January 2025 LCBO Vintages Picks

What happens when you're trying to learn about wine and the LCBO indulges you with new wine to pick from a couple of times a month? Here are my 'LCBO Vintages Choices' for January 2025.

I've been told I'm a bit of a new product junkie. If it has 'new' on the label, chances are I'm at least giving it a second glance. New brand of cereal on the shelf? Yup -- I'm strongly considering it. I'm quite confident that this trait (along with my love of shopping aimlessly without structure or a list) is what has led to me doing less and less grocery shopping over the years.

A Little Context

As I started this journey of trying to learn about more about appreciating wine, it was very evident after my first few lists and shopping trips to the LCBO that I was fighting a bit of an up-hill battle. Finding things that were on the 'recommended' list online or in-store seemed next to impossible.

Eventually the instructions became less and less about what fit what I THOUGHT I would enjoy, and more about what I could find that KIND OF fit the bill.

If it sounds a little frustrating...well, it was! Imagine being told something was a perfect match to your preferences, then not being able to find it ANYWHERE.

There's an article in our future here about product selection in Ontario (and Canada as a whole) coming down the lane...let's save that for another day.

Enter 'Vintage Assessments'

After a few months of testing out shopping lists and seeing how effective (or not) our large-language-model overlords were at aligning my tastes to what was on the shelf, I came across Michael Vaughan's 'Vintage Assessments' (and yes, the casual cybersecurity person that I am immediately goes 'What, no HTTPS?' -- @Michael if you want, I'll happily chip in for the cost of the certificate!)

I had become semi-aware that the LCBO was bringing new product to stores regularly -- this should not have been a surprise, and yet I was maybe a bit surprised at the pace and what I perceived as a very irregular schedule.

Eventually, I stumble across Michael's page and not only find a comprehensive list of reviews, but a PREVIEW of everything that was about to land on store shelves or in the online stores, often WEEKS before it actually did (notwithstanding product lands frequently lands on LCBO store shelves well before its actual planned release date).

Conveniently coded and categorized, Michael's list immediately became fodder for the machine -- in theory, I could feed his bi-weekly PDFs into the machine and test it against my preferences, satisfying not only my desire to expand my horizons and learn about wines by drinking more products that I liked vs. ones I didn't, I could ALSO satisfy my desire for all things new!

Now it just remained to actually buy them, and SUFFER through tasting that many wines over the course of...whatever time period I determined.

(Did I mention the site also keeps a list of which wines/spirits are on sale and which ones have bonus Aeroplan miles? No? Well, it does!)

It Was NOT a 'Dry' January at My House

So while I worked through the logistics of how I would handle this new little addition to my method, I landed on some wines for January 2025 to try. Despite all my willpower (...) these somehow did not end up being the only bottles I purchased in January, nor the only wines I tried. I'm choosing to look at that as a good thing -- time will ultimately tell if I can find a way to rein this in a bit. It is proving increasingly challenging to find opportunities to consume this many bottles (thank goodness for a renewed interest in wines around the dinner table with family!)

I call them 'picks' below because they're simply the picks of what was new -- I wouldn't necessarily consider this an endorsement, more acknowledgement that the machine thought I might be interested, and I was either smart or silly enough to follow blindly.

My January 2025 Vintages 'Picks'

Farnito Carpineto Cabernet Sauvignon (2018)

This supple, black-current-, blackberry-, iron-, olive- and cedar-infused red shows its Tuscan roots as well as good varietal character. Elegant and harmonious, this is enjoyable now, yet should age well over the next decade. Drink now through 2035. Score - 92.

• Bruce Sanderson, winespectator.com via LCBO.com

Bogle Family Merlot (2021)

This popular Merlot spent 12 months ageing in American oak before bottling. The producer suggests pairing it with margherita pizza, aged white cheddar, or duck breast with a raspberry sauce. Rhubarb, strawberry, rose petal. Elegant. Score - 92

• Sunset International Wine Competition via LCBO.com

Piattelli Vineyards Reserve Malbec (2022)

Clay loam soils in Agrelo and Perdriel supply the raw material for Valeria Antolin's well-judged Malbec. Defly matured in older French and American oak, it combines flavours of mocha, fresh herbs, plum and blackberry with textured tannins and balancing acidity.

• timatkin.com, Argentina Speicla Report via LCBO.com

Xavier Vignon Cotes du Rhone Vielles Vignes (2020)

Aromas of berries, Mediterranean herbs, licorice and smoke. Medium- to full-bidoed with silky tannins. Posed and juicy with a vivid finish. Better in a year or two. Score - 91.

• jamessuckling.com via LCBO.com

Cecchi Valore di Famiglia Chianti Classico (Gran Selezione) (2018)

*Sweet-berry and floral aromas, showing blackberries, cherries and spice. Full-bodied and very fine-tannined with a juicy and creamy undertone and firmness that gives it length and focus. Lightly bitter at the end. Better after 2022. Score - 94.

• jamessuckling.com via LCBO.com

Looking Ahead to February

If you've read this far, you deserve to know that I haven't yet hit my January goal: by the end of the month, I will have only made it through three of these bottles, having opted to open and try others instead of keeping my eye on the prize.

But good news -- I've got five more lined up for February! Maybe this is how people build up collections in their cellar -- it's just the leftover wine they never got around to drinking...

Have you tried one of these wines and want to tell me what you think about it? Have thoughts or questions about the process I'm using, or don't believe AI can help you pick wine? Check me out at the various social media network links below and let's chat about it!