Inexpensive to midrange LCBO offerings to cellar?

Hello fellow Ontarians (there are a few of you on the board, non?)

I'm wondering what you would nominate as hidden gems at the LCBO , between $15 and $40, that would be good candidates for cellaring beyond 5 years.

Thanks!

[Jenise]

Can't help with your question, but are you now back in North America? If so, how did you get your wine shipped in and how did the duty problem go?

Can't help with your question, but are you now back in North America? If so, how did you get your wine shipped in and how did the duty problem go?

Ah, I did promise to report back on this, didn't I?

Over the course of two years in France, as well as one prior visit in 2006, I brought back just under seventy bottles of wine, in five separate returns to Canada. In all five instances, I fully declared all bottles and had complete paperwork. The first time, on wine that was valued at about $300, we paid about $60 in taxes. The next two times, I was waved through customs with a wink (I know.) The next time is the time they hit me. I brought back twenty bottles in June of 09, including some expensive Ygrec, three bottles of Pavillon Rouge, two Alter Ego, a whole whack of magnums from Hospitalet and so on. The value of the wines was over $900 and after subtracting the two most expensive, and the customs guy being as helpful as he could (and I should add that I have never had a bad customs officer at Pearson -- my honesty has been rewarded with kindness) he still had to charge me $400. Ouch. But the final time, which is when we came home, about seven weeks ago, I had another twenty bottles (as well as a new dog) and after doing all the paperwork and saving the wine to last, our customs guy, eyeing the exhausted children, patted the boxes of wine with his hand and said "welcome home".

So, in other words, I've been very lucky.

I'm poking in and out of the LCBO for anyone who's following this thread, and found a couple worthwhile things for putting down under $30:

Ètim Selección 2006 @ $15 bottle
Ben Marco Malbec 2006 @ $20 bottle
Domaine de Pierre Blanche Les Caboles (Saint-Joseph) @ $25

I'll let you know how they do.

Michael
I had a quick look, but found the site a little difficult to perform such a search (e.g. more than 200 results cuts the rest out of the search). There's certainly a big range (I guess there ought to be), but I did spot two Aussies that should cellar well and offer value: D'Arenberg D'Arrys Original and (if this is indeed the estate wine, it's very cheap) Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sorry no more - I gave up in frustration at their website.

regards

Ian

[Jenise]

Michael, that's great. And not only was your honesty rewarded, but so is the grace with which you accepted the one occasion on which you didn't get waved through and choose instead to consider yourself, on the whole, very well treated. Good show!

last time i was at the LCBO at the mall in windsor - which has a modest vintages section - i noticed several '05 burgundies at decent prices and also at least one northern rhone. can't remember the names at the moment. i bought a couple of cases for current consumption - a Chinon Rose and an henri bourgois sancerre - both '08's.

Hi Michael,

You are lucky in your wine returns to Canada. I live in Ontario and bring back wine all the time, but usually limit to the two bottle limit per adult. I brought in a nice shipment of California wines (valued at $300 US) from a recent trip in April. We were only in the US for 1 night (not the required 48 hours). I paid $239 CAN after the conversion to $CAN. Ouch indeed.

Mid-range wines from LCBO that you can cellar for 5 years +? Hmm, I have few in that category. Torres' Mas La Plana has been running at the top of your price scale at $39.95 in the last release of the 2003 vintage. I have a bottles from 98, 99, 01 and 03 in my cellar and plan to keep them there for a while. The next release of Mas La Plana (2004 vintage) will be in two weeks from this Saturday. It may be still $40, but it may be more. No price in the preview Vintages list. I recently purchased 2 bottles of 2007 CdP Haute Pierre by Delas for $35 from Vintages. I think it will easily go 5 years and then some. I also recently purchase a horizontal of rieslings all from the Mosel - the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard all 2007s, Studert-Prum riesling spatlese, Selbach-Oster kabinett and Max Ferd Richter kabinett and these are all $23-25. I have only tried the Selbach-Oster (it is nice) but I think they all could age nicely for 5 years+.

Enjoy!