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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...
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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...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.94 $54.20
Bright and intensely floral, with a lovely violet aroma and long, rich plum sauce, blackberry and currant notes....
12 FREE
WS
92
JS
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.59 $31.54
Tight and polished with a beautiful center palate and density. Full-bodied, ripe and polished. Really delicious fruit...
JS
92
DC
91
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $47.94
Deep purple robe with black hints. The nose is complex and discreet, the bouquet will further develop upon ageing....
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.80
12 bottles: $15.05
Bordeaux generally does not have high elevations. This wine, boasting the fact that the vines are at 278 feet, is...
WE
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.00
12 bottles: $17.64
Attractively structured and bright, this wine layers tannins with black fruits. Tannins are already well integrated...
WE
88
Red
750ml
Bottle: $37.93
12 bottles: $37.17
Blackberry, blueberry, graphite, clove, tobacco and mahogany on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm,...
12 FREE
JS
94
DC
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
White
750ml
Bottle: $49.94
6 bottles: $48.94
The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc Pine Mountain is made of 100% Sauvignon Blanc from a vineyard at 2,850 feet in elevation. It...
12 FREE
WA
92
VM
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $384.75 $427.50
Exquisitely fine tannins to the currant, lead-pencil and chocolate character. The palate is full, yet very refined...
12 FREE
JS
97
WA
94
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: $232.38 $258.20
The second wine of Château Ausone, always produced in limited quantities, provides a fine echo of the top wine. Bold...
12 FREE
WE
96
JS
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $578.88 $643.20
A longer, slower harvest than 2009, with cooler nights giving a resultantly fresher acidity. Highlighting the serious...
12 FREE
DC
99
WA
99
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $400.95 $445.50
I loved the 2018 Château Angélus from barrel last year and it blew me away from bottle, epitomizing the new,...
12 FREE
JD
100
WE
98
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $55.88 $57.20
12 bottles: $54.76
Even better than the 2009, the 2010 Château Barde-Haut offers the same sexy, extroverted style yet has slightly more...
12 FREE
JD
96
WS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $51.30
12 bottles: $47.60
Showing brilliantly, the 2018 Château Barde-Haut comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir on the eastern side of...
12 FREE
JD
95
DC
94

Chardonnay Red Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc 2010 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.

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.

The green skinned grapes of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal had their origins in Southern France, where they are still widely grown and used for many of the excellent young and aged white wines the region is famous for. Today, however, they are grown in almost every wine producing country in the world, and are widely revered for their fresh and grassy flavors, full of tropical notes and refreshing, zesty character. Sauvignon Blanc grapes thrive best in moderate climates, and ripen relatively early in the year. This has made them a favorite for many wineries in the New World, where they can still produce healthy and high yields in the earlier part of the summer before the temperatures become too hot. Too much heat has a massively adverse effect on Sauvignon Blanc, as the grapes become dull in their flavor, and the wine produced from them loses all its unique character and high points. As such, Sauvignon Blanc farmers have had a lot of trouble from global warming and climate change, as they are being forced to harvest their crops increasingly earlier in the year when it is cool enough to do so.