Blair WineLover

Firestone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Santa Ynez Valley

Oh, so smooth, with an almost cinnamon finish. I think this is the best value at LCBO, and it is in the general section. Wonderful!

Mcwilliam's Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2007, Hunter Valley

This wine did not work for me at all. It tastes like a not so good heavily oaked chardonnay. Michael Godel uses words like stenosis and petrol. I should have listened to him.

Uccelliera Rosso Di Montalcino 2012, Doc

Wow, love the pepper. With the strong fruit, I could easily believe it was from Sonoma. A great bottle of wine, as it should be for this price.

Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer 2009, Alsace

It takes the French to make a great German wine! This is heaven, with a wonderful long finish, and not too sweet. Serve chilled, perhaps as an aperitif before dinner. Best of all, it is now in the general section, so it should be available for a while.

Valle Reale Montepulciano D'abruzzo 2007, Doc

I made the mistake of serving this with Easter dinner, when nobody is paying attention to the wine. The first glass was merely very good, but the second glass brought out amazing slightly spicy, chocolatey, and other flavours I can't really describe, but all of them good. Great finish, too. Unfortunately, after that it was all gone before I could hide the bottle.

This is a truly great wine.

Peter Lehmann Shiraz 2008, Barossa Valley, South Australia

I am not the biggest fan of Australian Shiraz, but this one has plenty of complexity and length. Almost a 90, and good value.

Falernia Reserva Syrah 2007, Elquí Valley

After all these great reviews, I was rather disappointed. It is not much better than an average Australian shiraz. Some notes just do not work for me.

Pasquale Pelissero Barbaresco 2007, Docg

I was in Barolo recently, but this Barbaresco (also based on the nebbiolo grape) is as good as Barolos I paid considerably more for. Get a few before they are gone . I did.

Château Rahoul 2005, Ac Graves

It started with a slight whiff of sewage, which was fixed with a good decanting. Very smooth, classic Bordeaux, but not great complexity or a long finish. Is it worth thirty bucks? I have a soft spot for Bordeaux, so I think so. A very pleasant wine.

Vecchia Cantina Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano 2007

Tobacco and spice with a pepper note. Very smooth, good value. It really benefits fom an hour in a carafe to reduce the initial manure bouquet and bring out the flavours.