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Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.25
12 bottles: $44.35
Always one of the more garrigue-scented Châteauneufs, the Brunels' 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape includes hints of...
12 FREE
WA
92
WS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.40
12 bottles: $43.51
Good depth of colour. Intense berry and juniper freshness with well-integrated oak lending a little background spice....
12 FREE
DC
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.20
12 bottles: $12.26
Notes of dark fruit and licorice, as well as some bay leaf. Full-bodied with round tannins. Creamy and fleshy on the...
JS
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.17
12 bottles: $14.87
Currants, raspberries and some spicy undertones. Walnuts, too. Medium-bodied with firm tannins. Crisp and juicy on...
JS
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.94
12 bottles: $19.54
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.65
12 bottles: $33.96
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.83 $48.00
12 bottles: $45.60
Excellent harmony of full body, moderately dry tannins and richness. The red fruits are now beautifully developed and...
12 FREE
WS
92
JS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.65
12 bottles: $14.36
This fulfilling wine evokes the warm and fruity flavors of its sunny region. A young wine, packed with fresh notes of...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $25.89
Red
750ml
Bottle: $32.70
12 bottles: $32.05
Raspberries and leather mark the nose of the 2018 Gigondas, which was tasted as a blended sample prior to bottling....
12 FREE
WA
90
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $243.00
4 bottles: $240.00
Every year Mounir will select several crus to age in Amphorae, where they will remain untouched for around a year,...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $83.88
A dreamy wine, with a plume of incense, mulled raspberry and red tea aromas curling up from the glass, followed by a...
12 FREE
WS
96
VM
94
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $97.94
3 bottles: $95.98
Pretty mesquite and red tea aromas lead off, followed by silky red cherry and raspberry fruit. Shows a light garrigue...
WS
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $53.94
12 bottles: $51.30
It's hard to believe the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Saintes Pierres is a second wine, it's that good. Garrigue notes...
12 FREE
WA
94
WE
94
Sale
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $783.23 $833.22
Red-fruited and garrigue-laden, the nose of the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is glorious,...
WA
99
DC
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $296.95
Red-fruited and garrigue-laden, the nose of the 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin is glorious,...
WA
99
DC
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $42.78
Moving to the wines from bottle, the base Gigondas from this estate is a perennial winner and readers can safely buy...
DC
93
WA
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $101.51
Shimmering violet. Powerful, mineral- and spice-tinged boysenberry and cherry preserve scents are complemented by...
VM
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $83.63
Due to devastating yields, there’s not much of the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape to go around, but it’s going to be...
WS
96
JD
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $82.62
Due to devastating yields, there’s not much of the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape to go around, but it’s going to be...
WS
96
JD
96

Red Rhone Blend Mencia Sake Tequila 2018

Tequila is probably Mexico’s greatest gift to the world of fine spirits, and is also possibly one of the most underestimated and misunderstood drinks in the world. Widely used for shots and slammers, and more often than not associated with parties and hangovers, Tequila is in fact a wonderful drink full of subtleties and expression of terroir, that is highly rewarding for those who look into its finer points.

One of the special things about Tequila is the fact that it is capable of expressing the fine nuances and subtle notes of its raw material, far more so than other, similar spirits. That raw material is, of course, the Blue Agave - not a cactus, as is commonly believed, but rather a succulent quite like a lily, which grows in the deserts of Mexico mainly around the province of Jalisco. The Blue Agave takes a decade to mature, and during those ten years, it takes in many of the features of its surroundings, just like a grapevine would. This is why Tequila varies in flavor and aroma from region to region, from the earthier Tequilas of the lowlands, to the more delicate and floral examples from areas of a higher altitude.

The picking and peeling of the spiky Agave, and the distillation process of Tequila is a complicated one, and one which is carried out with enormous skill by the jimadors and master craftsmen who produce the spirit. Steam cooking of the body of the plant is followed by crushing, then fermentation and distillation completes the process. The end product is categorized according to whether or not it is made with pure (‘puro’) agave, or blended with other sugars, and according to how long the spirit is aged for.