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White
750ml
Bottle: $14.94 $16.25
Bright yellow color with green hues. The bouquet diplays aromas of passion fruit, mango and citrus. Balanced taste...
White
750ml
Bottle: $26.93
This has notes of grapefruit, toasted pineapple, grilled herbs and beeswax. It’s full-bodied, layered and...
12 FREE
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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.64 $15.41
12 bottles: $11.52
With an abundance of fruit aromas, the wine is produced from 100% Petite Syrah grapes from the vineyards of the...
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Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $26.98 $28.40
6 bottles: $24.80
Brilliant golden colour. Complex, fine and elegant nose with pineapple and apricot aromas combined with notes of...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.84 $10.58
Aromas of cocoa and mocha, with flavors of boysenberry, blackberry and blueberry.
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.93 $15.48
12 bottles: $11.58
This wine is rich, concentrated with aromas of blackberry, cumin, dried herbs and florals. The palate offers black...
WE
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Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $35.94
A perfect introduction to Sauternes, this has very nice dried-papaya and mango character, creamy richness and...
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92
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $47.99 $51.60
Only a 30-minute drive southeast of Napa, Suisun Valley (which became an AVA in 1982) is still largely undiscovered....
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Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $88.88
12 bottles: $87.10
Lemon, honey, mineral and light spice. Very attractive aromas. Full-bodied, with fresh acidity and a long finish...
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WA
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $93.00
12 bottles: $87.78
Beautiful aromas of orange zest are followed by gingerbread, caramel and crème brûlée flavors. This is a...
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WE
96
WA
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $113.40
12 bottles: $111.13
Tasted single blind against its peers. This has a very well -defined nose of dried pineapple, quince and vanilla pod...
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WA
93
VM
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Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $114.94
12 bottles: $112.64
Pale gold, the 2009 Climens offers up a fabulously fragrant nose of green tea, chamomile, powdered ginger, lemon...
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97
WA
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $44.95 $48.60
Medium yellow-gold. Restrained aromas of peach and spices offer good lift. Very ripe and thick, with strong acidity...
VM
94
WS
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $49.90
12 bottles: $48.90
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Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $59.94
6 bottles: $58.74
The 2010 Coutet has quite an intense bouquet with linseed oil and wax resin infusing the dried honey aromas, then...
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95
WS
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Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $432.18 $480.20
Served from an ex-chateau bottle. The 1995 Chateau d’Yquem is moving into its secondary aroma phase. A deep golden...
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WA
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $500.60
12 bottles: $490.59
Pale gold. Knockout aromas of creme brulee, coconut, vanilla bean, honey and orange peel. Lush and seductively silky...
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WA
95
VM
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $470.88 $523.20
Things were more difficult in Sauternes than in the rest of Bordeaux in the 2000 vintage, with a brilliant first...
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DC
96
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Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $436.68 $485.20
A massive Yquem, this has a dense palate that is almost chewy like a red. Full and very sweet, with notes of dried...
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Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $427.95 $475.50
This isn't sweet, but just so wonderfully rich. It's the concentration of botrytis that makes the wine. The texture...
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Assyrtiko Melon de Bourgogne Petite Sirah Semillon/sauvignon Blanc 750ml

Cultivated since at least the middle of the Byzantine era, the Assyrtiko grape is generally considered to be one the finest of the Greek grape varietals, as a result of its multi-purpose properties and ability to flourish on a wide range of terrains. The ancient Byzantines used it in conjunction with Aidani and Athiri grapes for the production of their unusual and naturally sweet Vinsanto wines, which are still produced today in Santorini, and continue to be popular. However, the Assyrtiko grapes are used for many different AOC wines across Greece, and are favored by wine makers who want to maintain a dryness and acidic punch to their produce.

The Assyrtiko grapes are renowned for their ability to maintain their acidity as they ripen beneath the blazing Mediterranean sun, resulting in wines which have a distinctive dryness and a range of citrus fruit aromas, as well as great structure and high tannins. Often, Assyrtiko grapes will produce wines which leave an unusual after-taste reminiscent of the mineral rich, volcanic soils they are grown in on the slopes of Santorini, making them a favorite for wine drinkers looking for something full of character and interesting attributes. The past twenty five years have seen Assyrtiko vines planted all over the Greek mainland, and even in Attica and Macedonia, where the softer terrain often produces more fruit forward wines with a milder, less astringent character. However, wherever this fine grape varietal is grown, it is rare the results will be anything less than excellent.

Additional Information on Greek Wines


Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.

Petite Sirah was first brought from France to America in the 1880s. It later went on to become one of the only grapes to make it through the devastating Phylloxera virus in the 1890s, both World Wars, and the Great Depression. During Prohibition, it was a main ingredient used to make sacramental wines. In fact, through the 1960s it was a major blending grape in a number of the finest wines produced in California.

By itself, a bottle of Petite Sirah usually has no problem making a quick impression on consumers. With a large amount of natural color and tannins, wines made with the grape commonly feature intensive sweet fruit characteristics like fresh raspberry or blackberry jam, black pepper spice, and plenty of backbone or structure.

There are a number of different styles available. Some concentrate on highlighting fresh, fruity flavors; others are bigger, more voluptuous; and it keeps going up the ladder until you reach the powerful, more machismo-style category.