Brett happens

Have notes from the November MWG tasting, two tastings with François Barmès and the Salon des vins d’importation privée to transcribe and post but won’t get around to them until my head clears from this nasty cold. In the meantime, another issue of LCBO’s Vintages magazine, this one covering the November 27th release, has shown up in the mailbox. Of the 160-odd wines in the release, 27 are also listed by the SAQ.

SAQ / LCBO

$14.65 / $13.95 Lillet blanc
$14.95 / $13.95 Beaujolais Nouveau 2010 Mommessin
$16.95 / $17.95 Bodega François Lurton Reserva Malbec 2008 Mendoza
$19.55 / $17.95 Robertson Winery Wolfkloof Shiraz 2007
$23.70 / $24.95 B Crux 2006 Bodegas y Vinedos O. Fournier Valle de Uco
$24.05 / $21.95 Clos de los Siete 2008 Mendoza
$24.30 / $25.95 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2006 Tomassi (375 ml)
$24.85 / $25.00 Palazzo Della Torre 2007 Allegrini IGT Veronese
$25.35 / $25.95 Il Grigio da San Felice 2006 Chianti Classico Riserva
$26.15 / $28.95 Tenuta di Capraia 2006 Chianti Classico Riserva
$27.35 / $21.95 Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 2003 von Kesselstatt Qmp
$27.95 / $24.95 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay 2008 Yarra Valley
$30.50 / $34.95 Heitz Cellar Chardonnay 2008 Napa Valley
$34.75 / $31.95 Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo 2007 IGT Toscana
$41.25 / $43.95 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino 2004
$44.50 / $49.95 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2006 Tomassi (750 ml)
$48.00 / $29.95 Sandeman Vau Vintage Port 2000
$49.75 / $37.95 Le Vieux Pin Époque Merlot 2006 Okanagan Valley
$52.25 / $49.95 Catena Alta Malbec 2007 Mendoza
$65.75 / $71.95 Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut Champagne
$75.75 / $76.95 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
$77.25 / $73.95 Ribera del Duero 2006 Bodegas et Vinedos Alion
$82.75 / $84.95 Warre’s Vintage Port 2007
$96.00 / $69.95 Delaforce Vintage Port 1994
$133.95 / $139.95 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Napa
$197.50 / $214.95 The Balvenie Portwood 21 Years Old Speyside Single Malt
$271.25 / $269.95 Krug Grande Cuvée Brut Champagne

Score: SAQ 14, LCBO 13. However, when it comes to the average difference, the LCBO is the clear winner. That’s thanks largely to the Delaforce and Sandeman ports, which are shockingly cheaper in Ontario. Both ports have been marked down in Quebec, though nowhere near as drastically, so I’m not sure what’s going on.

Note, too, that the release includes a product inexplicably absent from SAQ shelves: St-Germain Délice de Sureau, an artisanal elderflower liqueur ($49.95, 180695).