April Wine Deals #26
$3.00 - $9.00 Reductions
Hello and welcome back.
This month’s sale lasts until April 27. There are forty-nine great value wines available this month, including ten 90+ point wines.
Wine Bargains - Let's Get Started
The wine bargains below are independently reviewed by me and most are widely available from B.C. government stores.
For April, the wines chosen are in these styles:
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds (23 wines) | Savoury Fruit Reds (12 wines) | Lighter Fruit Reds (2 wines) | Medium Bodied Smooth Whites (5 wines) | Bigger, Oak Influenced Whites (3 wines) | Crisp Dry Whites (3 wines) | Sparkling Wines (1 wine)
TOP 10 VALUE-FOR-PLEASURE WINE PICKS FOR APRIL
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds Style (think ripe cherries)
#10 QUARISA JOHNNY Q - SHIRAZ/ VIOGNIER 2018 - AUSTRALIA
$15.99 Reduced to $12.99 until April 27 - 750 ml.
Shiraz & viognier, red and white wine blended? Sounds odd but it is following the style of a traditional blend from the Rhone Valley in France. The viognier element is small but adds to the overall complexity. Fairly straight forward slightly jammy, biggish syrah. Simple, full and pleasing. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 340075
Richer, Oak Influenced Whites (fuller, buttery, citrus, vanilla, tropical fruit…)
#9 CHARDONNAY - TOASTED HEAD 2020 - USA
$19.99 reduced to $15.99 until April 27 - 750 ml.
If you ever wanted to know how oaky and buttery chardonnay can get, this is pretty much it. One whiff took me back nostalgically to California chardonnays of the 70s when this style was predominant. 'Toasted Head' refers to this winery's practice of toasting the barrel ends (as well as the rest of the inside of the barrel) with fire before barrel-fermentation. The result is a wine with aromas and flavours of toasted coconut, vanilla, smoke, bourbon and tropical fruit. Sounds like a jumble but it hangs together and is still a dry, balanced and very drinkable wine just...anything but subtle and kind of fun in a way. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 594341
Crisp, Dry Whites (Sauvignon Blanc & Similar)
#8 LEFT FIELD SAUVIGNON BLANC 2022 - NELSON, NEW ZEALAND
$19.99 reduced to 14.99 until April 27 - 750 ml.
Blended from vineyards across New Zealand, but the usual sauvignon blanc gooseberry notes are milder here, along with a touch of melon rind and some light tropical fruit notes. Overall a gentler version of NZ sauvignon that is all persuasion. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 168498
Lighter Fruity Reds (light to medium bodied, savoury or ripe fruit)
#7 TERRANOBLE RESERVA PINOT NOIR VEGAN 2022 - CASABLANCA VALLEY, CHILE
$20.99 reduced to 14.99 until April 27 - 750 ml.
Chile can produce some very lovely pinot noirs at the higher end. They also manage to offer a number of entry level, sub $20.00 versions but they typically lack “stuffing” i.e. some flavour intensity and at least some range of complexity. This wine definitely delivers a little more in the glass and is good value. Decent pinot noir from anywhere, depending on what you like of course, usually starts in the $20.00-$25.00 range.
The oak touch here is very light and the flavours are simple and savoury with a slight cherry cough drop note in the background but also some silkiness in the texture. This wine came together and improved a lot when it had been opened for a while so you might consider decanting or double decanting it to soften and unite the flavours. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 495595
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds Style (think ripe cherries)
#6 FINCA LAS MORAS BARREL SELECT TANNAT 2021 - ARGENTINA
$17.99 reduced to 13.99 until April 27 - 750 ml.
Initially some reddish fruit on the nose along with a more austere touch of graphite or tar. As on the nose, rounded red fruits as well as a touch of more somber graphite or prune skins combined with consistent overall floral notes. As it opened the fruit increased nicely and kept the appealing floral/graphite tension. Different and interesting. Great value. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU:104018