14 of the LCBO’s best gift wines
Bottles to give or cellar for a special occasion (even if that occasion is right now)
Roederer 2009 Cristal Vintage Brut
$304.95 | Champagne, France | 95 points
Cristal has a lovely bouquet of apple strudel, yellow flowers, almonds, vanilla and lemon. It feels light and airy, but there’s great acidity, structure and length of flavour. Don’t over-chill.Vintages Essentials 268755
Dom Pérignon 2006 Vintage Brut
$231.95 | Champagne, France | 91 points
Dom is frankly overpriced, but naming one’s price is the prerogative of the world’s best-known Champagne. It’s powerful and elegant with delicate mousse. Mature flavours show dried straw, earthiness, walnut, lemon and dried pear. Don’t over-chill. Vintages Essentials 280461
Bouchard Pere and Fils 2015 Pouilly-Fuissé
$30.00 | Burgundy, France | 91 points
From a great vintage comes a rich, refined chardonnay, with generous, nuanced peach, vague almond and oak spice, honeysuckle, thyme and lemon-blossom flavours. It’s rich yet still linear with some minerality. Drink from now to 2020. Chill lightly. LCBO 56580
Cloudy Bay 2016 Sauvignon Blanc
$35.95 | Marlborough, New Zealand | 91 points
This pioneering brand is a slim, balanced, dry and almost mineral sauvignon with notes of lemon-lime, fresh herbs and guava. It’s mouth-watering, focused and well balanced. Chill well. Vintages Essentials 304469
Henri Bourgeois 2016 Les Baronnes Sancerre
$27.95 | Loire Valley, France | 91 points
This bright, fresh and complex sauvignon blanc has complex, tightly wound flavours of lemon, grapefruit, juniper, yellow peppers and granny smith apple. It’s medium weight, crisp and juicy. Chill well. Vintages Essentials 542548
Sonoma-Cutrer 2015 Russian River Ranches Chardonnay
$27.95 | Sonoma Coast, California | 90 points
Calm, cool and collected, this Sonoma chardonnay has notes of ripe peach, lemon, oak toast, vanillin and an underlying sense of evergreen. It’s medium weight, slim but sophisticated. Chill lightly. Vintages Essentials 608653
Cakebread Cellars 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
$119.95 | Napa Valley | 93 points
This famous cabernet is very poised, with complex aromas and flavours of blackcurrant jam, oak chocolate, pepper, roasted rosemary, capers and nutmeg. It’s almost velvet with fine tannin, acidity and warming alcohol. Best 2019 to 2025. Vintages Essentials 710426
Antinori 2014 Tignanello
$105.95 | Tuscany, Italy | 92 points
Arguably Italy’s most famed red, this rich, refined sangiovese and cabernet blend intrigues with complex notes of raspberry, currant, roasted herbs, meat, vanillin and gentle smoke. It’s full-bodied, intense and rich yet sour-edged with firm tannin. Vintages Essentials 986786
Masi 2012 Costasera Amarone Della Valpolicella
$43.45 | Veneto, Italy | 92 points
This lighter vintage of Masi’s Amarone impresses with precision and pillow-soft texture. Complex flavours include dried cherry, fig, meaty notes, roasted chestnut and a touch of earth. Rich and smooth. Best 2018 to 2022. LCBO 317057
Taylor Fladgate 20-Year-Old Tawny Port
$69.95 | Douro Valley, Portugal | 92 points
Twenty years in the barrel has given this sweet, fortified (20% alcohol) port a pale, tawny colour. The bouquet is superb with maple walnut, prune, dried apricot, honey and wood spice. It’s smooth with a nicely bitter walnut finish. Chill lightly. Vintages Essentials 149047
Louis M. Martini 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
$34.95 | Napa Valley | 91 points
Many Napa cabs of this stature are three times the price. This cab sauvignon has blackcurrant, vanillin, cedar, oak resin and chocolate notes. It’s full-bodied, juicy and youthfully tannic. Best 2019 to 2025. Vintages Essentials 232371
Zenato 2012 Amarone Classico
$52.95 | Veneto, Italy | 91 points
Weighing in at a whopping 16.5% alcohol, this gentle giant couches its alcohol heat within a generous, cool note of ripe cherry jam, fine oak vanilla and spice. It’s full-bodied, dense and rich. Chill a bit. Vintages Essentials 413179
Batasiolo 2013 Barolo
$29.95 | Piedmont, Italy | 90 points
This typically pale barolo offers a subtle, integrated nose of sour cherry fruit nestled amid forest-floor herbaceousness, leather and spice. It’s medium-full bodied, warming and smooth with the nebbiolo grape’s notorious tannin drying the finish. Best 2019 to 2023. LCBO 178541
Muga 2013 Rioja Reserva
$25.95 | Spain | 90 points
This rich, barrel-aged rioja shows dried fig and cherry fruit with tobacco, oak resin, coconut, vanillin and fine spice. The flavours are very complex and layered in this full-bodied, warm and tart-edged wine. Now to 2023. Vintages Essentials 177345
 port a pale, tawny colour. The bouquet is superb with maple walnut, prune, dried apricot, honey and wood spice. It’s smooth with a nicely bitter walnut finish. Chill lightly. Vintages Essentials 149047
Louis M. Martini 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
$34.95 | Napa Valley | 91 points
Many Napa cabs of this stature are three times the price. This cab sauvignon has blackcurrant, vanillin, cedar, oak resin and chocolate notes. It’s full-bodied, juicy and youthfully tannic. Best 2019 to 2025. Vintages Essentials 232371
Zenato 2012 Amarone Classico
$52.95 | Veneto, Italy | 91 points
Weighing in at a whopping 16.5% alcohol, this gentle giant couches its alcohol heat within a generous, cool note of ripe cherry jam, fine oak vanilla and spice. It’s full-bodied, dense and rich. Chill a bit. Vintages Essentials 413179
Batasiolo 2013 Barolo
$29.95 | Piedmont, Italy | 90 points
This typically pale barolo offers a subtle, integrated nose of sour cherry fruit nestled amid forest-floor herbaceousness, leather and spice. It’s medium-full bodied, warming and smooth with the nebbiolo grape’s notorious tannin drying the finish. Best 2019 to 2023. LCBO 178541
Muga 2013 Rioja Reserva
$25.95 | Spain | 90 points
This rich, barrel-aged rioja shows dried fig and cherry fruit with tobacco, oak resin, coconut, vanillin and fine spice. The flavours are very complex and layered in this full-bodied, warm and tart-edged wine. Now to 2023. Vintages Essentials 177345){kind=link}