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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.17 $21.30
12 bottles: $17.52
A very ripe, jammy cabernet franc with sweet cherries, baked strawberries and licorice spices. Very rich and fruity...
JS
90
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $17.50
Typical Albarino from the Salnés Valley, in Rías Baixas, to enjoy now and for the next 5 years.
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $16.51
Clean and fresh with delicate citrus notes on the nose and a palate packed with green apple, orange peel and lime...
White
750ml
Bottle: $41.94
12 bottles: $41.10
"Alma de Mar" is one of Xurxo's top wines, and comes from a single plot of 100% Albariño very close to the sea. The...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $43.94
12 bottles: $43.06
Xurxo makes this wine from 100% Albariño from a tiny 1 ha vineyard of 35 year old vines grown organically on clay...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $109.93
6 bottles: $107.73
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.35
Alta Vita embodies the spirit and purpose-driven lifestyle of the Sardinians. The wine is full-bodied, robust and...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $98.82
12 bottles: $96.84
Shows macerated black currant and blackberry notes, with dark charcoal and bay leaf lining the finish. This has good...
12 FREE
WS
90
JS
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $126.80 $141.10
This is sensational, characterized by such purity and beauty and with aromas of blackberries, dark chocolate,...
12 FREE
JS
96
WE
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $93.15 $103.50
This is a delicious and savory wine with beautiful, ripe and creamy tannins, as well as chocolate and plum character....
12 FREE
JS
94
DC
93
Red
375ml
Bottle: $61.50
12 bottles: $60.27
Gorgeous perfumes of plums, berries, light chocolate and walnut follow through to a medium body, fine tannins and...
12 FREE
JS
95
DC
94
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $92.07 $99.00
Gorgeous perfumes of plums, berries, light chocolate and walnut follow through to a medium body, fine tannins and...
12 FREE
JS
95
DC
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $88.56 $98.40
94-95 Savory black and salted-olive character with oyster shells and black licorice. Fine, almost powdery yet firm...
12 FREE
JS
95
VM
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $43.89 $46.20
12 bottles: $42.75
91-93 The second wine of this terrific estate, which has been playing with the stars of the appellation for several...
12 FREE
JD
93
DC
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.85
12 bottles: $33.17
100% Cabernet Franc from the Ampeleia di Sopra parcels at 450-600 meters above sea level. Vines were planted between...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.94
12 bottles: $16.60
Citrus and slightly tropical notes. Full bodied with good structure, fresh and mineral. Long finish with the light...
Sale
Red
Red
750ml
Bottle: $65.82
12 bottles: $64.50
Once at the winery, the grapes undergo native fermentation with no added sulfites, resulting in a living wine that is...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $79.94
The super austere, sharp and mineral 2020 Atalier La Encrucijada reminded me of the first Leirana wines (that were...
12 FREE
WA
94
White
750ml
Bottle: $23.51
12 bottles: $23.03
Elegant lemon-yellow color, clean and glossy. It is a very intense wine on the nose with persistent quality aromas,...
12 FREE

Albarino Cabernet Franc Grenache Red Bordeaux

The pale skinned grapes of the Albarino varietal have been grown in and around Spain and Portugal for almost a thousand years, where they are highly enjoyed and prized by the locals for their distinctive aroma, and sharp, tart acidity levels. Over the past century, their influence has spread to the New World, and many vineyards keen to emulate the white wines of Spain have had considerable success with this varietal. The light bodied wines which are produced from the Albarino grapes have wonderfully aromatic properties, and carry ripe flavors of soft summer fruits, apricot and peach, with a mild and pleasantly bitter after taste brought on by their thick skins. Because of their acidic nature, they are a fantastic match for many Spanish foods, and are best served chilled on a hot day.

Cabernet Franc is not simply an important grape varietal for the fact that it is one of the most widely grown strains of vine in the world, but also because it is a vital grape in the production of many of the finest wines the world has ever seen. For centuries in its native France, it has been a varietal synonymous with elegance and high quality, and has become a key fruit in the production of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style blended wines which have gone down in history thanks to their magnificent flavors, aromas and levels of aged complexity. However, Cabernet Franc is also a wine grape varietal for use in single variety, unblended wines, and has plenty to offer on its own. Most commonly, it is renowned for its wide bouquet, which often includes fascinating notes of tobacco, violets or bell pepper over a beautifully pale and decadent liquid.

The Grenache grape holds the honor of being the most widely planted wine grape varietal on earth. It has a long and impressive history, and has been the backbone of the some of the planet’s most respected and famed wine regions, blended with Syrah in regions such as Chateauneuf du Pape, and in certain other Loire and Languedoc regions where it reigns supreme as a single varietal wine grape. In other key areas, such as Spain’s La Rioja (where it is known as Garnacha Tinta), it is blended with Tempranillo to make that country’s signature red wine, and is widely used as a blending grape in other old and new world countries, due to its unique character and jammy, fruit forward character.


For a long time, the Grenache grape was somewhat looked down upon as an ignoble varietal, incapable of producing wines of any particular interest. However, times are very much changing - in the right hands, Grenache grapes result in astonishingly intense and complex wines, full of fascinating features, and capable of achieving plenty of expression. For a while now, Grenache has been a major player in Australian wines. While not yet quite as extensively planted down under as Shiraz is, the Barossa Valley is bringing out some of the finest examples of this grape’s wines in recent years.

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.