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Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $65.44 $68.88
6 bottles: $61.20
A blend of Grande and Petite Champagne with an average age of seven years. Deep copper with aromas of maple and...
12 FREE
VM
92
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.87
12 bottles: $13.59
Luc and Jerome Choblet are the third generation to make wine at their family estate, in the Côtes de Grandlieu...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.52 $21.60
This remarkable Vin de France (thus without vintage on the label) has not only the color of a honeydew melon, it also...
WA
91
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $76.94
6 bottles: $75.40
White
750ml
Bottle: $34.94
12 bottles: $34.24
12 FREE
Sale
White
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.94
12 bottles: $22.48
A beautiful combination of density, finesse and appealing bitter flavors on the back of the palate. The complexity...
12 FREE
White
White
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $31.95
12 bottles: $31.31
From a high desert site in the Gabilan Mountains, neighboring Pinnacles State Park. Harvested from a south facing...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.51 $18.43
12 bottles: $13.18
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $16.23
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $95.71 $102.91
12 FREE
Sale
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $64.94 $69.80
Dark golden yellow, amber. Delicate vanilla oak scent, touch of port wine. Rose and violet. Fruity and jamy: apricot...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.01
12 bottles: $11.65
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $14.25
Attractive pale-yellow hue with green tints, a sign of the wine’s youth. The seductively fresh and fruity nose...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $14.25
Attractive pale-yellow hue with green tints, a sign of the wine’s youth. The seductively fresh and fruity nose...
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.94
12 bottles: $20.52
From Bien Nacido in Santa Maria, this is a crisp, mineral driven wine with captivating brininess. Made for shucking...
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $207.06 $217.96
12 bottles: $203.19
The wonderful bouquet offers scents of walnuts, dried flowers, dried pears and white raisins. Palate entry is...
12 FREE
WE
100
VM
96
Sale
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $23.79 $25.04
12 bottles: $18.43
Stewed sweet plum, baked raisin, pie crust, and vanillin lead elegant nose of this refined Cognac. The palate has...
UBC
90

Cognac Melon de Bourgogne Tannat

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.

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.