Every week, Bill Zacharkiw identifies his top wine picks available at the SAQ and offers ideas for food pairings.
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Every week, Bill Zacharkiw identifies his top wine picks available at the SAQ and offers ideas for food pairings.
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Under $17
Barbera d’Asti Superiore 2019, Costalunga, Bersano, Italy red, $16.35, SAQ # 506824. It’s been a few years since I tasted this SAQ classic, and this strikes me as having a little more body than previous vintages. Nonetheless, it remains classic barbera with its driving freshness, red cherry fruit and easy finish. Of all the wonderful options Italian wine offers for pairing with tomato sauce, this is arguably the best. Grape variety: barbera. Residual sugar: 1.5 g/L. Serve at: 16 C. Drink now. Food pairing ideas: apéritif, spaghetti with tomato sauce.
$17-$22
Montsant 2020, Mas Collet, Celler de Capçanes, Spain red, $20.15, SAQ # 642538. A blend I had only seen in Priorat, but it works equally well in Montsant. It touches so many bases. The cab and carignan give it those big, dark fruits along with ripe, fine tannins. The majority of the blend is grenache, which shows itself on the mid-palate with its characteristic softness. So wonderfully plushy. They all come together on the finish, with a complex tapestry of spice and fruit. This has power and finesse while being so easy to drink. Grape varieties: grenache, cabernet sauvignon, carignan. Residual sugar: 2.1 g/L. Serve at: 16 C. Drink now. Food pairing ideas: leaner meats like filet mignon or deer, red wine mushroom sauce.
$22-$27
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 2018, L’Orée du Château la Turmelière, Chéreau Carré, France white, $26.05, SAQ # 15043871. I really do love muscadet. While it may strike you as simple on the surface, there’s so much going on if you pay attention. It is the definition of mineral. It reminds me of those Pop Rocks I used to eat as a kid. With each sip, you have this pulsing minerality enlivening the mouth, and then it finishes in a way that makes you thirsty, like salty chalk. The fruit, the texture, everything is delicate. Such fun to swirl in your glass. Despite being four years old, this can easily age for much longer. Grape variety: melon de Bourgogne. Residual sugar: 1.2 g/L. Serve at: 10 C. Drink now-2027. Food pairing ideas: raw oysters, seafood, lighter white fish with lemon and herbs.
$27 and up
Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017, Château Mont-Redon, France red, $53.75, SAQ # 856666. Châteauneuf-du-Pape has overtaken Barolo in my cellar as my most collected appellation. Why? You get the nuance and softness of Burgundy, but with a touch more torque. And while great Barolo requires a good decade to really soften up, you can drink Châteauneuf at seemingly any point of its maturation. I just drank a 2007 Mont-Redon, and any self-respecting Burgundy would love to have the same degree of finesse and fruit. The ’17 Mont-Redon is up to the bar set by previous vintages: the accent on fruit rather than oak, incredibly refined tannic structure and a focused, almost mineral finish. I buy this every vintage. Grape varieties: grenache, syrah, mourvèdre, cinsault. Residual sugar: 2.5 g/L. Serve at: 18 C. Drink now-2030. Food pairing ideas: wild bird like squab, pork roast with mustard sauce.
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