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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $20.04 $21.10
12 bottles: $18.91
1786 VS is a rich Cognac which is the result of high-quality terroirs and experience. Made from Ugni Blanc grapes and...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $25.08 $26.40
12 bottles: $23.94
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $31.54 $33.20
12 bottles: $30.40
A blend of fine cognacs from 15-30 years old, this XO Cognac is characterized by a pleasant light-gold color,...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.82
12 bottles: $44.90
The 2021 Grenache Bessan Vineyard is one of the more austere selections in this range. Fruit is very much pushed into...
12 FREE
VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $32.94
12 bottles: $32.28
• Practicing Organic. • 100% Grenache. • Sourced from Hofer Vineyard (Rancho Cucamonga AVA) 42 miles east of...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.92 $28.80
The Santa Barbara County Grenache was inspired by Fonsalette from Chateau Rayas. The wine represents two very...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $37.80 $42.00
The 2021 Grenache Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard is one of the more ethereal and aromatic wines in this range....
VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.93
12 bottles: $44.03
Fermented with 38% whole clusters, the 2020 Grenache Thompson Vineyard is more meaty and almost nutty, with ripe,...
12 FREE
JD
91
VM
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.66
12 bottles: $44.75
Deceptive in its light-bodied structure, the 2021 Grenache Vie Caprice packs quite the punch. Darker tonalities of...
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VM
93
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $74.55 $78.47
6 bottles: $62.39
A very delicate blend of eaux-de-vie from Grande and Petite Champagne, aged between 8 and 15 years in cask, and...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $65.03
6 bottles: $57.59
TOP 100 SPIRITS OF 2019 - This Cognac offers rich aromas and flavors, yet still remains light and easygoing....
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WE
94
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $235.52 $247.92
Carefully matured, balancing the influence of oak with that of time, to produce a complex Cognac. Rich, sweet and...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $100.32
6 bottles: $99.60
Complex and in need of some time to breathe. However, patience is rewarded with richness, fruit and the layers of...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $24.89
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $28.70
12 FREE
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $37.44 $51.94
A sleek, harmonious red, with a rich undertow of sweet smoke, fig jam and mocha notes, plus generous flavors of...
WS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.88
12 bottles: $43.98
Appearance: Opaque red-black. Scarlet rim. Aroma: Initially closed. The wine opens to an amalgam of minerals and...
12 FREE
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.93 $31.99
12 bottles: $29.64
It is a wine with an attractive collection of balsamic notes, of chocolate and black fruits, very warm in the mouth...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.70 $13.00
12 bottles: $11.12
100% Garnacha sourced from three villages within Sierra Santa Cruz, Aragon. Hand-harvested partially destemmed but...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $344.95 $347.20
The single-vineyard 2019 Quiñón de Valmira is made with Garnacha (and 10% other traditional varieties) grown at 616...
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WA
98
JS
95

Cognac Grenache Sherry Mencia

For over three hundred years, Cognac has enjoyed its reputation as the king of brandies. Indeed, it is widely regarded as the finest drink to be distilled from grapes to be found anywhere in the world, and it is a testament to its producers and the master craftsmen who make it that this reputation has never faltered, and remains as strong as ever to this day.

Cognac is produced solely in the beautiful towns of Cognac and Jarnac, found about fifty miles north of Bordeaux, on the west coast of France. Here, around six thousand grape growers work exclusively in the production of white wine, used for the Cognac distilleries which are scattered throughout the region. The wines are made primarily from the Ugni Blanc or Trebbiano grape - one of the most commonly planted grape varietals in the world - which benefit from the cool, coastal climate and mineral rich soils which are found there. The wines themselves wouldn’t be suitable for drinking in themselves, as they are high in acid and low in alcohol, but this makes them ideal for distillation, and they can impart their wonderful, complex, rich flavors to the brandy.

Cognac varies quite significantly from bottle to bottle, depending on how long it has been aged for, and which appellation it comes from. The Cognac region is split into six separate Crus, all with their own distinctive characteristics, and the spirit can be aged from two years (VS) to six (Hors d’Age and Napoleon) and longer.

The purple skinned grapes of the Grenache varietal have quickly become one of the most widely planted red wine grapes in the world, flourishing in several countries which have the correct conditions in which they can grow to ripeness. They thrive anywhere with a dry, hot climate, such as that found in central Spain and other such arid areas, and produce delightfully light bodied wines full of spicy flavors and notes of dark berries. Their robustness and relative vigor has led them being a favorite grape varietal for wineries all over the world, and whilst it isn't uncommon to see bottles made from this varietal alone, they are also regularly used as a blending grape due to their high sugar content and ability to produce wines containing a relatively high level of alcohol.

Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.

Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.