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Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $45.61
Rich and mouthwatering, this feels like raw silk on the palate, offering exotic hints of toasted coconut and lime...
12 FREE
WS
93
WE
90
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $9.99
The golden yellow color of this Blanc de Blancs and its delicate bubbles highlight the finesse of its effervescence....
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $41.32 $47.22
This unique, zero-dosage Champagne boasts the perfect balance of dryness and sweetness resulting in a clean, crisp...
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $37.94
Exuberant grapefruit peel, almond skin, honeysuckle, and lime zest rise from the glass with a suggestion of red...
12 FREE
UBC
93
DC
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $25.19 $28.79
In 1955, a group of wine growers from the village of Mardeuil, a small village on the hillsides of Epernay, joined...
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Sparkling
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $84.89
A gorgeous rosé Champagne with sliced strawberries, orange peel and hints of cream and pie crust. Medium body, tight...
12 FREE
JS
94
DC
93
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $64.99 $74.94
60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Meunier sourced from more than 300 crus, including 85% grands and premiers crus;...
12 FREE
DC
96
W&S
93
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $18.99
Dry, crisp, fresh and incredibly fragrant, this sparkling wine is a terrific bargain. The good news is there are...
WA
90
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $13.99
A delicious Crémant that punches well above the weight of its price tag. Its intense pink salmon hue hints at the...
DC
90
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $20.94
12 bottles: $20.52
Sliced pears, lemon curd, white peaches and pastries on the nose. Medium-bodied with a creamy mousse and subtle,...
12 FREE
WE
89
JS
89
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $27.15
12 bottles: $26.61
A very subtle nose is promising with its hints of ripe red apple, gentle shortbread and lemon zest. The palate...
12 FREE
WE
92
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $26.25
12 bottles: $25.73
There is a lovely note of wet earth before hints of fresh rose hip appear on the nose. The palate is both mellow with...
12 FREE
WE
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $45.76 $49.20
Very clean and bright with transparency of sliced lemon, pear and chalk. Medium to full body with a very creamy...
12 FREE
JS
92
WS
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $28.90 $30.08
12 bottles: $28.58
A touch of smokiness and plum fruit on the nose. Lovely lemon and savoury contrast on the palate with a whiff of...
DC
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $28.00 $32.00
This lively Champagne is bright and balanced, with spicy mineral and graphite accents underscoring the poached pear,...
WS
91
VM
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $50.22 $54.00
Remarkable depth of mature aromas - tons of candied lemon peel, dried pear and brioche - plus wonderful textural...
12 FREE
JS
94
WA
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $63.24 $68.00
The pink wave sweeping the wine world at present hasn’t left Champagne behind -- but Champagne’s way with pink...
12 FREE
DC
97
WA
93
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $29.94 $31.20
12 bottles: $29.64
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.94 $17.50
12 bottles: $16.63
The effusive violet and blackcurrant-pastille aromas draw you into this elegant and silky, mid-weight Brouilly with...
WA
90
JS
90
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $41.94
12 bottles: $41.10
Needs a moment in the glass for the forest-berry aromas to open up. Very minerally and smoky with plenty of...
12 FREE
JS
96

Champagne Blend Gamay Malbec France Rapid Ship

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 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 purple Malbec variety grapes which now grow all over the Old and New Worlds had their origins in France, where they are one of the few grape varieties allowed to be used in the highly esteemed blended wines of Bordeaux. However, it is perhaps the New World Malbec wines which have attracted the most attention in recent years, as they thrive in hot southern climates in ways they cannot in their native country, where the damp conditions leave them highly vulnerable to rot. Malbec grapes are renowned for their high tannin content, resulting in full-bodied red wines packed with ripe, plummy flavors and held in their characteristically dark, garnet colored liquid. In many countries, Malbec is still used primarily as a varietal for blending, as it adds a great level of richness and density to other, lighter and thinner varietals. However, single variety Malbec wines have been greatly on the rise in recent years, with some fantastic results and big, juicy flavors marking them out as a great wine for matching with a wide range of foods.

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.