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Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $14.89 $15.55
12 bottles: $14.77
A perfect introduction to Sauternes, this has very nice dried-papaya and mango character, creamy richness and...
JS
92
White
375ml
Bottle: $12.50
12 bottles: $12.25
This refreshing wine has a zesty character, with crisp acidity and green herbal fruit notes. Drink now. (Best Buy)
WE
89
White
375ml
Bottle: $25.70
12 bottles: $25.19
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $54.94
Pale gold, the 2009 Climens offers up a fabulously fragrant nose of green tea, chamomile, powdered ginger, lemon...
12 FREE
DC
97
WA
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $39.94 $43.20
24 bottles: $39.90
Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2016 Climens is a little youthfully mute, revealing notions of ripe peaches, mango and...
WA
96
DC
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $23.94 $26.20
One of the top sweet wines in this report is the 2016 Château Coutet, which has the vintage’s plush, opulent style...
WE
97
JD
97
Case only
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml - Case of 24
Bottle: $30.78
Barrel Sample. This wine shows great balance and poised elegance. Its botrytis fruit gives it rich intensity, with a...
WE
97
JS
96
Rapid Ship
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $23.90
The pale lemon-gold colored 2019 Coutet is a thrill ride from the get-go, exploding from the glass with fantastically...
WA
97
JS
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $287.73 $319.70
This isn't sweet, but just so wonderfully rich. It's the concentration of botrytis that makes the wine. The texture...
12 FREE
WE
97
WS
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $244.83 $253.50
12 bottles: $239.40
Barrel sample. This is the rich wine of the vintage. With its intense fruit, piles of spice, but excellent balance,...
12 FREE
WE
96
WS
96
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $244.95 $252.00
Befitting a glorious Sauternes vintage, the 2007 Yquem stood out in this tasting like a beacon. Sandrine Garbay notes...
12 FREE
DC
98
WA
98
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $224.95 $248.00
Pale to medium lemon-gold color, the 2010 d'Yquem has retreated into its shell at this youthful stage, offering...
12 FREE
WA
98
WE
98
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $228.95 $234.00
Bright aromas of sliced mangoes, papaya, botrytis, and lemon follow through to a full body. Medium sweet with a...
12 FREE
WE
98
WS
98
Sale
Rapid Ship
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $223.95 $234.00
Barrel Sample. Apricot tones with lively acidity give this rich wine a vein of freshness. Pear and white peach notes...
12 FREE
WE
99
WA
98
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $225.18 $250.20
The 2016 Chateau d’Yquem is pure magic and dessert wines don’t get much better. Offering a pale gold color as...
12 FREE
JS
99
JD
99
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $211.95 $235.50
The 2016 Chateau d’Yquem is pure magic and dessert wines don’t get much better. Offering a pale gold color as...
12 FREE
JS
99
JD
99
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $219.94 $239.60
This is a great Yquem, delivering thrilling purity and intensity. The nose offers intense aromas of fresh and dried...
12 FREE
WA
99
JS
99
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $209.83 $217.20
The 2018 d'Yquem is all lime cordial, grapefruit oil and mandarin peel to begin. With a little coaxing, the fireworks...
12 FREE
WA
98
DC
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $201.15 $223.50
Owners LVMH took the decision to delay the release of the 2019 Yquem until spring 2022. It was tasted with winemaker...
12 FREE
VM
98
DC
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $189.63 $210.70
The 2020 Yquem, a blend of 75% Semillon and 25% Sauvignon Blanc, cropped at a measly 10hl/ha, has a very sensual...
12 FREE
VM
97
DC
96

Cognac Garganega Semillon/sauvignon Blanc White Bordeaux 375ml

For over three hundred years, Cognac has enjoyed its reputation as the king of brandies. Indeed, it is widely regarded as the finest drink to be distilled from grapes to be found anywhere in the world, and it is a testament to its producers and the master craftsmen who make it that this reputation has never faltered, and remains as strong as ever to this day.

Cognac is produced solely in the beautiful towns of Cognac and Jarnac, found about fifty miles north of Bordeaux, on the west coast of France. Here, around six thousand grape growers work exclusively in the production of white wine, used for the Cognac distilleries which are scattered throughout the region. The wines are made primarily from the Ugni Blanc or Trebbiano grape - one of the most commonly planted grape varietals in the world - which benefit from the cool, coastal climate and mineral rich soils which are found there. The wines themselves wouldn’t be suitable for drinking in themselves, as they are high in acid and low in alcohol, but this makes them ideal for distillation, and they can impart their wonderful, complex, rich flavors to the brandy.

Cognac varies quite significantly from bottle to bottle, depending on how long it has been aged for, and which appellation it comes from. The Cognac region is split into six separate Crus, all with their own distinctive characteristics, and the spirit can be aged from two years (VS) to six (Hors d’Age and Napoleon) and longer.

Italy is a fine country for white grape varietals, and white wines have been produced in this ancient country for thousands of years. One of the more popular varietals in the modern age is Garganega, which is currently the 5th most planted white grape across Italy. This grape is most closely associated with the Veneto region of Italy, although it is also grown in Sicily, where it is known as Grecanico Dorato. Garganega is a rigorous, hardy grape, which can grow in huge yields - explaining its popularity in the past. Today, winemakers must be careful to keep yields as low as possible, as this a varietal which can easily lose its distinctive characteristics and fine qualities when grown in bulk.


We know Garganega most commonly from the Soave wines which have been consistently popular over the past few decades. Indeed, the Soave Classico wines which still sell in large quantities across the globe are made from 70%-100% Garganega varietal grapes, and these wines showcase the varietal’s fresh and delicate qualities. The most common flavors present in Garganega wines are delicate, citrus notes, balanced by a hint of almond, and the best examples have remarkable balance and length, with wonderful aromatic notes.

France is widely known as being the home of many of the world's finest white wines, and within France, the name which rings out across the wine world and is always associated with excellence of quality and flavor is Bordeaux. The white wines of the magnificent Bordeaux region are typically blended, and rely on the winemaker's skill and expertise to achieve the fine balance between the primary grape varietals used. Most blended white Bordeaux wines are made up of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle varietals, although there are actually nine grapes officially allowed by French wine law for the inclusion in Bordeaux white wines. The other six are Sauvignon Gris, Merlot Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Ondenc and Mauzac, although the use of these other grapes has been in steady decline over the past century.