By Gaby Israel
2006 Beronia Reserva, Rioja, Spain – $19.95
After an amazing 2005 vintage in this Spanish region, 2006 is not as promising, nevertheless, my number one choice from this release based on quality and price. This is what traditional Rioja is all about – you get value for your money. This wine is short-medium term cellaring (probably until 2016). I’d buy 3-12 bottles.
2008 Santa Rita Medalla Cabernet Sauvignon Real Gran Reserva, Maipo Valley, Chile – $19.95
My number 2 choice of this release for the same reason mentioned above re the Beronia Reserva. Had this Chilean wine before and I think it is a consistently great option for $20. Expect full body new-world Cab Sauv. Lots of intensity in a glass. Can be enjoyed now and over the next 2-4 years.
2009 D’arenberg Shiraz The Footbolt, Mclaren Vale, South Australia, Australia – $22.95
Although 2009 was ‘just a good vintage’ (wait for the 2010 – an excellent vintage), you will not be disappointed with this Footbolt. I’ve been enjoying this Shiraz from D’arenberg since their 2001 vintage. Very consistent in their good quality regardless of how successful was the overall vintage. Expect a full body, full flavor of a great rewarding Shiraz. These wines age gracefully (5-10 years) which makes them GPCi worthy. I’d buy 2-6 bottles.
Got my attention / worth trying:
2010 De Bortoli Pinot Noir Gulf Station, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia – $19.95
According to the reviews, it’s a medium to full body Pinot and for $20 – have to try this one!
2011 Dowie Doole Chenin Blanc, Mclaren Vale, South Australia, Australia – $16.95
Love a good Chenin Blanc. This one from Australia got very nice review by Natalie and for the price, what’s not to like here?
By Gaby Israel
Gaby 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.
Posted with permission of the LCBO.
