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Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $9.53 $10.25
Aromas of fresh peaches leap from the glass along with hints of ginger and lilac. Once sipped, a shower of foamy...
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $9.99
Vivacious and aromatic, this delicate Italian pale pink sparkler Is perfect for enjoying anytime. Notes of...
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $67.50
The 2019 Gracias Madre, 100% Grenache Noir, is fabulous. Rich, creamy and super-expressive, the 2019 offers notable...
12 FREE
VM
94
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $16.90 $17.50
12 bottles: $16.63
Luminous straw-green. Honey, white flowers, crushed rocks and lemon oil all come alive in this nicely chiseled,...
VM
91
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $45.94
Rich and mouthwatering, this feels like raw silk on the palate, offering exotic hints of toasted coconut and lime...
12 FREE
WS
93
WE
90
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $64.94
A concentrated bead of blackberries and minerals pervades the nose and palate. Medium-to full-bodied with...
12 FREE
JS
95
WA
94
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $52.92 $56.00
The Altesino 2019 Brunello di Montalcino boasts a rich and savory side that this wine wears very well. There is a...
12 FREE
WA
95
JD
95
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $104.16 $112.00
Perfumed and beautiful with raspberry and cherry aromas and flavors. Purity like a mountain stream. Medium to full...
12 FREE
WA
97
VM
97
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $9.99
The golden yellow color of this Blanc de Blancs and its delicate bubbles highlight the finesse of its effervescence....
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $12.99
Colour straw yellow. Bouquet pleasant, light, fine and delicate, fruity, with a characteristic bouquet of apple....
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.83 $18.28
A vibrant, elegant red, despite the firm tannins. Reveals prevailing floral, cherry, strawberry and iron flavors as...
WS
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.68 $12.56
A tight, focused red with currant and cherry character and hints of chocolate and sandalwood. Medium to full body,...
JS
93
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.85
12 bottles: $17.49
A savory and pretty nuanced Vino Nobile here showing orange zest, plums, grapefruit, mineral and fine spices. A twist...
JS
92
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
Leafy underbrush, earth and dusty mineral notes frame the core of cherry and raspberry flavors in this succulent red,...
12 FREE
WS
97
DC
96
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $18.02
Colour: Very delicate pink colour displayoing fine bright perlage. Aromas: The Col de Salici Rose is fresh, crispy,...
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Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.93 $18.00
Notes of cooked strawberries, red licorice, blood orange and cedar. Medium body. Bright and racy with crunchy acidity...
JS
92
VM
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.94
Red cherries, cranberries, slate, cloves, bay leaves and lemon peel on the nose. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and...
12 FREE
VM
92
JS
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.44 $10.01
Notes of red and purple fruit with cocoa, nutmeg and bark on offer. Some licorice, too. Medium-bodied with steady...
JS
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.25
12 bottles: $14.94
The 2021 Chianti Classico RS Cultusboni is rich, boisterous and quite appealing. I would open it in advance to allow...
VM
91
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $7.99
Ballatore Gran Spumante Sparkling White Wine is sweet and crisp. Aromas of ripe peach and apricot combine with melon...

Champagne Blend Melon de Bourgogne Sangiovese 750ml Rapid Ship

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn't unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as 'blanc de blanc', meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or 'blanc de noir', which is made solely with Pinot Noir.

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.

The name of this grape, meaning 'blood of Jove' conjures up evocative images of long dead civilizations, and gives the Sangiovese varietal a sense of the holy, the sacred, the special. Indeed, this particular type of Italian grape has been cultivated and processed for thousands of years, and is said to be the original favorite grape varietal of the Romans, and the Etruscans before them. Throughout history, vintners have continued to plant this varietal, and they continue to produce wonderful wines to this day. The long bunches of very dark, round fruit are treasured by fine wineries in Italy and a few other places around the world, and when young, these grapes are lively – full of strawberry flavors and a little spiciness. However, it is when they are aged in oak that they take on some truly special flavors and aromas, as seen in some of the finest wines of the Old World.