) – California, United States
Kim Crawford 2010 Merlot ($19.95 - #0680967) – New Zealand
Terra D’aligi 2007 Tatone Montepulciano D’Abruzzo ($15.95 - #0994616) – Abruzzo, Italy

Four-Plus Star Wines (****+) …
Gnarly Head 2009 Old Vine Zin Zinfandel ($16.95 - #0678698) – California, United States … best version of this wine in a few years, lots of chocolate, plum, vanilla, maraschino cherry, cola and raspberry liqueur.
J. Lohr 2008 Los Osos Merlot ($19.95 - #0027516) – California, United States … juicy blackberry, blueberry and a little vanilla.
The Wolftrap Red 2009 ($13.95 - #0626333) – South Africa … a nice blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Viongnier; really lovely juicy, blackberry, black cherry, and roasted coffee beans, especially on the finish.  Good value, drink over next 2-3 years.

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Special Ontario Wine Release – September 10, 2011

The LCBO is soft releasing (September 3, 2011) a batch of Ontario wines that are officially being released a week later on the tenth – here are my favourites all linked to their full review on my website (www.OntarioWineReview.com):

Sparkling Wine …
13th Street NV Premier Cuvee - $29.95 - #0142679 – (****)

Red Wine …
Coyote’s Run 2009 Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir - $24.95 - #0079228 – (**** ½)
Henry of Pelham 2009 Family Tree Red - $18.95 - #0247882 – (****+)
Lailey 2009 Pinot Noir - $25.00 - #0591404 – (*** ½)
Rosewood 2009 Pinot Noir - $20.00 - #0112177 – (****)
Tawse 2009 Sketches of Niagara Cabernet/Merlot - $19.95 - #0130252 – (****)
Vintage Ink 2009 Mark of Passion Merlot/Cabernet - $17.95 - #0250209 – (*** ½)

White Wine …
Cave Spring 2009 Estate Chardonnay - $18.95 - #0256552 – (*** ½+)
Featherstone 2010 Black Sheep Riesling - $16.95 - #0080234 – (****+)
Featherstone 2010 Gewurztraminer - $19.95 - #0064592 – (*** ½+)

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.