WINE PICKS OF THE WEEK

Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2013, Adelaide Hills, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide (including Mt. Lofty Ranges, Fleurieu and Barossa, South Australia

$13.99 | 87/100

UPC: 9300727135513 Love the fresh nutty, lees, light spice, baked green apple and pear aromas with a squeeze of lemon. Fresh, creamy, juicy, drier style offering a clean palate. Solid complexity and fruit intensity. Amazing value here. Try this with a creamy chicken pasta dish.

Di Lenardo Pinot Grigio Monovitigno 2014, FriuliVenezia Giulia, Italy

Quiet floral, quince, baked pear nose with a touch of almonds. The attack is fresh with a bright acidity green, grassy, citrus, apple quince flavours with a light buttered nut undercurrent. Austere in a good way with a long clean persistent finish. Think calamari, clams, or even raw oysters.

M. Chapoutier Domaine de Bila-Haut Rouge, Côtes du Roussillon, France

This wine is delicious from front to back and it’s marked down until Jan. 2. Drink now or over the next three to five years. A terrific example of bio-dynamically grown fruit at a giveaway price. Load up for the holidays.

Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna Red 2011, Sardinia, Italy

Expect a spicy licorice, peppery, black cherry, meaty nose with pruny/floral notes. The attack is dry and slightly tannic but with juicy acidity and more pepper, smoky, savoury, black cherry fruit with vanilla flavours with a bit of cigar and orange peel on the finish. Rustic but tasty. Serve with grilled meats.

Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Napa Valley, California

Only 15 per cent new oak is the answer to a delicious Napa Cabernet that spends 16 months aging in oak. A beautiful frame of acidity and tannin sets the backdrop for this Cabernet, ripe to perfection with savoury fresh notes throughout. Will live for years, 10 to 20 given the balance and fruit and structure. Bravo Geneviève. Reduced by $4 until Jan. 2.