Ten best buys under $10 at the LCBO right now

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This article was published 30/09/2021 (1815 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sometimes, you just want a glass of wine. Nothing fancy — just an honest drop that suits your tastes and mood. With that in mind, here are 10 best buys under $10 available now at the LCBO — starting with a stellar Californian Cabernet that was actually created to pour at a swanky five-star hotel.

I’m talking about Canyon Road Cabernet Sauvignon from the sunny Golden State. And the 2019 vintage of that wine now on shelf (LCBO 552505 $9.95) is a smart buy. Juicy and forward, each glass swirls with rich scents of muddled blueberries drizzled with blackcurrant liqueur. Then it streams in with velvety folds of jammy fruit laced with homemade blueberry cobbler and milk chocolate. Bright acidity balances the bold fruit to keep it quenching. Score: 93

“This wine was developed for the Ritz-Carlton as a house pour,” says Rebecca Yates-Campbell, products manager and public relations, E & J Gallo Winery Canada. “With this wine, we strive to offer incredible value.”

And they’ve nailed it. This sun-drenched Californian Cabernet offers a satisfying expression from that sunny state. For a similarly sweet-fruited style of rich red, swing over to the South American aisle of the LCBO and reach for the 2019 Concha y Toro Frontera After Midnight Red Blend from Chile (LCBO 553917 $8.95). It’s a blend of superripe Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah picked in the middle of the night to preserve freshness. And the generous midpalate concentration shifts from black forest fruit and cherries to toffee, chocolate and cream with a touch of toasted oak that persists on the finish. Brilliant with BBQ. Score: 94

For those who prefer their red wines drier and more savoury, the 2019 José Maria da Fonseca Periquita Red from Portugal (LCBO 25262 $9.45) and the 2019 Toro Bravo Tempranillo/Merlot from Spain (LCBO 635755 $8.30) hit the mark.

The Portuguese number draws you in with its heady fragrance of blackberries and tobacco before sweeping in and echoing the dark fruit found on the nose. Each sip quickly cascades with more complexity than most bottles at this price without compromising purity and balance. Blackberry turns to tobacco then cigar box to fruitcake before tapering toward baking spices and biscuity notes. Delicious. Score: 94

The Toro Bravo red from Spain is all about dark fruit on the nose with subtle allusions of earth and fig. Then, those notes emerge on the palate with whispers of salt and slate underpinning the fruit. The bright acidity lends structure and scrapes the palate clean. Score: 94

Don’t disregard rosé this time of year, especially with spicy foods. One of the best value rosés on shelf is the NV Sogrape Gazela Vinho Verde Rosé DOC (LCBO 404533 $9.70).

Sogrape’s Gazela Vinho Verde tastes sheer and luminous. Each silvery-coral, off-dry sip tastes lemon-lit with quiet strawberry-peach suggestions. The hint of effervescence ups the quench factor. Score: 91

For white wines, a bottle that overdelivers is the 2020 Spinelli Unoaked Chardonnay Terre di Chieti IGT from Abruzzo, Italy (LCBO 474239 $8.75). Expect a vivid-cool hit of sunlit fruit — think baked Granny Smith apple — nuanced with grapefruit zest. And a subtle minerality plays quietly in the background and emerges on the finish. Score: 91.

Also, crisp but a little more restrained is the 2020 Tavernello Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie DOC from Italy (LCBO 19780 $8.60). The charm of this dry wine is its texture — it tastes silky smooth and shiny due to its impeccable balance. The fruit is clean, fresh, lightly lemony — and it lingers. Ideal to pour with fried fish. Score. 90

Also restrained but less about lemon than grapefruit, stones and steel is the 2020 Robertson Chenin Blanc from South Africa (LCBO 495507 $9.95). This is a wine that’s deeply undervalued. It’s dry and complex, concentrated yet linear and flits from citrus to slate seamlessly, with a hint of beeswax somewhere. Score: 93

And if you’re a fan of creamy-toasty Chardonnays, don’t overlook the NV Barefoot Chardonnay from California (LCBO 97121 $9.95). With a glossy mouth feel and eloquent aromas and flavours of cooked apple, vanilla cream and burnt sugar in every sip, it offers easy pleasure. Like the barefoot on the label suggests, this isn’t a fancy. But at the right time in the right place, it’s got instant appeal. Score: 90

A brilliant bottle for taco night is the 2020 Alianca Vinho Verde DOC from Portugal (LCBO 75663 $9.25). With vibrant flavours of salt, stone and lime in every mouth-watering sip, this zippy, off-dry drink yields immediate refreshment while leaving the palate perfectly seasoned with zesty goodness. Score: 92

Every one of these 10 wines prove you don’t need to spend a lot to get a great-tasting wine. You just need to know which bottle to buy.

Carolyn Evans Hammond is a Toronto-based wine writer and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Wineries occasionally sponsor segments on her YouTube series yet they have no role in the selection of the wines she chooses to review or her opinions of those wines. Reach her via email: carolyn@carolynevanshammond.com