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White
750ml
Bottle: $45.93
12 bottles: $45.01
This too is firmly reduced so be sure to decant it first. Otherwise the round, delicious and lush medium weight...
12 FREE
BH
88
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.00
12 bottles: $14.70
Lively lemon curd, green apple, spice, white flower, and flinty notes emerge from the medium-bodied 2018 Beaujolais...
JD
88
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $98.95
Aromas of candied fruit and honey with a buttered and mineral bouquet. The wine is well-balanced and round in the...
12 FREE
Case only
White
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $280.41
6 bottles: $279.20
Batard-Montrachet is one of the four great Grand Cru Chardonnay vineyards in the appellation of Puligny-Montrachet,...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $80.19
12 bottles: $78.59
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $129.93
97-99 I was blown away by the 2018 Côte Rôtie Château D'Ampuis, which is certainly in the same league as the famed...
12 FREE
JD
99
JS
96
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $368.64 $409.60
Rated 97-100 - A barrel sample that just about made my eyes roll back in my head, the 2019 Ermitage Ex Voto has...
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JD
98
WA
97
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $71.94
Moving to the Hermitage releases, the 2018 Hermitage is terrific, and readers will love to have bottles in the...
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WS
94
JS
94
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $102.12
The 2018 Pouilly-Fuissé L'Optimum des Hauts Crays was produced from vines planted in the 1930s, which Forest waited...
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WA
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.50
12 bottles: $33.81
The 2018 Saint Joseph is almost Côte Rôtie-like in its black raspberry, spicy, and floral aromatics. These all...
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WA
91
WE
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $824.83
6 bottles: $808.33
This was the last wine I tasted on my three-week Burgundy tour and it was a great way to finish. Sourced from a...
12 FREE
DC
96
BH
93
White
750ml
Bottle: $194.94
12 bottles: $191.04
90-93 A mildly exotic character is present on the layered aromas of both yellow and white orchard fruit tinged with...
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BH
93
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $73.60
Very ripe, with lush plum sauce, blackberry confiture and linzer torte flavors all rolled together, with additional...
12 FREE
WS
94
WE
93
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $88.62
This inky, intensely plummy Syrah balances rich, pulsating black-fruit flavors against lip-smacking cassis and...
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WE
96
VM
95
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.20
12 bottles: $13.92
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $163.08 $181.20
Open and aromatic with honeysuckle flowers, dried apples and mangoes, as well as white peaches and stone....
12 FREE
JS
97
WS
95
White
750ml
Bottle: $100.40
12 bottles: $98.39
89-91 Here the nose is impossible to read as it's completely dominated by sulfur and reduction today. Otherwise there...
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BH
91
WA
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $599.94 $672.00
As usual, Chapoutier's 2018 Ermitage l'Ermite is a standout among standouts. Crushed stone, blueberries, even a touch...
12 FREE
WA
100
VM
98
Red
750ml
Bottle: $241.20
From one of the warmer terroirs on Hermitage Hill, the 2018 Ermitage Le Méal was all destemmed and vinified in...
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JD
99
WA
98

Chardonnay Syrah 2009 2018 France

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet's most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn't easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.

Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.