By Gaby Israel
United States
I can’t skip any opportunity to buy a good hefty Zin. This wine is for you John M to try! Great supportive review, fair price. What’s not to like?
Australia
2008 Yalumba Shiraz Viognier, Eden Valley, South Australia – $21.95.
Although 2008 was far from being a stellar vintage (RP ranked it a relatively low 85 score), this wine received good reviews and I personally love this Northern Rhone blend. I’ve tried this Yalumba version a few times before from various vintages and it has never failed. Always pleasant.
2009 Wakefield Shiraz, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia – $17.95.
Again, not an outstanding vintage, yet very good reviews (NM=91 ; JH=92) and with its cellaring potential of 15 years it gets the best GPCi score and therefore, a warm-strong recommendation to buy if you are a Shiraz lover. I’d buy 2-24bottles.
France
2009 Foncalieu La Réserve Du Crouzau St. Gervais, A.C., Côtes Du Rhône-Villages – $14.95
Wines from the Côtes Du Rhône-Village area, from the 2009 vintage, with supportive reviews and for $15. As my daughter would say “it’s like, duh?”
2009 Jean-Marie Arnoux Vieux Clocher, Arnoux & Fils, A.C., Vacqueyras, Rhône – $21.95.
Another great review for a cheaper than usual Vacqueyras (usually they are priced at $26+). This wine, as I have mentioned in previous recommendations, is a “CdP light”. The light refers to the price not the body! This is a full body, full flavor, full pleasure wine. From this vintage, I’d assume you can celler it for 5-10 years, which makes it yet another good buy (lots of good stuff this release).
2009 Château de Beaucastel Pierre Perrin, A.C., Châteauneuf Du Pape, Rhône – $89.95.
Speaking of CdP: If you have collected this wine before, buy this one. If you haven’t bought it before and you are starting to collect, buy it. Bottom line – buy it… This wine usually ages for 15-20 years and in a great vintage, like 2009, can age for 25+ years, which makes it very attractive from an ‘investment’ point of view. I’d recommend buying 2 to 6 bottles.
Spain
2001 Baron De Ley Gran Reserva, D.O.C.A, Rioja -$29.95
If I could only buy one wine from the entire release, this would be it. I have tried many vintages of Baron De Ley and I still have a few bottles from various vintages in my cellar. This Gran Reserva is a great treat to Rioja lovers. You won’t find too many wines that are 10+ years old, at this quality level and that cost only $30. I’d recommend buying 2-12 bottles.
Wines worth exploring:
Argentina
2010 Las Perdices Torrontés Bodega Juan Muñoz Lopez, Luján De Cuyo, Mendoza -$12.95
Spring is here, no? Torrontés is the Argentinian answer to the Gewurtz grape. It tends to have similar aromas and freshness. Will complement seafood or Asian dishes. Stock up…
Chile
2009 Carmen Carmenère Gran Reserva, Apalta, Colchagua Valley – $17.95
If I recall correctly, Carmen was my first ever introduction to wines from Chile. They were always great value and this one seems to be no exception. If you like Carmenere, try this wine. You won’t be disappointed.
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.
