Brett happens

This week saw two releases of note: the March 17th Cellier arrivage, two of whose wines (identified here with asterisks) are available at the LBCO, and the March 19th Vintages release, with 22 wines also found at the SAQ.

SAQ / LCBO
$7.95 / $8.00 Hakutsuru Sayuri Nigori (300 ml)
$8.40 / $8.45 Hakutsuro Junmai Ginjo (300 ml)
$14.40 / $14.95 Obsession Symphony 2009 Ironstone
$15.75 / $13.95 Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Mendoza
$16.30 / $16.95 Contado Riserva Aglianico del Molise 2007*
$18.15 / $16.95 Banfi Centine 2008 Toscana
$20.10 / $19.95 Beringer Founder’s Estate Syrah 2009
$20.70 / $21.95 Segal’s Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
$20.95 / $19.95 Santa Barabara Wine Company Pinot Noir 2009
$22.25 / $15.95 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot 2006
$22.75 / $19.95 D’Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
$24.15 / $34.95 Colomé Estate Malbec 2008 Calchaqui Valley
$25.65 / $25.95 Vina Mayor Reserva 2004 Ribera del Durero
$26.40 / $24.95 Altaïr Sideral 2005 Rapel Valley
$26.95 / $26.95 Gabriel Meffre Laurus Gigondas 2007
$31.25 / $29.95 Pisco Soldeica
$35.75 / $36.95 Ferdinando Principiano Barolo Serralunga 2005*
$36.75 / $37.95 Sartori Amarone della Valpolicella 2006
$45.75 / $43.95 Ruffino Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva 2005
$48.25 / $44.95 Mission Hill Quatrain 2006
$54.00 / $53.95 Gaja Sito Moresco 2008 Langhe
$120.25 / $119.95 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
$150.75 / $134.95 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
$342.00 / $339.95 Opus One 2007

SAQ 9, LCBO 14.

A basket of all 24 wines would run $1,155.60 (average of $48.15 a bottle) in Quebec and $1,132.35 (average of $47.18 a bottle) in Ontario.

The price difference for the Columbia Crest Merlot ($22.15 at the SAQ, $15.95 at the LCBO) is hard to fathom. On the other hand, that for the Colomé Estate Malbec ($24.15 vs. $34.95) may have something to do with the SAQ’s bringing it to market before the Wine Spec ranked it 66 in their Top 100 Wines of 2010.

Two releases this week: the SAQ’s March 3rd Cellier release, three of whose wines are also available in Ontario, and the LCBO’s March 5th Vintages release, 14 of whose wines are stocked by the SAQ.

SAQ / LCBO (Cellier 2011-03-03)
$26.45 / $28.95 Chianti Classico Riserva 2006 Tenuta di Capraia
$29.35 / $28.95 Modus 2006 Toscana Ruffino
$38.50 / $46.95 Brunello di Montalcino 2004 Tenuta Friggiali

SAQ / LCBO (Vintages 2011-03-05)
$14.90 / $14.95 Mas des Bressandes Cuvée Tradition 2009 Costières-de-Nîmes rouge
$16.00 / $14.95 Ermete Medici & Figli Concerto Lambrusco 2009
$17.95 / $15.95 Bodegas Callia Magna Shiraz 2008 Valle del Tulum, San Juan
$18.55 / $15.00 Bodegas Lan Crianza 2006 Rioja
$18.95 / $15.95 Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling 2010
$22.20 / $22.95 D’Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz 2007 McLaren Vale
$23.65 / $22.95 Spy Valley Pinot Noir 2009 Marlborough
$23.20 / $18.95 Chavet Fils Menetou-Salon Blanc 2009
$24.55 / $17.95 Cline Los Carneros Syrah 2006
$26.10 / $24.95 Marqués de Murrieta Finca Ygay Reserva 2005 Rioja
$26.95 / $24.95 Janz Premium Cuvée Tasmania
$27.05 / $19.95 Beringer Zinfandel 2006 Clear Lake
$27.35 / $27.95 Château Haut-Chaigneau 2006 Lalande-de-Pomerol
$29.85 / $32.95 Calera Pinot Noir 2008 Central Coast

SAQ 6, LCBO 11.

A basket of the three Cellier wines would cost $94.30 (average of $31.43 a bottle) in Quebec and $104.85 (average of $34.95 a bottle) in Ontario. A basket of all 14 Vintages wines would run $317.25 (average of $22.66 a bottle) in Quebec and $290.35 average of ($20.74 a bottle) in Ontario.

Some of the difference may be attributable to exchange rates. For example, that Beringer Zin has been available in Quebec for a while now and so may have been purchased when the Canadian dollar was 5 or 6% below its current value vis-à-vis the US dollar. (You’ve also got to wonder whether Beringer wasn’t anxious to unload any remaining stocks of a four-year-old wine that’s probably not a long keeper.) Similarly, the Cellier wines are all new arrivals and so may have benefited from the recently resurgent Canadian dollar.

Also, though the Cellier sample is small, the results reinforce the widely held belief that the LCBO’s the winner when it comes to lower-end wines while the SAQ takes the premium wine crown.