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750ml
Bottle:
$426.60
$474.00
The 2008 Angélus offers a still youthful, vibrant color as well as a classic Angélus bouquet of spice box, black...
750ml
Bottle:
$410.40
$456.00
6 bottles:
$355.00
Fine tannins, this is elegant and finessed, with cool blueberry and raspberry fruits, touches of orange peel, rose...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$49.35
90-92 Barrel sample. Aromas of new wood mark this wine. On the palate, the tannins are gentle, with flavors of ripe...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.20
12 bottles:
$33.52
Love the nose of crushed berries and slice plums. Full and chewy, with velvety tannins and a long finish. Needs time...
750ml
Bottle:
$153.63
$170.70
Here is a huge ripe and luxurious wine, with great power. The texture is solid, filled with firm tannins, the flavors...
750ml
Bottle:
$72.75
12 bottles:
$71.30
With dense fruit and a powerful, complex structure, this is one of the best wines from this chateau. Blackberries,...
750ml
Bottle:
$189.94
$203.20
The 2000 Brane-Cantenac is a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 55% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. It has a really...
750ml
Bottle:
$228.78
$254.20
Tasted from an ex-château bottle at BI Wine & Spirits Calon-Segur dinner in London. The 2000 Calon Segur is one of...
750ml
Bottle:
$167.10
12 bottles:
$163.76
This is from a precocious vintage, with a harvest beginning on September 3, the very day the estate’s longtime...
750ml
Bottle:
$254.95
A beautiful moment to be drinking this wine as it edges towards tertiary flavours. Beginning to soften around the...
750ml
Bottle:
$131.25
12 bottles:
$128.63
Beautifully concentrated, rich and textured, with just a hint of maturity, the 2008 Château Canon offers classic...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$96.95
Barrel sample. A firm and tannic wine, it has the weight to support its tannins. It's balanced, solid and dense, with...
750ml
Bottle:
$77.40
12 bottles:
$72.96
This château is progressing well in raising its quality as this big, chunky wine shows. The fruit has a solid...
750ml
Bottle:
$1293.48
$1437.20
Coming out of a relatively dormant state, this 2000 is a spectacular Cheval Blanc. Of recent vintages, I think only...
750ml
Bottle:
$624.95
$679.50
A vintage that’s being drunk with abandon in France these days, the 2011 Chateau Cheval Blanc showed beautifully,...
Merlot Red Bordeaux 2000 2008 2011
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 regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.