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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $50.03
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $77.25
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $57.62
Blackberries, blackcurrants, dark plums, Chinese spices and hints of vanilla. Full body, incredibly structured...
JS
95
WS
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $73.28
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $73.28
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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $75.92
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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $80.29
Aromas of pink cherries, peach skins, toasted bread, dried orange peels and nutty undertones. Medium- to full-bodied,...
JS
93
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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $77.50
Intense nose of almond, nougat, peach, pineapple and tarte tatin. Round, rich and creamy, with fine bubbles and...
JS
95
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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $87.00
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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $264.12
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $86.45
This is a pure merlot with violets, blueberries and hints of minerals and black truffles. Black olives, too....
JS
97
WA
92
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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $175.78
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Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $53.02
Some bread dough and pie crust to the lightly cooked apples and hints of pear skins. It’s full-bodied with a round...
JS
92
WA
91
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $58.25
Now in its third vintage, the Castello dei Rampolla 2020 Liù is a fine and impeccably detailed wine. You taste...
WA
94
WE
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $166.83
One of the greatest Italian Merlots, the pedigree of L'Apparita is evident the minute you raise the glass to your...
WE
97
VM
95
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $241.96
Ama's 2010 L'Apparita is super-intriguing from the very first taste. With each passing vintage, it seems like...
VM
96
WA
94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $225.95
A deep and beautiful red with ripe berry, plum and orange peel character. Almost exotic in style. Full body,...
JS
98
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96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $158.40
The 2013 L’Apparita gets this tasting off to a very strong start. Fresh, perfumed and totally sensual, the 2013...
VM
98
JS
94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $239.97
Ama's 2015 L'Apparita is shaping up to be phenomenal. That is the good news. But readers are going to have to give...
VM
98
WA
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $208.95
The 2016 L'Apparita, 100% Merlot, is a breathtaking, riveting wine that captures all the potential of the vintage. In...
VM
100
WA
99

Champagne Blend Merlot Israel Italy Pre-Arrival

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.

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

Since biblical times, Israel has been an important production center for wine, and continues to be so to this day. All over Israel, the Mediterranean climate the country enjoys ensures that grapes grow to full ripeness, and the vineyards are helped considerably by the mineral rich limestone soils which typify the geology of the wine regions. Interestingly, in Israel, up to fifteen percent of all wine production today is used for sacramental purposes, and the vast majority of the wines produced there are made in accordance to Jewish kosher laws. Israel is split into five major wine producing regions; Galil, The Judean Hills, Shimshon, The Negev, and the Sharon Plain, and in recent years the wine industry of Israel has brought over twenty five million dollars per annum to the Israeli economy.

There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.