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White
750ml
Bottle: $18.08
12 bottles: $17.72
Fresh and clean with green-apple and lemon character. Hints of dried apricots. Medium body. Some lime. Easy finish....
JS
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $25.20
12 bottles: $24.70
Rapid Ship
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $44.40
12 bottles: $42.18
Floral nose. Waxy (candlewax, crayons), then spicy, fruity notes emerge, in particular raisin and plum, becomes more...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.72
6 bottles: $44.00
Intense, deep red in colour, Desiderio 2019 reveals inviting notes of sweet cherries and raspberries, rose petals and...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.71 $17.59
12 bottles: $11.88
Flavors of rich, ripe cherries and plums are enriched by the smooth, deep, well-structured background. A beautifully...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $68.94 $73.20
Rated 97 - This Barone Ricasoli 2018 Casalferro is a selection of the best Merlot from three different vineyards with...
12 FREE
WNR
97
JS
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $79.94
6 bottles: $78.34
A rich, dark expression of Merlot, this red walks the line between austerity and generosity, the latter gaining...
12 FREE
WS
93
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.14 $21.20
12 bottles: $17.42
Dark cherry, plum and cassis flavors, with rich cinnamon, herb and coffee notes. Full flavored grilled or sauced...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.86 $18.80
6 bottles: $15.84
A wine with a distinct charisma. Bellissima Merlot is a smooth wine with charming fruity flavors of plum and cherry....
Red
750ml
Bottle: $144.95
6 bottles: $142.05
This is a pure merlot with violets, blueberries and hints of minerals and black truffles. Black olives, too....
12 FREE
JS
97
WA
92
Sale
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $21.85 $23.00
6 bottles: $13.87
Deep ruby red color. Vibrant, complex aromas with typical fragrant hints of hay. On the palate, stylish spice...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.58 $14.30
12 bottles: $11.40
Deep ruby red color. Vibrant, complex aromas with typical fragrant hints of hay. On the palate, stylish spice...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.24 $17.09
12 bottles: $13.18
Bollini Merlot comes from Trentino, where the clay soils in the cool, dry highland vineyards are ideally suited to...
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $36.79
6 bottles: $36.00
The nose is fragrant, delicate and harmonious. On the palate, this grappa is intense and complex, but with a smooth...
12 FREE
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $82.39
4 bottles: $81.60
Complex profile with multiple nuances attributable to spicy and fruity notes with hints of vanilla, morello cherry...
12 FREE
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $40.08
6 bottles: $31.60
Bold and bright on the nose, hints of fresh fennel and black licorice dominate the nose, with slight touches of Meyer...
12 FREE
UBC
90
Case only
Spirits
700ml - Case of 4
Bottle: $82.50
Sweet oak and cereal on the nose. Enjoyably elegant on the palate, with rich nutty and floral notes. Richly textured...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $8.55
The color is deep ruby red, almost garnet. Berry-like aroma, intense, with typical Merlot character. Dry, soft,...
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $33.60
12 bottles: $28.50
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $26.40
12 bottles: $22.80
Aged in oak for 12 months, this golden grappa edges close to aged brandy territory—although one sip and that grappa...
WE
89

Grappa Malvasia Merlot Italy

Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.


Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.

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.

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.