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Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $154.80
6 bottles: $141.60
Robust notes of cinnamon, pastry custard, banana, and smokey incense on the nose precede a weighty palate of black...
12 FREE
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $49.98
6 bottles: $41.40
Get back to nature; this is a whisky to savor during a spectacular sunrise. Lychee, edamame, pea shoots, green apple,...
12 FREE
WKY
90
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $39.92 $41.10
12 bottles: $37.91
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $42.18 $44.40
12 bottles: $39.90
Showing a nose combining earthy aromas of barley cake, toasted walnut, and campfire smoke with more fruit driven...
12 FREE
UBC
89
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.95
12 bottles: $25.43
Mourvèdre from two high-elevation vineyards in the Sierra Foothills - Cedarville and Sumu Kaw. Hank Beckmeyer knows...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.95
12 bottles: $27.39
The Cedarville is always light in color It shows lots of citrus in the nose, along with plum and granite soil. An...
12 FREE
White
500ml
Bottle: $39.94
12 FREE
White
375ml
Bottle: $13.94
12 bottles: $13.66
Smoke and brioche aromas. Elegant palate with subtle stony, iodine notes. Squeaky clean, with a salty delicacy.
DC
94
WA
93
Sale
White
375ml
Bottle: $9.94 $11.00
Unique aromas of dried apples, lemon blossom, almonds and cream. Hints of seaweed. Full-bodied, yet focused and tight...
JS
94
WS
91
White
500ml
Bottle: $27.94
12 FREE
Case only
Spirits
750ml - Case of 4
Bottle: $122.40
12 FREE
Sale
White
500ml
Bottle: $35.94 $37.20
Some fresh-treacle and spun-sugar aromas with orange rind and a sweet, toasty and woody edge. This is quite fresh and...
JS
94
WA
93
Sale
White
500ml
Bottle: $27.94 $30.00
Dusty toffee and dried stone-fruit aromas are pure and inviting. This is ultra crisp and fresh, with ripping acidity....
W&S
92
WE
92
Sale
White
500ml
Bottle: $28.93 $30.00
González Obregón’s wines occupy a central place in Lustau’s Almacenista line. Three of its eight labels are...
W&S
93
WA
91
Sale
White
500ml
Bottle: $29.94 $31.20
The non-vintage Oloroso Pata de Gallina, Almacenista Garcia Jarana, also a dark amber, offers smoke, earth, and...
WA
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.94 $18.34
This is brown-gold in color, its maple, chocolate and raisin aromas extending onto the smooth, layered palate. Toasty...
WE
92
VM
90
Sale
White
375ml
Bottle: $10.94 $11.70
The non-vintage Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Solera Reserva reveals a medium amber hue along with a nutty, honeyed, dry...
WA
93
JS
92
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $21.94 $24.40
In spite of the massive tarte-tatin character in the nose, this is mouth-filling but bone dry and powerful with a...
W&S
92
JS
92
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.94 $25.20
This is a ripe, honeyed style of Sherry with deep brown sugar and cinnamon aromas. Its solid palate is under control...
W&S
92
WE
92
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.94
12 bottles: $15.62
Aged following a biological aging in the cool and humid air of the port town of El Puerto de Santa María, where the...

Japanese Whiskey Mourvedre Sherry

Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.

The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.

Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.

While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.

Mourvèdre is a fascinating and ancient grape varietal, thought to have been introduced to Spain by the ancient Phoenicians over two thousand years ago. Since then, it has found a home in many regions of France, and has gone on to be a key grape varietal in the New World, where it is often blended with Grenache and Syrah varietals to make a beautifully rounded and balanced red wine. The Mourvèdre grape itself is renowned for holding a complex set of flavours, which are often described as meaty or gamey, with plenty of bramble fruit notes. As such, they are often served with dark meats, and are enjoyed in many countries across the globe. The grapes are not the easiest to cultivate, as they require plenty of sunshine alongside well irrigated soil. However, their quality and unique attributes mean that wineries all over the globe continue to persevere with this special varietal.

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.