Buyer’s Guide to Vintages November 8th Release

John Szabo’s Vintages Buyer’s Guide November 8: Wines for Every Festive Moment & Careful where you Put Your Shovel: the Best of Campania Stories 2025

By John Szabo MS, with notes from David Lawrason, Michael Godel, Megha Jandhyala and Sara d’Amato

A Flurry of Highlights

Greeting us this year with unusually early snow, November does always sees a flurry of grand releases at Vintages as shoppers gear up for the holidays and the average spend on wine go up. Speaking of averages, the mean price across all 145 products in the November 8 release is just under $38, compared to, say, an average of $25 back in February of this year. But this doesn’t mean that you must spend a fortune to get quality wine this month. All five of the WineAlign principal critics were on hand for this release to sift through and find the sharpest value.

The most expensive of our picks (Michael’s) tops out at $85.95, for the admittedly excellent Giacomo Borgogno & Figli 2021 Barolo. He describes it as “an archetype Barolo, classic in so many ways…with old-school heart and soul.” 2021 is emerging as one of the great vintages (in this great region) of the century so far, and this is surely a wine to consider gifting to your serious wine-collecting friends, or your own cellar for future enjoyment. Value can be found at different prices along the curve.

Still on value, but not requiring such patience, triple alignment fell upon the Hacienda Terra d’Uro 2011 Toro Reserva at $31.95. Now, $30+ is not a small sum to dispense on a bottle of wine, but again in relative terms we consider this an exceptional buy. For one, this 14-year-old Spanish red is in the prime of its drinking window — the cellaring has been done for you (which comes at a significant cost to wineries). And secondly, it reminded me very much of a Toro I tasted last month in Spain, the excellent and highly sought-after Bodegas Numanthia Toro (2019), which sells for about three times more, if you can find it. Terra d’Uro is a project by Spaniards Oscar Garrote and Pipa Ortega along with famed Portuguese “Douro Boy” Cristiano Van Zeller. They source only pre-phylloxera tempranillo up to 140 years old. David describes it as “full bodied, very smooth, hot (14.5%) and intensely flavoured,” while Megha adds “it is big, bold and concentrated, yet balanced.” Suffice to say that it’s a wine built to impress.

Also in the full-bodied, bold and satisfying red-wine category, though decidedly younger and fruitier, three critics lined up behind Torbreck’s Cuvée Juveniles 2022 from the Barossa Valley at $29.95 (and I could well have included it in my picks). Torbreck needs little introduction amongst the cognoscenti, long a source of substantial and impressive wines from South Australia. The Juveniles cuvée, composed of grenache, mataro, carignan and counoise, is intended to be the more youthful, fruity wine in the range, but “fruity and dainty” is only as it is defined internally; make no mistake, this is a self-assured red. As David states: “Textbook Barossa generosity and gravitas!” Sara adds: “Rich and inviting without heaviness, its brooding palate reveals layers of complexity.” Michael enthuses: “So much going on here and, at the price, it’s a really remarkable gift.”

In a similar stylistic vein but of different colour, four of us added the venerable Château La Nerthe’s Les Cassagnes Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2023 ($29.95) to our picks this week. Both David and I describe it as a, cool-weather, “winter white” — the sort of bottle one gravitates towards when the flurries are flying and warming comfort is sought. Sara suggests that its full-bodied nature has the depth to “pour alongside richer holiday dishes.”

Other highlights that earned multiple alignment include a Winealign office favorite, Schloss Gobelsburg’s outstanding 2022 grüner veltliner from the “first growth” (erste lage) Renner Vineyard ($64.95) in the Kamptal, a magnificent east-facing site on the Gaisberg Hill, long a preferred site for the variety. Rarely does a day go by without our office manager Sarah Goddard dreaming of a grüner like this, particularly unctuous and rich in the warm 2022 vintage. “A Kamptal necessity to explain just how concentrated and finessed fruit turned into top white wine can be,” says Michael.

Both David and I enjoyed the textbook aspect of Santa Carolina’s 2021 El Pacto Nº2 Carmenère ($17.95), from Los Lingues in the Colchagua-Andes, which, along with Peumo in the Cachapoal Valley, and Apalta in Central Colchagua, is the best place in Chile to grow the grape. “A great value carmenere for any carmenere purists who may be out there,” says David. So, if you’re out there, this is for you.

And lastly, don’t miss the chance to taste history, and the present, in a single wine, especially around the holiday table this season. There’s a corner of northeastern Hungary that makes some of the world’s finest sweet wines and has for over 500 years. The region is Tokaj, and in 1737 it became the world’s first officially delimited appellation of origin. Grand Tokaj, the former state-run cooperative, produces, at the top level, quite exceptional stuff, like the 2013 Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos on release now.

It’s a magnificent aszú from a botrytis-rich vintage, in which serious acids meet high sugar: nine grams of acid for 280 grams of residual sugar, big numbers even for tokaji, enough for the finish to turn almost dry — a wild taste and flavour ride. David stops at, “This is simply sensational,” while giving one of the highest scores of I’ve ever seen from him. And if you don’t get around to enjoying it this December, fear not as you can drink it pretty much whenever you want over the next 30 years. It’s timeless stuff.

New Report & Buyer’s Guide: Campania Stories 2025

View from Ischia ©John Szabo

The 14^th edition of Campania Stories, the annual preview tasting of new vintages from all regions in Campania, Italy, unfolded in May this year in Ercolano (Herculaneum) on the western slopes of Vesuvius, just outside of Napoli.

Known to the Romans as “Campania felix” or “happy country,” the region has, for at least 2,000 years, produced some of the finest wines on the Italian Peninsula, and is still one of Italy’s richest regions in terms of native grape varieties, especially the most diverse range of first-class white grapes.

I spent a week this past May tasting and touring in the region to get the beat on the latest releases, and was, again, mightily impressed with what I found. There are plenty of wines to recommend out of 200+ wines tasted, with more than a handful in the 95-plus (outstanding) point category. And if you’re looking for a vacation spot, I can’t recommend Campania highly enough, not just for wines, but also for some of Italy’s finest foods and most spectacular scenery. Click below.

Campania Stories 2025 Part One: Introduction and Buyer’s Guide to White Wines
Campania Stories 2025 Part Two: Buyer’s Guide to Red and Rosato

Below are our 21 Vintages recommendations, listed in ascending price order within style groupings.

Buyer’s Guide Vintages November 8: Sweet, Fortified, Aromatized

Cocchi Dopo Teatro Amaro Vermouth, Piedmont, Italy
$39.95, Azureau Wines & Spirits
John Szabo – This is quality vermouth, properly and pleasantly bitter (“amaro”), a rare “evening vermouth” that draws on the Piedmontese tradition of “drinking a small cup of cool vermouth with lemon zest in the evening, maybe after watching a performance in one of the historic theatres of the Savoy capital.” The original recipe by Giulio Cocchi sees Artemisia enriched with rhubarb, quassia wood, chiretta and a double infusion of cinchona, while the addition of Barolo Chinato to the base wine gives additional red wine nuances and another dimension of bitterness that I find highly refreshing and tonic.

Grand Tokaj Terroir Selection Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos 2013, Hungary
$82.95, Sylvestre Wines & Spirits
John Szabo – A magnificent tokaji aszú here from the former state-run cooperative, producing, at the top level, quite exceptional stuff, especially in a botrytis-rich vintage like 2013. Serious acids meet high sugar: nine grams of acid for 280 grams of residual sugar, big numbers even for tokaji, amounting to an arch-classic aszú displaying why this corner of northeastern Hungary makes some of the world’s finest sweet wines, and has for 500 years at least. Drink pretty much whenever you want over the next 30 years — timeless stuff.
David Lawrason – This is simply sensational. It pours luminous gold/amber. The nose is gorgeous with orange marmalade, rancio nuttiness, honey, green tea and botanicals. It is full bodied, very thick, sweet yet built on perfect acidity. Outstanding definition, detail and length. Note, it is a 500 ml bottle.

Buyer’s Guide Vintages November 8: White

Litorale Val Delle Rose Vermentino 2023, Tuscany, Italy
$19.95, Charton Hobbs
Megha Jandhyala – I like the guileless charm of this vermentino, with its delicious flavours of juicy orchard and stone fruit. It is ready to enjoy now, well-chilled, and served alongside some Indian chaat, Baja fish tacos, or light seafood. That it is so reasonably priced is a bonus!
Sara d’Amato – A top white value in this release, this organic Tuscan vermentino is a lively conversation starter — bright and salty with some sweet orchard fruit and a delicate florality.

Brokenwood Hunter Valley Sémillon 2024, New South Wales, Australia
$24.95, Cru Wine Merchants
John Szabo – An arch-classic Hunter semillon — I’m a huge fan of the genre, admittedly, and I know where this wine will go in time, over a decade or so: into tasty, honeyed, buttered-toast territory. It may seem innocuous now but give it time for its potency and beauty to emerge.
Michael Godel – Very few $25 wines anywhere are as great and important as semillon from Brokenwood. Tight, implosive intensity and complex weave of varietal meets structural propriety.
Megha Jandhyala – This is quintessential semillon, vibrant and zesty, with classic flavours of green fig, kaffir lime leaves and lemons. It is still an infant though, so I would buy a case of this wine and let it mature in the cellar until the early 2030s.

Château La Nerthe Les Cassagnes De La Nerthe Côtes Du Rhône Villages 2023, Rhône, France
$29.95, Woodman Wines & Spirits
John Szabo – A lovely and creamy, cool-weather white wine, with terrific floral notes thanks to its viognier-dominant blend. Nicely composed and balanced in the end, with impressive complexity and depth. Best now to 2030 or so.
David Lawrason – This winter white is a four-grape blend of southern French white varieties, led by viognier. It delivers a tropical custard of banana, star anise, apricot and lovely wood, including nutmeg and vanilla. It is medium-full bodied, quite rich, warm and spicy.
Megha Jandhyala – Opulent yet nuanced and balanced, with a refreshing, herbal finish, this is a delightful, not-so-commonplace Rhône blend. There is something beguiling about this wine!
Sara d’Amato – With a striking luminous yellow colour, this 2023 Les Cassagnes pours made of grenache blanc, roussanne and marsanne, doesn’t miss a beat. Fleshy with white peach and blossom, buttercup and chamomile, and a hint of fennel. It’s full bodied with very moderate oak and the depth, for pouring alongside richer holiday dishes.

Black Bank Hill Fraternité 2023, Ontario, Canada
$34.95, Black Bank Hill
Michael Godel – Impressive white blend from all angles that will age and morph into something new, maybe even improved, after a few years’ time.

Le Colombier De Brown Blanc 2022, Bordeaux, France
$41.95, Mark Anthony Group
David Lawrason – Such a great value in classic white Bordeaux (barrel fermented semillon-sauvignon blanc). The nose is very complex and definitive with classic semillon fig, honey, olive, wood spice, flint and light toast. It is medium-full bodied, creamy yet dry, with a mineral finish.

Denis Race Montmains 1er Cru Chablis 2023, Burgundy, France
$48.95, Vin Passion (The Case For Wine)
John Szabo – Quality, properly racy Chablis in high-definition, salty and tidy. A benchmark Montmains drinking well now, or hold into the early 2030s.

Quails’ Gate Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay 2022, British Columbia, Canada
$47.95, Family Wine Merchants
David Lawrason -This is from estate fruit in the volcanic Boucherie vineyard, 100% barrel fermented and aged, which accounts for the lifted toasty, hazelnut notes that join the ripe yellow apple, peach pineapple. It is medium-full bodied, rich and voluminous in feel, but parsed by bright, firm acidity. Solid!
Michael Godel – The chardonnay summit is reached as the vintage is ideal for the SFR. Stock up on 2022s, folks. They are the cream that rises to the top.

Domaine Sève Terroir Pouilly Fuissé 2023, Burgundy, France
$50.95, The Case For Wine
Sara d’Amato – Texturally seductive with a true sense of place, this chardonnay strikes a graceful balance between brightness and richness. A thoughtful touch of oak frames its buttery core, while notes of yellow fruit and subtle minerality lend depth and poise. Compelling, complete and very well composed.

Gobelsburg Ried Renner 1ötw Erste Lage Grüner Veltliner 2022, Kamptal, Austria
$69.95, Connexion Oenophilia
John Szabo – The great Renner cru faces east on the Gaisberg hill, resting on thick, lime-rich loess, a preferred site for grüner. The warm 2022 vintage yielded a fatter and richer wine than most examples from Gobeslburg I’ve tasted over 20-plus years, yet still in balance, with rich acids supporting the massive fruit weight, and the liquid mineral flavours/phenolics/bitters serving as an additional counterpoint to fruit and ripeness. There’s an immense amount of more immediate pleasure on offer here. Drink 2026–34 or so.
Michael Godel – A Kamptal necessity to explain just how concentrated and finessed fruit turned into top white wine can be. Should age well into the next decade with ease.

Louis Latour Pouilly Fuissé 2023, Burgundy, France
$62.95, Mark Anthony Group
John Szabo – A poised, very sapid and delicious Pouilly-Fuissé, with creamy acids and perfectly pitched alcohol. I find this beautifully even keeled, with just the right amount of flintiness. Length is excellent.

Buyer’s Guide Vintages November 8: Red

Santa Carolina El Pacto Agreement N°2 Carmenère 2021, Central Valley, Chile
$17.95, Charton Hobbs
John Szabo – Along with Peumo in the Cachapoal Valley, and Apalta in Central Colchagua, Los Lingues on the Andes side of the same valley is one of the best places in Chile to grow carmenere. The 2021 vintage under SC’s El Pacto range expresses the varietal DNA nicely with its herbal, fresh bay leaf and pine needle notes while the palate delivers the soft, powdery tannins anchored on balanced fresh acids. It’s showing little of its four years of age, a good indicator of longevity. Textbook stuff; drink now to 2030.
David Lawrason – A great value carmenere for any carmenere purists who may be out there. Impressive, textbook aromas of graphite, blackcurrant, cranberry, evergreen and tarragon. Not much oak, with ageing in 5000-litre oak foudres. It is full bodied, dense, almost juicy, and a touch sweet-edged and hot.

Cave De Julienas Chaintre Reserve Des Pierres Saint Amour 2023, Beaujolais, France
$23.95, PV W&S
Sara d’Amato – A textbook Saint-Amour, fleshy and juicy and irresistibly vibrant. Raspberry jam and licorice meet a peppery lift on the palate. Lively and gregarious, yet grounded with depth, more complex than its easy charm suggests.

Tenuta Di Renieri Chianti Classico 2022, Tuscany, Italy
$24.95, Connexion Oenophilia
John Szabo – Balanced, stress-free Chianti Classico, with classic styling and terrific drinkability for the money. Drink or hold mid-term.

Alpha Estate Xinomavro Single Vineyard Hedgehog 2022, Greece
$29.95, Kolonaki Group Inc
John Szabo – Alpha seems to have gotten it all right in 2022, delivering a beautifully perfumed, 100-plus- year-old vines xinomavro grown at 700 metres in north-western Macedonia, all fresh strawberries and raspberries, floral and gently spicy. Tannins are relatively soft, a feature of this sandy terroir, like a nebbiolo from the sandy Roero, for an obscure comparative. For enjoyment over the next 2–5 years.

Torbreck Cuvée Juveniles 2022, South Australia, Australia
$29.95, Noble Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.
David Lawrason – Textbook Barossa generosity and gravitas! This has all the fruit and generosity of the genre, yet a bit more compactness and complexity. Expect lifted strawberry-cherry pie fruit with fresh herbs, cola, cinnamon and wood spice. It is medium-full bodied, warm and spicy, with some drying tannin.
Michael Godel – So much going on here and, at the price, it’s a really remarkable gift. All without even noticing the 15 percent alcohol.
Sara d’Amato – The Juveniles is a spirited blend of grenache, mataro, carignan and counoise. Spicy and generous, it brims with bramble, pink peppercorn, black currant and morello cherry. Rich and inviting without heaviness, its brooding palate reveals layers of complexity.

Santa Carolina VSC Assemblage 2019, Cachapoal Valley, Chile
$29.95, Charton Hobbs
Michael Godel – Full-bodied, minty cool, clean as they come, amenable and generous red. Everything is integrated, the polishing second to none and generosity flowing like a river.

Hacienda Terra D’uro Reserva 2011, Castilla y León, Spain
$31.95, Wine Alliance
John Szabo – It’s a rare pleasure to see such old Toro arriving (for the first time) on Ontario shelves. It’s fully mature to be sure, but still in good shape, and it reminds me of similarly dense and ripe wines, like Numanthia’s Toro, which, at three or four times the price, makes this look like a sharp bargain indeed. Fans of big and bold and chewy wines take note.
David Lawrason – In the arid interior of central Spain tempranillo (locally called tinta de toro) amps up to make one of Spain’s biggest reds. Fun to try this 14-year-old example. Some leather has evolved but it captures and integrates so much else — dried fruits and flowers, red ferrous earth, caraway, tarragon and some iron ringed inkiness. It is full bodied, very smooth, hot (14.5%) and intensely flavoured.
Megha Jandhyala – A 14-year-old Toro is a treat, especially at this price. Showing intriguing nuances of age, it is big, bold and concentrated, yet balanced, and should pair well with rich and creamy, aged cheeses.

Château Barrabaque Canon Fronsac 2019, Bordeaux, France
$34.95, Profile Wine Group (Barrique)
John Szabo – Another very good 2019 red Bordeaux, a vintage that will be counted among the greats of the first quarter of the 21st century, maybe even the first half. I find the energy here palpable, the acid-tannin balance spot on, and the length very good to excellent. Enjoying from about 2027–35.
Megha Jandhyala – This is a mature merlot-based blend, with plenty of character, grace and allure. I love the silky palate and complex and classic flavour profile. It is also very reasonably priced for a Bordeaux that is six years old.

Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Docg 2021, Piedmont, Italy
$85.95, Noble Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.
Michael Godel – Inviting Vintages release treat of an archetype Barolo. Classic in so many ways, wood employed with old-school heart and soul. A Barolo to savour one bottle every few years until a case has been completed.

That’s all for this report, see you ’round the next bottle.

John Szabo, MS

Use these quick links for access to all of our November 8th Top Picks in the New Release. Non-premium members can select from all release dates 60 days prior.

John’s Top Picks – November 8th
Lawrason’s Take – November 8th
Michael’s Mix – November 8th
Megha’s Picks – November 8th
Sara’s Selections – November 8th

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