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Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $107.00
While this Champagne from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is still young, showing a crisp, bone-dry character alongside tight...
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WE
94
Sale
Sparkling
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $41.93
12 bottles: $41.09
• 90% Sangiovese with 10% Canaiolo. • “Gandino” is a combination of “Gano” and “Dino” who were the...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $72.72
6 bottles: $72.00
Bright red-ruby. Perfumed aromas and flavors of red cherry, violet, underbrush, licorice and sweet spices. Clean,...
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WA
93
VM
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.90
12 bottles: $48.90
A fresh and balanced red with cherry, lemon and hints of cedar. Medium to full body, fine tannins and a powerful...
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JS
94
WE
93
Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $109.94 $114.80
Features flavors of creme de cassis, lemon curd, poached apricot and smoked almond framed by well-cut, crunchy...
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WS
93
Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $174.05 $183.60
Discreet and nuanced nose, showing lemon-curd, brioche and pie-crust notes. A hint of savory umami, too. Beautiful...
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JS
96
DC
94
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $249.94
A driven and serious DP with aromas of chalk, biscuits, apricot stones and lemons. Some spice and dried flowers, too....
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JS
98
WS
96
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $118.39
6 bottles: $117.60
Aromatic pastry dough, creme de cassis, apple blossom and graphite notes are well-meshed in this elegant Champagne....
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WS
93
Sparkling
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $91.94
6 bottles: $90.10
The Carneros Cuvée is our Tête de Cuvée. It represents the best fruit from our 335 acre estate as well as our...
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Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $79.89
12 bottles: $78.29
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Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $99.93
12 bottles: $97.93
A toasty Champagne, with generous lime blossom, ground coffee, vanilla and oak spice aromatics, this is firm and...
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WS
91
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $112.08
6 bottles: $108.00
From grand and premier cru vineyards, this Champagne comes from a good but not great vintage. That explains its...
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WE
94
WA
93
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $261.23
A 100% Brut-Zero Chardonnay, disgorged in April 2023. This has a gorgeous nutty nose with brioche and toasted almond...
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DC
95
WNR
93
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $93.73 $100.79
#83 TOP 100 CELLAR SELECTIONS 2021. The effects of a cool year on this new vintage release is impressive in its...
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WE
94
WA
93
Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $110.69 $122.99
Blend of 44% Pinot Noir (14% red wine), 35% Chardonnay, 21% Meunier – 2013 was a difficult season, but after a...
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DC
96
WS
94
Sparkling
Sparkling
12 FREE
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $49.94
6 bottles: $48.94
Ripe peach on the nose, then nectarine and red fruits balanced by energy and acidity. It's pretty sophisticated,...
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Champagne Blend Sangiovese Tequila 2009 2013

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.

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.

Tequila is probably Mexico’s greatest gift to the world of fine spirits, and is also possibly one of the most underestimated and misunderstood drinks in the world. Widely used for shots and slammers, and more often than not associated with parties and hangovers, Tequila is in fact a wonderful drink full of subtleties and expression of terroir, that is highly rewarding for those who look into its finer points.

One of the special things about Tequila is the fact that it is capable of expressing the fine nuances and subtle notes of its raw material, far more so than other, similar spirits. That raw material is, of course, the Blue Agave - not a cactus, as is commonly believed, but rather a succulent quite like a lily, which grows in the deserts of Mexico mainly around the province of Jalisco. The Blue Agave takes a decade to mature, and during those ten years, it takes in many of the features of its surroundings, just like a grapevine would. This is why Tequila varies in flavor and aroma from region to region, from the earthier Tequilas of the lowlands, to the more delicate and floral examples from areas of a higher altitude.

The picking and peeling of the spiky Agave, and the distillation process of Tequila is a complicated one, and one which is carried out with enormous skill by the jimadors and master craftsmen who produce the spirit. Steam cooking of the body of the plant is followed by crushing, then fermentation and distillation completes the process. The end product is categorized according to whether or not it is made with pure (‘puro’) agave, or blended with other sugars, and according to how long the spirit is aged for.