May Wine Deals #15
47 Great value for money wines (18 new) Independently reviewed, on sale until June 3
Hello and welcome back.
There are a great many wines on sale in May including fourteen 90-92 point wines. a $10.00 discount on a Provence Rosé, a new value-for-money wine under $10.00 and not one but two featured champagnes. This month’s sale goes until June 3. There are 47 great value wines in all, including 13 new Wine Picks.
You will notice that I have now added scores on the 0 to 100 point scale to help you in choosing a wine. The 100 point scale is far from ideal but it is familiar to most wine drinkers, so I have added it to form part of the picture for each wine chosen, along with price, wine style, tasting notes and background information where I can.
Since wine writers are supposed to be the “experts” I think it’s our responsibility to provide a reasonable amount of information beyond a score and a list of descriptors. Choosing a wine by its score or “grocery list” of aromas and flavours alone may not be enough to help you find that “really good bottle” you will truly enjoy - e.g. a 90 point oak influenced style chardonnay won’t be pleasing to you if you don’t like oaky chards.
As always, new wine picks are placed at the top of each flavour profile category and previous picks now on sale are listed below that.
This month, at the top of the newsletter are my best 6 value-for-pleasure wine picks for May. These top 6 are chosen for a combination of thier quality and the time limited discounted pricing currently available for them.
Wine Bargains - Let's Get Started
The wine bargains below are independently reviewed by me and are widely available from B.C. government stores.
For May, the wines chosen are in these styles:
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds (20 wines, 3 new) | Savoury Fruit Reds (8 wines, 3 new) | Lighter Fruit Reds (2 wines, 1 new) | Medium Bodied Smooth Whites (5 wines, 1 new) | Bigger, Oak Influenced Whites (2 wines) | Crisp Dry Whites (3 wines, 1 new) | Rosé (3 wines, 1 new) | Sparkling (4 wines, 3 new)
For detailed descriptions of the wine styles see An Illustrated Guide To Wine Styles
TOP 6 VALUE-FOR-PLEASURE WINE PICKS FOR MAY
Ripe Fruit Forward Reds Style (think ripe cherries)
#6. BLASTED CHURCH SYRAH - OKANAGAN VALLEY, CANADA $29.99 reduced to 21.99 until June 3 - 750 ml.
This is apparently a new listing and debuts at a great introductory price.
Not an inky syrah monster here. The aromas are of rich ripe plums, dried Mediterranean spices and a touch of pepper. This is classic syrah on the nose and palate. The flavour here shows a balanced, simple, sincere expression of syrah fruit without winemaking tricks to magnify body and intensity at the expense of the subtler elements of the wine’s character. The alcohol is a restrained 13.5%. The finish just keeps quietly rolling on.
The grapes are sourced from the Osoyoos and Oliver area. The oak was a mix of French, American, and Hungarian with 8% of the oak being new with the balance in neutral oak. It was aged in barrel for a total of 18 months. Tasted ✓ 89 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 37531
Sparkling Style (flavour range-citrus, toasty, peach, pear, tropical, more…)
#5. CLOS DE LA CHAPELLE - ECRIN BRUT RESERVE - CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE $50.99 reduced to $44.99 until June 3 - 750 ml.
Champagne is outside the price range usually covered in the newsletter but Summer and weddings and other special events are always in the offing and you might want to have a bottle handy, especially at this price. This is currently the lowest priced 750 ml. bottle of genuine Champagne available in B.C. Liquor Stores shelves. In fact, it is lower priced than MANY half-bottles of some of the better known Champagne brands.
It is slightly off dry and has a soft finish. It is more on the fruity side than the “biscuity” side but is delicious, with strings of bubbles that go on and on. Coincidentally, it was one of the wines at my son’s wedding and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Unusually for a non-vintage Champagne it is aged for four years before release, giving ample time for its components to also, uhh…marry. Tasted ✓ 89 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 446818
Rosé Style (crisp, fresh flavours & nuances from citrus to tart red fruit to herbal depending on grape(s) used)
#4. COMMANDERIE DE LA BARGEMONE - COTEAUX D’AIX EN PROVENCE, FRANCE $29.99 reduced to 19.99 On sale until June 3 - 750 ml.
Yes, $10.00 off! I honestly thought this was a typo when I saw the new list of wines on sale, so I went out and bought a bottle to see if it was all true and it is.
Quite subtle on the nose with watermelon, rose hip and rose petal. It is similar on the flavour, very delicate and elegant, lighter than most Provence rosés. As with many whites and rosés, when it warmed up a little from ice bucket temperature the aromas and flavours bloomed, with rose hip and melon flavours increasing. It gained length as well and was very smooth. Tasted ✓ 88 Points
Find Store Nearest You SKU: 63391