header


Welcome to this not-for-profit paywall-free resource database & website created by Michael Vaughan PhD
An award-winning weekly columnist for Canada's top newspapers including the National Post, Globe& Mail and Financial Times
Dedicated to providing readers with professional unpaid-for non-advertorial reviews
Thursday April 25, 2024

About Vintage Assessments
See our roots - 30+ years in the making

* * * * * *
OUR SUPPORTER-ONLY SECTION
CLICK HERE TO SIGN IN
Download all Vintages Release Catalogue PDFs

* * * *
Vintages 2024 Buyers Guide

SEE ALL LINKED 2024 VINTAGES REVIEWS

* * *
COMING SATURDAY MAY 4
Spirit of Toronto invites you to Discover Italy
Explore our Mezzanine Bar transformed into a slice of Italy, featuring cocktails, platters of salumi and cheese direct from Italy and the very best in artisanal spirits, liqueurs and amaros from Italy’s most storied producers
* * * *

Stunning Springtime Value

Kir-Yianni Le Nord Assyrtiko 2023

A BEST BUY - VINTAGES APRIL 27 - #25707 - $18.00

Bright, Fresh, Ripe, Winter-Melon-Pear *** (90-points)
Internationally recognized as THE #1 grape of Greece, this vibrant ripe 2023 Assyrtiko is a must try for all wine lovers. Pale straw in colour, it has a very fresh, slightly spicy, somewhat floral, honeysuckle nose with citrusy, fresh melon-pear fruit along with some mineral notes. Dry, medium to medium-light bodied, harmonious, slightly spicy, very fresh, winter melon and ripe pear flavours with a lingering, crisp, refreshing, well balanced finish. This extremely well-priced crowd-pleaser is ready-to-drink and perfect with pasta, poultry and/or seafood (especially mussels and calamari). It spent 4 months on the lees and has 13.5% alcohol and 2 g/L residual sugar.
* * * *
Outstanding 2021 Chardonnay

Hidden Bench
Estate Organic Chardonnay 2021

BEST BUY - VINTAGES APRIL 13 - #68817 - now $29.95
Refined, Intense, Complex, Ripe *** (93-points)
Bright medium straw colour. Lovely, intense, complex, ripe, lemon-apple meringue nose with some gently cedary, mineral notes. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, harmonious, well structured, faintly spicy, intense, bright, well structured, ripe, lemon-apple meringue flavours with a lingering, high acid, elegantly cedary, mineral-driven, faint key-lime-tinged finish. It was fermented with indigenous yeasts in barrels where malolactic occurred naturally. Only 3% was aged in concrete egg, 43% in French barriques and the balance of 54% in neutral 500L oak. The final wine was assembled in August and bottled in September 2022. This very classy, organic, Burgundian-inspired, unfined/unfiltered Chard is perfectly ripe and ready-to-drink with 13.8% alcohol, 2.5 g/L residual sugar and 6.2 g/L total acidity.
Has a $2 LTO until April 28 reducing the price from $31.95 to $29.95

* * *
Red Value of the Year

Mega Spileo
Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

Vintages - #539924 - $36.95
Dense, Ripe, Cassis-Cherry-Plum ***/***+ (94 points)
Extremely deep intense dark purple red colour. Intense, complex, slightly spicy, gently cedary, sandalwood-tinged, rich, ripe plum nose with hints of smoky autumnal roasted chestnuts. Dry, medium-full bodied, very well structured, dense, ripe, cassis-plum-black-cherry flavours with a lingering, cedary, bright, faintly savoury, harmonious, sandalwood-tinged finish. This outstanding 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 28 months on fine lees in 90% French and 10% American barrels. It has 15% alcohol, 2 g/L residual sugar and isUNFILTERED (explaining the great mouthfeel and ageability). Only 7,374 bottles were produced.



NEW VISITOR RESOURCES
PAYWALL-FREE DATABASE
OUR NON-ADVERTORIAL REVIEWS ARE NOT PAID FOR

ACCESS TO ALL RELEASES
71,000+ LINKED SCORES/NOTES
click here to SEARCH all reviews

* * * *
Now Available
April 27 Vintages Catalogue


* * * *
April 13 Vintages Release

see our linked buyers summary
* * * * *

Our Exclusive LINKED Period 1 Summary
327 LTO offers valid until Sunday April 28

229 Aeroplan offers valid until Saturday April 27
* * * *
Vintages 2023 Buyers Guide

SEE ALL LINKED 2023 VINTAGES REVIEWS

* * * *

Article Archives
includes National Post, Financial Post, etc.
click here to see the archive of articles
 

(see Michael Vaughan's Oyster feature)

Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
and/or quotation (electronic or otherwise) of anything that appears on this website.
Copyright Michael Vaughan 2024
Contact Michael Vaughan at mbv@uniserve.com

*