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Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.94 $15.00
An inviting nose of peaches, sliced pears and dried orange peel. Medium-bodied with delightful texture. Bright and...
JS
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.44 $18.79
A fresh and pure unwooded Chenin Blanc, made to express the delicious purity of the grape. A lovely wine to enjoy on...
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $34.84
Rated 95 -Year in, year out, this exceptional Chenin Blanc vineyard delivers the goods.... it produces a wine with...
12 FREE
WNR
95
VM
91
Rapid Ship
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $12.99
The wine is a deep red ruby, with purple highlights and a light mousse and rim of the same color. It has an intense...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $6.99
The wine is a deep red ruby, with purple highlights and a light mousse and rim of the same color. It has an intense...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.25
The Vecchia Modena Premium Lambrusco di Sorbara represents the history both of the Chiarli wine Company and of...
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $33.94
• Certified organic. • 100% Chenin Blanc. • 40-50 year old vines. • South exposure. • Sand clay soil with...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $35.94
12 bottles: $35.22
Delivers a saline beam that cuts through bruised apple and pastry notes. Concentrated on the palate, with floral lift...
12 FREE
WS
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.99
The NV Rosso Labrusca lifts up with a decadent blend of ripe cherries, blueberries, sweet herbs and spice. This takes...
VM
90
W&S
90
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $10.99
A crisp, expressive, light-bodied wine. Light straw in appearance. Vibrant aromas of quince, pear and pineapple. On...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $28.93
12 bottles: $28.35
Rated 95 - From the same block as Kweperfontein but grapes picked earlier, and the winemaking featuring significant...
12 FREE
WNR
95
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.90 $15.00
The NV Lambrusco Marchese Manodori Reggiano is darkly floral in the glass, showing crushed violets and lavender that...
VM
91
JS
90

Chenin Blanc Lambrusco Muller Thurgau Rapid Ship

Originating in France yet now grown in many parts of the New World, Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile and highly regarded white wine grape varietals on earth. These green skinned grapes hold a relatively high acid content, and as such can be used for making still white wines of exceptional quality, as well as superb sparkling wines (such as the Crémant wines of the Loire Valley) and extremely aromatic dessert wines. Their natural transparency means that they are a fine grape for expressing their terroir in the bottle, and winemakers often experiment with this varietal to coax unusual and intense flavors from the grapes, such as allowing the development of noble rot on the fruit in order to make sweet and viscous wines of a unique character.

Some grape species are distinct and unique varietals, clearly separate from each of their cousins. Others, like Lambrusco and Muscat, are more like umbrella terms, featuring several subspecies which show slight differences from each other from region to region. Indeed, there are astonishingly more than 60 identified varieties of Lambrusco vines, and they are almost all used in the production of characterful Italian sparkling wines. They are distinguishable by their deep ruby blush, caused by strong pigments present in their skins, and their intensely perfumed character.


Lambrusco vines are grown in several Italian regions, although we most closely associate this varietal with Piedmont and Basilicata. It has also been grown successfully in Argentina and Australia. The varietal suffered from a fairly lowly reputation in the late 20th century, due to bulk, low cost production of Lambrusco sparkling wines, aimed at markets across northern Europe and America. However, things are rapidly changing, and the older, more traditional methods of bottle fermentation are returning, along with a higher level of quality and expression, as consumers become more discerning and demanding. Many of the Lambrusco sub-varieties have their own established DOC, such as Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Modena, where new regulations are keeping standards high and methods traditional.