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Sale
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...
Case only
Spirits
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $45.03
12 FREE
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
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $35.94
A perfect introduction to Sauternes, this has very nice dried-papaya and mango character, creamy richness and...
12 FREE
JS
92
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...
12 FREE
WS
95
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...
12 FREE
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...
12 FREE
WA
93
VM
93
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
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $97.20
12 bottles: $91.20
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
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...
12 FREE
VM
94
WS
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $49.90
12 bottles: $48.90
12 FREE
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...
12 FREE
VM
95
WS
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
Dessert/Fortified Wine
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $2235.00
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...
12 FREE
WA
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $1299.95
Pale gold. Knockout aromas of creme brulee, coconut, vanilla bean, honey and orange peel. Lush and seductively silky...
WA
95
VM
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $500.60
12 bottles: $474.91
Pale gold. Knockout aromas of creme brulee, coconut, vanilla bean, honey and orange peel. Lush and seductively silky...
12 FREE
WA
95
VM
95

Japanese Whiskey Savatiano Semillon/sauvignon Blanc Vermentino Nero

Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.

The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.

Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.

While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.

Savatiano is probably Greece's most well known and most widely grown grape varietal, as it is the primary grape used in the production of Retsina, where the fermenting juices of the Savatiano varietal are flavored with pine resin in order to make this distinctive and famous wine. One of the reasons for the wide cultivation of this grape is due to its hardiness, and resistance to drought conditions. In the sun-drenched and dry, rocky Greek landscapes, this makes it an ideal vine to grow for wine-makers who require a strong and bounteous yield each year.

However, there are plenty of examples of Greek white wines which use the Savatiano grape but withhold from the addition the pine resin flavoring, allowing the true characteristics of this varietal to shine through. The result is often very pleasing indeed, with Savatiano grapes generally producing extremely well balanced and rounded white wines, with a juicily fruity flavor. Their aromas can vary quite a lot, with many Savatiano wines bearing the fragrance of citrus fruits, and also occasionally having a strong floral aroma reminiscent of elder and rose. Due to the relatively low acidity of Savatiano grapes, the wines which use them (including Retsina) generally bolster themselves with the addition of smaller quantities of more acidic varieties, such as Assyrtiko or Rhoditis, in order to improve their sometimes weak structure.

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?