By Gaby Israel
Looking for some wine bargains at the LCBO. Out of the latest Bin End Sales list, here are a few wines that are definitely worth trying now:
For the cellar for less:
2007 CHATEAU DES CHARMES EQUULEUS – $24.95 – one of the best red wines from Ontario IMHO. A fabulous representation of the 2007 vintage in Ontario. A left bank Bordeaux blend. Well balanced. Decant for 2 hours. Expect shaved pencil notes integrated with lovely black currant flavours and a lovely finish that calls for more. Can be cellared for another 7-10 years which makes it very GPCi worthy.
ONTAÑÓN RESERVA 2004 – $19.95 – A typical Rioja Reserva from one of my favourite vintages. Don’t look for power. Decant it for 30 min and expect flavours of red current, black raspberries, cedar and hints of herbs. Can probably lay down for 7-8 years more.
Especially Great Value:
ERRÁZURIZ SINGLE VINEYARD SYRAH 2008 – $15.95
TRINITY HILL SYRAH 2008 – $16.95
Two great yet different definitions and expressions of Syrah wines. Loved them both. Try it side by side and travel to lands far-far-away… :)
Top picks for deeper pockets:
QUEBRADA DE MACUL DOMUS AUREA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006 – $29.95 – consistently beautiful. Never been disappointed and the 06 is just another supporting experience.
TENUTA LENA DI MEZZO AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2006 – $33.95 – if you like a good Amarone, this is a perfect opportunity to buy more than 1 bottle. Expect lots of dried fruit coated with hints of chocolate.
PARITUA VINEYARDS 21.12 2007 – $29.95 – A Bordeaux blend (Cab Sauv, Merlot and Cab Franc) that seems to get all the right reviews. Its price went down from $46.
Gaby Israel has been providing wine tasting notes and buying recommendations for several years now. The name WineGPCi (pronounced Wine Gypsy) was given by his friends. GPCi stands for Gaby’s Potential Cellaring Index. While searching for “treasures for the cellar” without going to the bank, the GPCi was initially used to calculate the ratio between the price of the wine and the number of years it can potentially be cellared for; trying to find the wines that had the smallest index/ratio possible.
Any good wine that had a GPCi of 3.5 and under, was worth buying (mainly if you were planning to develop a cellar). Many years and “750 bottles in the cellar” after, his knowledge, experience and passion continued to grow. He continues to focus on helping the consumer finding “logical” ways of buying wines and planning the budget for it.
His great passion for wine revolves around old-world wines such as Spain, France and Italy while experimenting the new world exciting regions of Chile, Argentina, Australia, Canada, the US and others.
