4 Buried Roots 'Tis the Season! By Braydon Scully The South Marysburgh Mirror Under $20 - White 2027 Falls Vineyard Riesling, Canada 2017 - $18.95 - Well reviewed from a quality producer, dry to just off dry, high acidity and well balanced. Great food wine with Christ- mas Turkey SOHO White Collec(cid:415)on Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand - $19.95 - Expect typical NZ Sauvignon Blanc character, grassy and fragrant with big fruit and acidity Gerard Bertrand Reserve Speciale Viognier, France 2017 - $14.95 - One of my favourite lesser known grapes and a great food wine, untried by me but from a quality producer and well reviewed Higher Priced Offerings: For that very special someone! Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2016 - $74.95 Serious Cabernet from one of Napa's oldest producers. Well priced in the context of fine Napa Cabernets and from a high quality vintage year E&E Black Pepper Shriaz, Barossa Valley Australia 2016 - $99.95 Iconic flagship wine from one of the best Producers in Aus- tralia Caparzo La Casa Brunello Di Montalcino, Italy 2013 - $79.95 2013 was a fabulous benchmark year in Tuscany and this higher end bo(cid:425)ling from Caparzo should make for excellent drinking 10 years from now Solaia, Italy 2016 - $457.95 Okay realis(cid:415)cally I get that likely no one reading this column, including me, is going to go out and buy this wine. Having said that I did get to spend a day, almost exactly a year ago, visi(cid:415)ng An(cid:415)nori in Tuscany and got to try it. Absolutely breathtaking and deserving of the mul(cid:415)ple 100 point ra(cid:415)ngs it is receiving from wine writers around the world. Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 20% Sangiovese and some Cabernet Franc. Price for this wine has doubled from just 4 vintages ago! Marchese An(cid:415)nori Tenuta Tignanello Riserva Chian(cid:415) Classi- co, Italy 2015 - $49.95 This is the one to buy if you were intrigued by the Solaia! Grown in the same exact vineyard at An(cid:415)nori as the Solaia on the Tignanello estate. The blend is different as this is pure Sangiovese. A superb vintage and while not "quite" as good as the Solaia, at 1/10th the price I know where I will be pu(cid:427)ng my money Quintarelli Rosso Ca'Del Merlo, Italy 2011 - $114.95 - Wonderful legendary producer making wines the same way they have been forever. Tradi(cid:415)onal blend of Veneto grapes, Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella blended with some outsid- ers. Half the fruit is dried before ferment as for Amarone, when blended the full wine does a secondary fermenta(cid:415)on on the lees of the houses Amarone. Aged 7 years in Slavoni- an oak. Can be drunk now or aged for decades. In Vino Veritas! Follow me on Instagram and Twi(cid:425)er @threegablespec Holiday wishes, Season's Gree(cid:415)ngs and all the best to everyone at this special (cid:415)me of year! At this (cid:415)me of year gi(cid:332)s are exchanged, par(cid:415)es are a(cid:425)ended and good spirits and friendships are reinforced. But what to give the people you love? Wine is always the answer for me! It's tough this (cid:415)me of year with so many events going on to decide what to get or what to bring your hosts at the various dinners, par(cid:415)es and get-togethers you will no doubt be a(cid:425)ending. We are in luck in that the recent Vintages release at the LCBO has not only some outstanding wines to choose from, but at a wide variety of price points to suit every budget. Normally these releases heading into Christmas highlight some of the most expensive wines of the year, and that is definitely s(cid:415)ll the case, but there are also some quality values available to help you entertain the crowds without having to resort to a bankruptcy filing in the new year! In this issue we will explore some quality offerings for hos(cid:415)ng friends and for gi(cid:332) giving this season. Before I dive into my sugges(cid:415)ons, I would like to put in a kind word for the hardworking folks at our local LCBO's. While I have been (and will con(cid:415)nue to be) hard on the LCBO as an organiza(cid:415)on, I want to be clear that my issues with our Liquor Control Board do not extend to the fine people who work there. So have a thought for them as you wade through the longer than normal line-ups and holiday chaos to procure your seasonal liba(cid:415)ons. Under $20 - Red Fincas Las Moras PAZ Malbec 2017, Argen(cid:415)na - $17.95 if prior vintages hold true this will be a big bold red with ripe fruit flavours balanced by decent acidity Zuccardi Q Malbec 2016, Argen(cid:415)na - $19.95 Good producer and well reviewed by Louis Gu(cid:415)errez of roberparker.com at 92 points. Montes Limited Selec(cid:415)on Carmenere, Chile 2016 - $14.95 excellent producer who's Purple Angel Carmenere @ $60 per bo(cid:425)le shows they know what to do with this grape- excellent value Chateau Le Cap AC Cotes De Bordeaux, France 2016 - $16.95 great vintage year for Bordeaux which should trickle down to this very accessible price point, well reviewed at 91 points by Roger Voss of Wine Enthusiast Tessellae Old Vines Grenache Syrah Mourvedre, France 2017 - $18.95 I have not tried this new vintage but have been a mul(cid:415) case buyer of past efforts. Expect big dark fruit, spice and a full bodied mouth feel. Perfect big wine to sip by the fire to keep warm Three Rings Shiraz, Australia 2016 - $17.95 -Second release of this wine, big lush fruit, and well structured