Buyer’s Guide to Vintages November 2nd Release

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview November 2: Premium (Greatest Hits?) California, and The Best From Campania Felix

By John Szabo MS, with notes from Sara d’Amato, David Lawrason, and Michael Godel

This week Vintages brings us a release with a “Premium California” theme, though the LCBO’s selection could well have been named “California’s Greatest Hits.” Those looking for familiar faces will be happy in this crowd: Duckhorn, J. Lohr, Caymus, Rombauer, and others who make regular appearances in Ontario are back again. Those looking for exciting new premium wines from the Golden State, or at least ones that are less ubiquitous, will have to keep looking.

And the WineAlign Crü has little to report on the theme. These are not the sort of wines that importers make available for critics to taste. They have nothing to gain, only to lose, by exposing them to critique. Their popularity is already well established, and a low score would be damaging, while a high score probably won’t improve sales by much. As for purchasers of high-end fashion accessories, brand name and a commanding price often matter more than quality. When’s the last time you read a review of a leather Hermès handbag? (I’m told they’re still literally hand-crafted in tiny quantities with inscrutable craftmanship, which is more than I can say for many luxury, high-priced wines.)

Aside from a cursory look at a few of the wines during a walk-around trade tasting of Napa Valley wines last month that David and I attended, which is not the right environment to write a full, considered review, we tasted only two of the 12 wines included in the latest Vintages feature at WineAlign headquarters: Gary Farrell’s excellent Russian River Selection Pinot Noir ($72.95), which I found to be a classically styled and highly polished example, and Far Niente’s Napa Valley Chardonnay ($99.95), about which Michael enthuses over the “ripe layers [of fruit], some of them exotic to tropical.”

Another, Groth’s 2020 Oakville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($128.95), was not yet available to be sent to the office at the time of writing, but I can report from my quick sip at the Napa tasting that it is also excellent, essentially the Reserve Cabernet declassified to the estate bottling at about one-third the price (in this wildfire-ravaged Napa vintage but entirely free of smoke taint).

The importers for the rest of the wines declined to send samples. Outside of California, we found triple alignment on a new virtual label from the Oppenlaender family who have farmed in St Davids in Niagara for 40 years. David, Sara and Michael all included the Liebling Riesling 2022 St. David’s Bench in their picks. One dollar from the sale of each bottle will be donated to the Alzheimer Society of Niagara Region. A Chilean syrah also scores triple alignment, the Falernia Titón Syrah from the Elquí Valley. Titón was one of the first vineyards to be planted in this relatively newly discovered terroir in the far north of Chile, and it is a veritable tour de force — not for drinkers of meek wines. Garnering double alignment for the Crü are wines from Armenia, Sicily and Burgundy, along with a superior Prosecco from Valdobbiadene and a Niagara riesling.

Campania Stories

Where I do have much to report is on the excellent wines of Campania, a region of singular beauty in the southern Italian peninsula. It includes the Phlegraean Islands, Ischia, Procida, Vivara and Nisida, and the jewel, Capri, under its administrative umbrella. With nearly six million inhabitants, it is Italy’s third most populous region, and, as anyone who has travelled in its capital city of Naples would know, the most densely populated in the country. Abundant sunshine, dramatic scenery, a rich tradition of gastronomy and the south’s deepest repertoire of fine wines conspire to make the region a joyful place. In fact, the Romans referred to it as Campania Felix, or “happy country.”

Campania is surely among the most dynamic of Italy’s 20 regions when it comes to the breadth of its wine offer, featuring an enviable ampelographic richness in a country celebrated for its varietal diversity. Several varieties are even able to trace their lineage directly back to the vinous residues discovered in Pompeii, with over 2,000 years of history in the region.

“Twenty years ago, nobody talked about Campania wines, just about a handful of historic producers like Mastroberardino, Villa Matilde, Ocone, Grotta del Sole, perhaps a dozen or so names,” Neapolitan winegrower Salvatore Martusciello reflects. “Now it’s a serious category, with more than 500 commercial wineries.”

I’ve been several times to Campania, most recently in May 2024 for the annual release of new vintages called Campania Stories, a well-organized event that provided the perfect opportunity to get caught up on the rapidly changing scene. It was one of the most enjoyable and satisfying visits I’ve made in the last few years of travel, and the quality and diversity of wines exceeded all expectations. And the region is still fermenting, it seems, with lots of crazy ideas bubbling over and continual change notable everywhere. Producers make new additions to their ranges, apply new trials and techniques, and revisit ancient ones with every passing vintage.

Click below for all the news, including a primer on the most important native varieties of Campania and a comprehensive buyer’s guide of the best from Naples and beyond from well over 300 wines tasted in May of this year.

John Szabo’s Campania Stories 2024

Here are our picks from the November 2nd release, arranged in ascending price order.

Buyer’s Guide November 2: Sparkling and White Wines

Relvas Herdade De São Miguel Colheita Seleccionada White 2022, Alentejo, Portugal
$15.95, Noble Estates Wines & Spirits Inc.
David Lawrason – This bright exotic and spicy white is a blend of four varieties (including viognier) in the Alentejo region southeast of Lisbon. It is quite tropical, yet spicy (4 months in oak) and herbal with good weight and richness. Lots here for the money.
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