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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
Friday April 19, 2024

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

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Vintages 2024 Buyers Guide

SEE ALL LINKED 2024 VINTAGES REVIEWS

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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 is UNFILTERED (explaining the great mouthfeel and ageability). It was bottled on August 8, 2019 and only 7,374 bottles were produced. This is my best value red of the year to date.
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Fresh Greek Springtime Gem

Skouras Moscofilero 2022
A BEST BUY - VINTAGES APRIL 13 - #27154 - $19.95

Bright, Fresh, Ripe, Wintermelon-Pear *** (90-points)
Here is a NEW fresh perfectly balanced 100% Moschofilero that is a casual Springtime must buy. It has a pale straw colour and a very attractive, fresh, honeydew-Anjou pear nose balanced by lovely minerality. It is dry, medium bodied and lively with fresh wintermelon-pear-honeycrisp-apple flavours followed up by a harmonious finish. Made from 31-year-old vines, it is unoaked, versatile and totally ready-to-drink.
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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

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Delicious Best Buy Red

Fabre Barrel Selection Malbec 2021

Vintages April 13 - #114983 - $18.95
Solid, Ripe, Refined, Raspberry *** (90.5 points)

Extremely deep intense purple colour. Intense, very gently spicy, bright, attractive, ripe, plum-cherry-cassis nose with some refined, cedary, mineral-tinged notes. Dry, medium-full bodied, well structured, slightly spicy, intense, still youthful, bright, ripe, plum-cherry-cassis flavours with a lingering, bright, gently complex, raspberry-tined, cedary, minerally finish. Wonderful mouthfeel.


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April 13 Vintages Release

see our linked buyers summary
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Now Available
April 27 Vintages Catalogue


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

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

SEE ALL LINKED 2023 VINTAGES REVIEWS

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