January Wine Picks #12
Deep Discount Bargains For January
Hello and welcome back.
At the top of the newsletter are my best 5 value-for-pleasure wine picks for the month. These top 5 are chosen for wine quality and the time limited discounted pricing currently available for them.
Use Your Phone To Shop Easily for Wine Bargains in B.C.
Using your smartphone to view the latest Pro Tips & Wine Bargains B.C. edition is the easiest way to find great value wines at your B.C. government liquor stores.
This can be done two ways, via your email or by using the Substack App for IOS or Android.
Email Method
Access the Pro Tips & Wine Bargains B.C. email on your smartphone by selecting the emailed edition that was sent to you as a subscriber
Get The App
Download the app for even easier access to the latest edition and the blog site where all the editions reside.
Either way, scroll down through the wine style categories to the one you want. There you will find a number of great value selections, with their current price, a descriptive wine note, the country it is from, a photo of the label and a link to the product page for each wine.
The product page link will take you to a page that shows the current price and if on sale, when the sale ends. Then to locate the store nearest you that stocks the wine click “Where To Buy” on the product page and it will show you all the stores where the wine is available.
Note that by default, the store listings will be presented alphabetically but if you let the program use your location, the list of available stores will reorder itself to show the store closest to you.
Wine Bargains - Let's Get Started
The wine bargains below are independently reviewed by me and are widely available from B.C. government stores.
January has not provided nearly as many wines on sale as in December but many of this month’s discounts are deep ones and offer a great opportunity to stock up whether your January is a dry one or a wet one because there’s always February...
This month there are 19 wines in all, including 11 new Wine Picks.
For this newsletter the wines chosen are in these styles:
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds (7 wines) | Savoury Fruit Reds (5 wines) | Lighter Fruit Reds (2 wines) | Medium Bodied Smooth Whites (1 wines) | Bigger, Oak Influenced Whites (1 wines) | Crisp Dry Whites (3 wines)
For detailed descriptions of the styles see An Illustrated Guide To Wine Styles
TOP 5 VALUE-FOR-PLEASURE WINE PICKS FOR JANUARY
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds Style (think ripe cherries)
#1. DOÑA PAULA LOS CARDOS MALBEC - ARGENTINA $12.99 reduced to 8.99 until January 28 - 750 ml.
On sale once again here. Under $10.00 malbec? Happy to say that this is quite pleasant and drinkable with no off-flavours, lingering medicinal tangs or impassable tannins. So what separates it from other Argentinian malbecs at twice the price? As you might expect it’s a little simpler, a little plainer, and has less distinct malbec character than the higher priced models but the main difference here is chiefly that it has less intensity and it is definitely lighter bodied. Other than that it is well balanced with pleasing malbec fruit components and satisfying - what the English would call “cheap and cheerful”. The price here is unbeatable. Tasted ✓ 87 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU 633628
#2. CIGAR BOX PINOT NOIR - CHILE New Wine Pick - $15.99 reduced to $11.99 until Jan 28 - 750 ml.
It is usually difficult to find a pinot noir under $20.00 that is lighter, supple, balanced and with good pinot noir fruit character. Chile usually gets closest to clearing the bar and this one does. It is well named as the pinot noir fruit is a little spicy with notes of chocolate, tobacco leaf and baking spices (cloves, cinnamon). Although it is not my personal favourite pinot noir style, it is an enjoyable, interesting, balanced pinot noir, with no adverse flavours and is fair value at the regular price. An excellent bargain now at the deeply discounted price (on a percentage basis) this month. Tasted ✓ 87 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU 234901
#3. ROSEMOUNT ESTATE SHIRAZ - AUSTRALIA New Wine Pick - $14.99 reduced to $10.99 until Jan 28 - 1 L
Straight forward medium bodied shiraz with soft tannins, slightly low acidity and good shiraz fruit character. Not a wine to ponder, just an easy drinking one to enjoy. Amazing value here - works out to abut $8.00 per regular bottle. Tasted ✓ 87 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU 201234
Medium Bodied, Smooth Whites Style (little/no oak, easy drinking, fresh or savoury fruit, various grapes)
#4. LE BONHEUR - CHARDONNAY STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA New Wine Pick - $18.99 reduced to $15.49 until Jan 28 - 750 ml.
This chardonnay actually has a small ribbon of oak in the mix but it is so much in the background that I have put it in the medium bodied smooth whites wine style. It has a touch of everything in the flavour including some lemon/grapefruit peel, pear and a light note of vanilla from a very light touch of oak. Good acidity and balance with some nice complexity. Great value, especially at this sale price. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 382424
Richer, Oak Influenced Whites Style (fuller, buttery, with citrus, vanilla, tropical fruit, more…)
#5 ROSEMOUNT ESTATE CHARDONNAY - SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA New Wine Pick - $14.99 reduced to $10.99 until Jan 28 - 1 L
Has all the basic chardonnay flavour components i.e. a yeasty aromas, lemony/tropical chardonnay notes and a touch of oak. It’s a very very simple, but satisfying balanced chardonnay flavour combo with no untoward flavours. Very quaffable chardonnay at a terrific price. Tasted ✓ 87 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 201172
ALL JANUARY WINE PICKS
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds Style (think ripe cherries)
New Wine Picks
LA MASCOTA CABERNET FRANC - ARGENTINA
$18.99 reduced to $14.49 until Jan 28 - 750 ml.
The wine has a very rich, plush nose of savoury plum jam, dried figs and loganberry. This follows through on the flavour with good matching acidity. The tannins are very slightly grippy and it is fairly full bodied with some good fruit intensity. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Cabernet Franc Most wine drinkers are more familiar with cabernet sauvignon than they are with cabernet franc. How do the two grapes and the wines they produce compare?
The two are very closely related as cabernet sauvignon was originally derived from a crossing between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc.
Cabernet sauvignon is the main grape in most French Bordeaux as well as much California wine, from Napa Valley and elsewhere in the state. It is the most widely planted red grape variety in the world and many countries produce excellent examples including Chile and Australia.
Cabernet sauvignon is a thick-skinned grape producing darker coloured, more tannic wines. At its best it is full bodied with intense dark berry flavours of blackcurrant or blackberry.
Cabernet Franc is thinner skinned and typically produces wines that are slightly lighter, less tannic, more herbal and savoury. There is also often a kind of dry “dustiness” in the fruit finish on cabernet franc wines versus the blackcurrant richness of cabernet sauvignon.
In France, cabernet franc is also a common component in Bordeaux wines and in areas such as St. Emilion can even be the lead grape and many Loire Valley reds are one hundred percent cabernet franc.
In the rest of the world, especially in South America and here in B.C., it is being vinified separately with great results.
Find Store Nearest You SKU 236406