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White
750ml
Bottle: $39.94
12 bottles: $39.14
Musky apricot pit, peach and spicy vanillin oak on the nose. Densely packed but quite suave and fine-grained in spite...
12 FREE
VM
93
JD
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.84 $44.00
The color of this wine is best described as pale straw with a slight tint of emerald green. The nose opens as a...
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $24.94 $35.94
Moving to the four Chardonnays I was able to taste, the 2018 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast reveals a light gold color as...
12 FREE
JD
92
WA
90
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $51.93
This is a generous, layered white with lots of cooked apples and hints of coconut and vanilla. Full body. Phenolic...
12 FREE
JS
94
White
750ml
Bottle: $42.53
6 bottles: $41.68
COLOR: Medium Gold. NOSE: Pronounced pear and golden yellow apple lined with a floral note of jasmine, apricot, and...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.45
12 bottles: $19.06
Aromas of dark cherries, charred wood, bark and mushrooms. It’s medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and an...
JS
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $46.50
12 bottles: $45.57
Stone fruits, buttered citrus, white currants, and brioche all emerge from the 2018 Chardonnay, a beautiful...
12 FREE
JD
92
WA
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.89 $30.00
Fermented with native yeast and aged in concrete for six months and then moved to French oak (mostly used) for an...
White
750ml
Bottle: $45.93
12 bottles: $45.01
This too is firmly reduced so be sure to decant it first. Otherwise the round, delicious and lush medium weight...
12 FREE
BH
88
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.83 $25.20
12 bottles: $22.80
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $18.23
This wine is brilliantly elegant, generous, and fruity. It has a deep, subtle color with purple highlights, smooth...
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.00
12 bottles: $14.70
Lively lemon curd, green apple, spice, white flower, and flinty notes emerge from the medium-bodied 2018 Beaujolais...
JD
88
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $44.69 $46.00
The wine is plush and enveloping, and yet like all of Jim Clendenen's wines, it also remains light on its feet. Hints...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.08
12 bottles: $17.81
A firm, silky red with berry, chocolate and light walnut aromas and flavors. Medium body. Medium chewy tannins and a...
JS
92
White
750ml
Bottle: $55.99
6 bottles: $54.88
Fine and alluring with limestone and wet slate, lemon cream, lime peel and a vanilla pod kiss. A long, distinguished...
12 FREE
DC
96
VM
92
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $98.95
Aromas of candied fruit and honey with a buttered and mineral bouquet. The wine is well-balanced and round in the...
12 FREE
Case only
White
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $280.41
6 bottles: $279.20
Batard-Montrachet is one of the four great Grand Cru Chardonnay vineyards in the appellation of Puligny-Montrachet,...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $80.19
12 bottles: $78.59
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $130.40
The 2018 Chardonnay Malans "Unique" is Martin Donatsch's Grand Cru, and its character is that of a great Burgundy....
12 FREE
WA
95

Chardonnay Furmint Irish Whiskey Malbec 2018 750ml

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 Irish are hailed as being the original producers of whiskey in the British Isles, and their innovations and techniques were so successful, that neighbouring Scotland were quickly influenced by them in the 15th century. Centuries later, it was the Irish who brought whiskey to America, and their style of whiskey has since become popular all over the world.

However, it wasn’t always plain sailing for the Irish whiskey industry - from being a dominant force in the 19th century, whose produce was considered far superior to that of Scotland, political upheaval and war saw the Irish whiskey almost disappear forever in the early 20th century. Today, the Irish whiskey manufacturers are back on their feet, and they are once again proving that the original is often the best. With new distilleries opening every year, it is safe to say that Irish whiskey is very much back.

Irish whiskey differs from Scotch whisky in a number of ways, and not least the spelling - the extra ‘e’ was said to be added in the 19th century as a way of distancing the Irish drink from what they saw as an inferior Scottish product. Irish whiskey was traditionally made in enormous stills, as a way of ensuring consistency from bottle to bottle, and maintaining the quality and complexity their reputation was founded on. The typical tasting notes of fine Irish whiskey include apple and vanilla, alongside spicy and sweet touches of nutmeg and fresh hay, making this a highly pleasant and smooth drink, made for relaxation and stimulating conversation about times past.

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.