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Red
Red
750ml
Bottle: $20.98
12 bottles: $20.57
Marc-Antonin describes this wine as “linear with a straight structure.” Northwest-facing vines bring tension to...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $205.20 $228.00
The 2015 Hermitage Ex Voto Blanc is certainly in the same league as the 2009 and 2010, and it’s going to be...
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JD
100
WS
96
White
750ml
Bottle: $469.94
12 bottles: $460.54
Lush and creamy, this white offers spice-tinged peach, apple tart, vanilla and butterscotch flavors. Builds nicely to...
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WS
93
BH
92
White
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White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $68.80
As a young wine, it has the potential to grow and thrive. Its noble heritage is revealed through its purity and...
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White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $68.80
It opens with fragrant aromas of pear, brioche, beeswax, honey, and sweet spice. On the palate, this wine is ample...
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White
1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $796.11
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $168.95
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $59.08
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $353.28
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White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $263.95
The 2015 Meursault Les Perrières 1er Cru has a crisp, precise bouquet of Granny Smith apples, crushed stone and a...
VM
92
WA
91
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White
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $653.95 $692.49
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru offers up a youthful but expressive bouquet of hazelnut, apple,...
WA
94
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $632.26
The 2015 Chevalier-Montrachet La Cabotte Grand Cru offers up a youthful but expressive bouquet of hazelnut, apple,...
WA
94
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White
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $241.95
The 2015 Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrieres offers up an attractively pure nose of chamomile, citrus, pomelo and fresh...
WA
92
VM
91
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $125.95
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $352.95
Even richer and more concentrated than the 2011, the blockbuster-styled 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is almost...
WA
96
WS
93
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $214.58
Golden hue. Open nose on yellow fruits, some lemon and oaky notes. Full, fleshy mouth hold by a large mineral...
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $377.45
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $65.78
Deep vivid ruby. Vibrant aromas of black raspberry, cherry cola and violet pick up allspice and licorice nuances with...
VM
93
WE
92

Chardonnay Gamay White Rhone Blend 2009 2015 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.

The French wines of Beaujolais are widely regarded as some of the finest table wines in the world. This is due in part to the qualities of the Gamay grape, from which they are made. Gamay produces beautifully, juicy, rounded and gulpable red wines, usually drank young and full of their natural fruit character. However, it would be a mistake to say that Gamay is limited to easy-drinking, soft wines - it’s a highly flexible and versatile grape, capable of producing aged wines of serious complexity and structure, full of expression and fascinating characteristics.


The majority of Gamay wines from France are labeled under Beaujolais Villages or Beaujolais, and these are the standard table wines we’re used to seeing in French restaurants, at bistros, and at our local wine store. Usually great value for money, these are the light, slightly acidic examples of what the grape can do. Far more interesting are those Gamay wines from the 10 cru villages, just north of Beaujolais, where generations of expertise and a unique soil type made up of granitic schist result in far more unique, complicated wines. The best examples of Gamay feature intense aromatics, all black fruit and forest fare, and are worth cellaring for a few years.

The Rhone region of France has been producing superb quality white blended wines for centuries, and is a region highly respected and esteemed around the world, with plenty of New World countries keen to emulate the styles and techniques displayed by the historic wineries and skilled vintners of the area. The secret to the Rhone's success when it comes to blended white wines is the careful and expert selection of certain grape varietals, which each lend special features to the blended wine and bring balance and harmony to the bottle. Most commonly, blended white Rhone wines feature no more than two grapes of either the Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne or Grenache Blanc varietals, and are renowned for their exceptional flavors and highly aromatic, floral character.

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.