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Pre-Arrival
Abreu Red Blend Cappella 2015
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$582.52
96-100 The 2015 Cappella should be close to perfection when it is finally released in several years. Inky...
Pre-Arrival
Abreu Red Blend Cappella 2017
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$441.40
Beautiful stuff, the 2017 Capella offers a perfumed, complex style with lots of cassis and darker fruits as well as...
Pre-Arrival
Abreu Red Blend Las Posadas 2011
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$402.28
The 2011 Las Posadas is a relatively delicate wine for Howell Mountain, but the vines were pretty young back then....
Pre-Arrival
Abreu Red Blend Las Posadas 2014
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$511.19
This is loaded with potent blueberry, acai berry and fig compote flavors that are dense but remarkably polished and...
Pre-Arrival
Abreu Red Blend Las Posadas 2015
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$650.34
A big version, with broad-shouldered currant and fig paste notes, wrapped in tar and roasted mesquite accents. The...
Pre-Arrival
Abreu Red Blend Thorevilos 2017
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$519.95
Even better than the awesome 2016, Abreu's 2017 Thorevilos Proprietary Red takes those familiar piney-herbal notes...
Pre-Arrival
Abreu Red Blend Thorevilos 2018
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$759.84
This doesn't pull any punches, with a deep well of compact black currant and blackberry paste flavors entangled with...
Pre-Arrival
Alheit Vineyards Chenin Blanc Huilkrans 2018
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$187.06
The 2018 Huilkrans is 100% Chenin Blanc from the Citrusdal Mountains. Its bouquet is more waxy and resinous than...
Pre-Arrival
Alheit Vineyards Chenin Blanc Nautical Dawn 2020
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$79.46
The 2020 Nautical Dawn, from granite soils and vines planted in 1978 that undergoes a two month ferment, is aged in...
Pre-Arrival
Almaviva Puente Alto 2015
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$186.39
Blackcurrant, flower, lead-pencil, and iodine aromas. Medium to full body with firm, polished tannins. Very young and...
Muscat Chenin Blanc Grappa Red Blend Pre-Arrival
Known as Moscato in Italy, and Moscatel in Portugal and Spain, Muscat is one of the oldest continually cultivated grape varietals in the world. It originally came out of the Middle East, and was picked up by the ancient Greeks, who brought it to Italy and elsewhere in their empire. Because of its astounding age and continuous use, it has long since been mutated and crossbred to produce dozens of subspecies, and it is known by lots of synonyms and regional names. Because of this, it is fair to say that there is no ‘true’ Muscat grape. The most popular - and oldest - varietal within this group, however, is Muscat Blanc au Petit Grains, which is grown with great results most notably in France and South Africa.
Known for its light and fruity character, Muscat of Alexandria is the second oldest of the Muscat grapes, and is found in several countries around the Mediterranean. The grape is prized for its versatility - indeed, almost every imaginable type of wine style, from dry to medium to sweet and sparkling, can be made from this varietal. Generally speaking, though, Muscat grapes have a relatively low acidity which make them unsuitable for ageing, meaning the vast majority of Muscat wines are drank very young, wherein they can express their best features.
Originating in France yet now grown in many parts of the New World, Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile and highly regarded white wine grape varietals on earth. These green skinned grapes hold a relatively high acid content, and as such can be used for making still white wines of exceptional quality, as well as superb sparkling wines (such as the Crémant wines of the Loire Valley) and extremely aromatic dessert wines. Their natural transparency means that they are a fine grape for expressing their terroir in the bottle, and winemakers often experiment with this varietal to coax unusual and intense flavors from the grapes, such as allowing the development of noble rot on the fruit in order to make sweet and viscous wines of a unique character.
Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.
Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.