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Red
750ml
Bottle: $87.99
6 bottles: $86.23
Like all great wines, Barbera too has its own crus. In certain areas and vineyards where it reaches the highest of...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $410.40 $456.00
Fine tannins, this is elegant and finessed, with cool blueberry and raspberry fruits, touches of orange peel, rose...
12 FREE
DC
95
WA
94
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $49.35
90-92 Barrel sample. Aromas of new wood mark this wine. On the palate, the tannins are gentle, with flavors of ripe...
12 FREE
WE
92
DC
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $40.76
12 bottles: $39.94
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $72.75
12 bottles: $71.30
With dense fruit and a powerful, complex structure, this is one of the best wines from this chateau. Blackberries,...
12 FREE
WE
94
DC
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $167.10
12 bottles: $163.76
This is from a precocious vintage, with a harvest beginning on September 3, the very day the estate’s longtime...
12 FREE
DC
95
WE
95
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $134.85
Barrel sample. A firm and tannic wine, it has the weight to support its tannins. It's balanced, solid and dense, with...
12 FREE
WE
95
JD
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $624.95 $679.50
A vintage that’s being drunk with abandon in France these days, the 2011 Chateau Cheval Blanc showed beautifully,...
12 FREE
JD
96
DC
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $118.59
12 bottles: $116.22
Continuing its impressive development, Clerc Milon 2011 is a serious wine. It is elegant, stylish, its fruits well...
12 FREE
WE
94
JS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $30.39
12 bottles: $29.78
This has a tangy sanguine edge running through it, with floral and cherry notes backed by a pomegranate edge on the...
12 FREE
WS
88
Red
750ml
Bottle: $114.80
6 bottles: $112.50
A Duhart that was particularly subdued when young, it is continuing to develop and will be even better in two or...
12 FREE
DC
92
WE
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.30
6 bottles: $41.45
This red shows good berry and spice character, with hints of minerals. It’s medium-bodied, with chewy tannins and a...
12 FREE
JS
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $70.00
12 bottles: $68.60
Plenty of Pauillac character in terms of its tannic density and dark fruits, a little angular. Once you coax oxygen...
12 FREE
DC
91
WE
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $74.90 $78.60
12 bottles: $74.10
The savoury, floral edge of Cabernet on gravel is fully on display, and it needs time in the glass to soften and...
12 FREE
DC
93
JS
93
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $89.90 $97.50
Gruaud Larose can be underestimated in its early years but knows exactly how to show itself with a bit of bottle age,...
12 FREE
DC
94
WE
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $616.68 $685.20
A serious Haut-Brion, still very much closed. Concentrated with firm tannins, this has real depth to it, showing...
12 FREE
DC
97
WE
96
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $199.94 $205.50
12 bottles: $193.80
A dark, grippy, structured version, with a strong charcoal spine running through the core of dark fig, steeped plum...
12 FREE
WS
93
WE
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $50.19
12 bottles: $49.19
This is a wine that has great potential—you can tell from the firm tannins, tight acidity and closed texture....
12 FREE
WE
92
VM
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $59.94
12 bottles: $58.74
Full in the mouth, this is a soft and juicy wine at the outset. There is a cushioned, plump feel to the wine, with...
12 FREE
WE
93
JS
91
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $48.00
This is a little more ready to drink than the 2010 vintage at this point, but still delivers plenty of rich, fleshy...
12 FREE
DC
92

Barbera Cortese Red Bordeaux 2011

For centuries now, the beautiful red grapes of the Barbera varietal have been grown in Italy, where they are prized for their unusual high acid content and low tannins, brought about by their thin skins. The Barbera grape varietal thrives in warmer climates, and has had some success overseas in the new world, where its strongly aromatic flavors of intense hedgerow fruits make it a favorite with wineries and wine drinkers looking for a grape which offers plenty of interesting characteristics. Interestingly, the differences between young and aged wines made from this varietal are quite significant, with younger bottles holding a plethora of berry flavors, including blueberry and raspberry notes, and oak aged wines made from the Barbera grape being much loved for their ability to become extremely complex and spicy, and picking up vanilla flavors from the wood they are barreled in.

The Cortese white wine grape varietal has been grown in and around south Piedmont, Italy, for at least five hundred years. Its delicate nature and moderate acidity have made it a favorite with people around the world, and it is most commonly served alongside the excellent seafood and shellfish dishes of the part of Italy it is traditionally grown in. Cortese grapes are easily identifiable by their lime and greengage flavors, and their generally delicate and medium bodied character. Cortese wines are also notable for their freshness and crispness, again, making them an ideal match for seafood. Whilst colder years often produce harsher, more acidic Cortese wines, practices such as allowing malolactic fermentation can solve any such problems and still produce delicious white wines made from this varietal.

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.