Margaret Swaine’s Wine Picks: Stylish Californians

Roederer Estate Rosé   
LCBO No. 479758; $35.95 (91 Points)
This traditional-method bubbly from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County sports a pale salmon colour. Medium bodied, the bouquet is toasty and fruity with notes of wild strawberry, raspberry and brown spices that carry through to the palate. Elegant, textural and crisp, it’s sure to get the evening off to a great start.

Landmark Damaris Reserve Chardonnay 2008
LCBO No. 356519; $45.95 (92 Points)
This Sonoma County selection is from the best lots of the year. This vintage, a blend from the Sangiacomo Vineyards in Carneros and Flocchini Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast appellation, has spent more than a year in French oak. Toasty oaked, full bodied, rich and ripe with tropical fruit, it’s plump with good acid to balance and a nice grip.

Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
LCBO No. 80218; $89.95 (94 Points)
Worth the splurge, this is a terrific vintage of Beaulieu’s Private Reserve, a Napa Valley benchmark cabernet widely collected by connoisseurs. Opulent and textured with well-integrated oak, it has superb balance. Nicely complex, it has layers of flavour — berry, cassis, graphite and spiced oak with notes of herbs and menthol.