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Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $40.95 $46.80
The 2017 Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyards opens with aromas of lemon meringue, popcorn, banana chip and stone fruits...
WA
89
WS
88
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.63
12 bottles: $15.32
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.08
12 bottles: $19.68
The 2017 Chardonnay Bayten opens with classic aromas of spiced yellow apples, poached pears, Meyer lemon curd and...
WA
89
WS
88
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.94 $42.48
12 bottles: $34.28
Made from Chardonnay grapes grown only 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the famous Goldridge soils of the Russian...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $38.94 $40.08
12 bottles: $38.16
The 2017 Chardonnay Estate opens with notes of toast, cream, lemon pith and hay over a core of Red Delicious apple...
12 FREE
WA
91
WS
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.94
6 bottles: $17.58
This layered wine comes from the neighbors' grapes, largely the noted Ferrington Vineyard, and offers enticing...
WE
92
WS
90
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.40
12 bottles: $19.99
Aromas of honeysuckle mingle with pink grapefruit and zesty key lime on the nose. On the palate, bright notes of...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $31.20
Attractive lemon-cream and peach aromas are framed in attractively fragrant spices. The palate has a succulent edge...
12 FREE
JS
92
WE
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $26.90 $28.80
The 2017 Chardonnay is whole-bunch-pressed and matured in 30% new oak with no malolactic. The tightly wound bouquet...
VM
89
WS
89
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $34.39 $36.20
12 bottles: $33.25
Louis Latour Beaune Blanc has a pale yellow colour, the nose offers brioche bread notes, laced with subtle notes of...
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.87
12 bottles: $13.59
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $29.94
12 FREE
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $40.60 $46.40
This is very subtle and complete with cooked lemons and apples and a complement of straw and gunpowder. Full-bodied,...
JS
95
White
750ml
Bottle: $64.94
12 bottles: $63.64
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $87.95
12 bottles: $86.19
The 2017 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard, from a site in the Anderson Valley, has an incredibly Burgundian bouquet of...
12 FREE
JD
94
WA
93
White
750ml
Bottle: $99.94
6 bottles: $97.94
The 2017 Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard conjures up provocative notions of buttered popcorn, crème brûlée and...
12 FREE
WA
94
WS
92
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.40
12 bottles: $14.11
Precision and brightness to this chardonnay with sliced cooked-apple, peach and pie-crust aromas and flavors. Medium...
JS
93
VM
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $87.95 $92.00
The 2017 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre ler Cru shows why this site is so highly regarded. Even with all of the...
12 FREE
VM
95
JS
93
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $109.94 $113.10
12 bottles: $107.74
Aromas of crushed stones and oyster shell here with a fresh, lemon and yellow-grapefruit edge. The palate has a very...
12 FREE
VM
94
JS
94
White
750ml
Bottle: $163.94
An exotic, totally beguiling wine, the 2017 Chablis Les Preuses Grand Cru melds together rich fruit with saline,...
12 FREE
VM
97
JS
96

Chardonnay Rye Whiskey Mencia 2017

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.

Rye Whiskey is enjoying something of a renaissance of late, with sales rocketing in recent years thanks to a growing interest in strong, unique flavors, and small, independent distilleries. Rye Whiskey is a drink which is all about powerful, bold flavors, with plenty of spice and bitterness when drunk young. Aged, however, it takes on a deep set of subtle notes which are beautifully mellow and complex, and becomes a fascinating example of what whiskey can be when made with expert hands.

In order for an American Whiskey to be labeled a Rye Whiskey, it must have a mash content which is no less than fifty one percent rye. This separates it from Bourbon, and it is this which gives it its distinctive flavor and spiciness. Toffee, cinnamon, caraway, cloves and oak are typical tasting notes, and ‘straight rye’ whiskies - which are aged in charred oak barrels - take on plenty of the smokiness of the wood, adding a further, fascinating facet.

Rye Whiskey has its spiritual home in the northeastern states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and cities like Pittsburgh produced vast quantities of Rye Whiskey in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most the old distilleries were closed during the prohibition era, after which time rye whiskey more or less disappeared completely, but the twenty-first century is seeing old recipes being resurrected and released to rave reviews.