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750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $470.83
I have drunk this a half dozen times in the last six months and it always amazes me. The Recently Disgorged Bolly is...
WE
97
JS
97
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $495.76
Even richer than the brilliant 1990, the 1996 is still tightly wound, but reveals tremendous aromatic intensity,...
WA
98
BH
97
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $670.62
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750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $589.95
This shows amazing freshness and depth of fruit while remaining agile and very clean. Full body, dense and layered on...
JS
100
WE
99
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $227.31
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750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $4069.45 $4329.20
Somewhat surprisingly, Krug presents the much-anticipated 1996 Blanc de Noirs Clos d’Ambonnay as the first wine in...
WA
95
VM
95
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $632.20
It's hard to imagine how a wine of this power can sustain perfect balance What is now a more nonchalant intensity in...
W&S
100
WS
99
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $1510.75
Rated 99 - Maturing into a medium golden color, the 1996 Salon reveals open-knit, alluring scents of butterscotch,...
WA
99
WNR
99
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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $328.95
To the eye, La Grande Dame 1996 presents a color with bright, golden glints. The initial nose reveals a strong,...

Champagne Blend Verdeca Zinfandel 1996 750ml

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 precise origins of what became known as the Zinfandel grape variety are uncertain, although it has clear genetic equivalents in both Puglia and Croatia. However, when it was brought to the New World in the mid 19th century, it became known as the Zinfandel, and has been consistently popular and widely grown ever since. These very dark and very round grapes have a remarkably high sugar content, resulting in relatively high levels of alcohol in the wines they are made into, with bottles often displaying as much as fifteen percent. What makes the Zinfandel such an interesting grape, though, is the fact that the flavors produced by this varietal vary considerably depending on the climate they are grown in. In cooler valley regions, the Zinfandel grapes result in wines which hold strong flavors of tart and sweet fruits; raspberry, redcurrant and sweet cherry, held in a very smooth and silky liquid. Conversely, warmer regions result in more complex and spicy notes, including anise, pepper and hedgerow berries.