If I Could Buy Only One – March 21st Vintages Release

We asked our writers,“If you could buy only one wine from the March 21st release, which one would it be and why?”

Henry Of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Pinot Noir 2024, Short Hills Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario
$47.95, Family Wine Merchants
Sara d’Amato – A worthwhile splurge this week, this local find is packed with flavour – think raspberry jelly and juicy cherry balanced by a refreshing lift of acidity. It has the depth you’d expect from a top-tier Speck Family Reserve out of the Short Hills Bench (the Escarpment’s coolest, easternmost appellation). Fleshy and generous, with moderate tannic grip, notable intensity, and a finish of memorable length.

Casale Del Giglio Bellone 2023, Lazio, Italy
$19.95, Profile Wine Group (Du Chasse)
Megha Jandhyala – My “only one” this week is the Casale del Giglio’s 2023 Bellone – a delicious and approachably priced white wine that also happens to be steeped in history. Bellone is a grape variety so ancient that it was reportedly cited by Roman historian Pliny the Elder! Once widely grown in the Lazio region in Italy, it fell out of favour in the last century. Recently, plantings of the variety have been increasing in the region. Despite the variety’s ancient ancestry, Casale del Giglio’s rendition of it is modern. The 2023 vintage adopts a charming approach to minimalism, one that is less about austerity and more about focus. I love its clean, crisp notes of stone and citrus fruit and alluring texture, combining richness with restraint. At under $20, this ready-to-drink, uncommon wine will be an intriguing and affordable addition to your summer bar!

Bachelder Wismer-Foxcroft Vineyard Gamay Noir 2023, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Escarpment
$33.00  Bachelder Wines          
David Lawrason – On the eve of Thomas Bachelder releasing his 2024 Gamays, we get to reflect on this archetypical 2023. Both were excellent years. Ontario has been having a good run recently.  This is such a suave, elegant and sophisticated gamay – epitomizing Niagara’s limestone interpretation versus Beaujolais where granites make darker, riper and fruitier versions. This pours fairly pale ruby garnet. The nose is nicely forward with fine slightly jammy cranberry/strawberry/raspberry red fruit, subtle pepper and spice from ageing in older barrels. There is also some minerality that is more expressed on the finish. It is light to medium bodied, very nicely textured and combined with perfect acid-alcohol balance and very fine tannin. It’s bot juicy and lithe. The length is excellent to outstanding. Best now to 2030+.

Muga Selección Especial 2020, Rioja, Spain
$56.95, Vinexx
Michael Godel – Muga Selección Especial Rioja Doca 2020 is a classic and stalwart Rioja wistfully remembered as being one of the great $35 tempranillo blends with spicy and smoky bits pvovided by garnacha tinta, graciano and mazuelo. The price today simply reflects the quality in the bottle. This being a 2020 the wine has softened enough to present as a gorgeous drink now Rioja, potent yet efficient in how it conveys style and effect more than place, but by now we’ve come to expect Rioja to act this way. And yet modernity is key, especially with respect to fruit this luxe and savvy, taking on the barrel and working for all the right reasons.

Use these quick links for access to all of our March 21st Top Picks in the New Release. Non-premium members can select from all release dates 60 days prior.

Lawrason’s Take – March 21st
Sara’s Selections – March 21st
Megha’s Picks – March 21st
Michael’s Mix – March 21st