LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2020

Wines for a lively lunch

Good Clean Slate Riesling ( LCBO 286237, $12.90). The implausibly steep blue slate hillsides that soar up from Germany’s River Mosel catch the sun and let Riesling ripen into tangy, mineral-touched splendour. Lime, peach and tongue-tingling acidity are in perfect harmony. Better Pfaff Riesling Cuvée Jupiter Alsace AOC ( LCBO 475046, $17.25). Alsatian Riesling often has a smooth weight to it. This dry, racy, beautifully balanced gem also offers an intriguing touch of bitterness, like grapefruit zest, and a tart mineral finish. It’s a wonderful match for choucroute and sausages. Best Thirty Bench Winemaker’s Blend Riesling VQA ( VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 24133, $22.95). “Summer in a glass,” says winemaker Emma Garner of this fresh, fruity Riesling. Lightweight and medium-dry, it’s a swirl of tangerine, peach and pineapple flavours with a mineral edge that reflects the Beams- ville Bench terroir. Riesling has all you need at lunchtime—zesty freshness, low alcohol and amazing versatility, matching everything from salads and charcuterie to spicy Asian flavours.

Good Red Knot Shiraz ( LCBO 619395, $19.05). A fabulous year in Australia’s McLaren Vale yields a deep, dark Shiraz full of blackberry, stewed plum and cherry, peppery spice and fine tannins. It’s big but not at all clumsy with enough acidity to perform really well at Catena Malbec ( VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 478727, $19.95). The Catena family pioneered high-altitude vineyards in the Andes, where cool nights and high UV intensify the grapes’ attributes. This Malbec offers massive black fruit, smooth tannins, hints of meat and spice—wonderful! Best Stags’ Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 ( VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 996405, $59.95). 2016 was “a dream vintage” in the Napa Valley, giving special complexity and concentration to this supremely elegant wine. A veil of fine tannins hovers over a deep well of cassis, blackberry and haskap flavours. Awesome length! Wines for the Sunday roast Or for red meat off the barbecue, if you’re still out there grilling! These are powerful wines but also elegant and balanced, each one a princely gift for a wine lover. the table. Better

145

FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY 2020