WEEKEND WINE PICKS
Monte del Frá Ca del Magro Custoza Superiore 2019, Verona, Veneto, Italy
$24.99 I 89/100
UPC: 838547000050
Monte del Frá is in Custoza, Veneto, outside Lake Garda. The current winery was founded in 1958, but the land it sits on was auctioned off by decree from Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century out of the hands of its original owners, the local monks.
This is a richer, honeyed, floral white wine grown at the 60-plus-year-old Ca' del Magro vineyard. In the blend is 40 per cent Garganega, with Trebbiano Toscano, Tocai Friulano, Cortese, Chardonnay, Riesling Italico, Malvasia and Incrocio Manzoni backfilling the rest.
Quince, ripe pear, yellow apples and honeysuckle spread across the palate before finishing with a hint of spice.
Easter ham would be a fine match.
Meyer Family Vineyards Chardonnay Mclean Creek Road Vineyard 2022, Okanagan Falls, Okanagan Valley
$32.26 I 91/100
UPC: 808755006809
Mclean Creek Road is the Meyer home estate site inside Okanagan Falls. It's a sloping site of sand and gravel mixed with loam, with vines that will be 30 years old this year.
Winemaker Chris Carson is a man of few words and even less intervention, which is apparent when you nose and taste this wine.
After a long, cool ferment in stainless steel, it's aged in French oak for 11 months, 22 per cent new, with zero Bâtonnage.
This is a dream style of B.C. Chardonnay, so alive and fresh, subtle enough to expose the terroir, packed full of complex citrus, green apple and honeyed oatmeal, with a stony, mineral finish.
Drink or hold for three to five years.
Production came in at 9,000 bottles, and the alcohol was a modest 13.5 per cent.
M. Chapoutier Belleruche Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2021, Rhone Valley, France $15.99 I 89/100
UPC: 03391181110136
Belleruche is a 60/35/5 mix of Grenache, Syrah and Marselan from grapes harvested across the appellation. Year in and year out, it's consistently one of the best-value red blends on the market.
We thought it was better than most labels at $20.99, but until Sunday, you can buy it for only $15.99. Back up the truck, buy a case and drink it all year at a rock-bottom bargain price.
Expect a gentle, round, easy-sipping style of flavourful red and black fruits, black pepper and a dusting of Garrigue to liven up its youthful but soft tannins — an inexpensive crowd-pleaser for wine nuts.
Stemmari Nero d'avola 2021, Sicily
$21.99 I 88/100
UPC: 854559000222
This Nero d'avola hails from Sambuca di Sicilia, in Agrigento, Sicily. It's fermented and aged for half a year in wood.
This is an easy-sipping barbecue red pitching black plums, dark cherries and a touch of baking spices. It's dark, round and soft.
You can drink it now, and it will work with burgers, beef tacos or spaghetti and meatballs.
Private wine shops only.
G.D. Vajra Langhe Rosso 2020, Langhe, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy $30 I 91/100
UPC: 695798115328
Langhe Rosso is the stepping-stone to Barbaresco and Barolo, and an increased focus on this wine style is paying dividends across Piemonte.
Its price and quality ratio is hard to beat, as exemplified by the delicious drinking Varja.
It mixes younger vines from a solid vintage that speaks Piemonte, including Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Freesia, Albatross and Pinot Noir.
It has cherries, plums and floral rose notes with only a modicum of tannin that runs throughout a mineral, light sea-salt finish — a classy wine for lunch or midweek dinner pick.
Private wine shops only.