×
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.87 $15.41
12 bottles: $11.52
Medium, slightly round entry balanced by firm acid backbone. Oak well integrated. Uniform across palate with a tinge...
Instore only
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $29.99
Freshly sliced jalapeno is front and center aromatically. There is a hint of sweetness from the cucumber on the...
UBC
91
Instore only
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $29.99
Here is a tequila that can be simply enjoyed with soda or used to kick up a Paloma. The grapefruit and hibiscus give...
UBC
93
Instore only
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $29.99
Like a bright summer morning; the sweet smoke of the agave is matched by fresh squeezed orange juice, blossom, and a...
UBC
94
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $11.52
This wine represents the best of grapes grown in Monterey County. Our Chardonnay exudes flavors with grace and...
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $47.88 $50.40
6 bottles: $46.20
Excellent, Highly Recommended - 2020 ULTIMATE SPIRITS CHALLENGE
12 FREE
WE
92
UBC
92
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.94 $22.08
12 bottles: $19.54
A straightforward white, with fruit cocktail flavors and a short finish. Drink now. 6,000 cases made.
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $58.60 $61.68
6 bottles: $49.50
Earthy aromas of pine and yellow fruits mix with vanilla. Sweet on the palate with brown sugar, vanilla syrup, and...
12 FREE
UBC
96
Sale
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $95.99 $101.04
6 bottles: $90.36
Truly excellent tequila is something worth searching for, savoring, and celebrating. At 818, we bring you tequila...
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $163.48 $172.08
3 bottles: $160.00
Truly excellent tequila is something worth searching for, savoring, and celebrating. At 818, we bring you tequila...
12 FREE
Sale
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $23.31 $24.54
12 bottles: $16.63
Excellent, Highly Recommended - 2020 ULTIMATE SPIRITS CHALLENGE
UBC
90
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $41.88 $44.08
6 bottles: $31.50
Excellent, Highly Recommended - 2020 ULTIMATE SPIRITS CHALLENGE
12 FREE
UBC
90
Sale
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $27.59 $29.04
12 bottles: $19.95
TASTE: Ripe roasted agave flavor with notes of caramel and vanilla. AROMA: Vanilla, meringue, honey, and fruit...
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $51.38 $54.08
6 bottles: $40.50
TASTE: Ripe roasted agave flavor with notes of caramel and vanilla. AROMA: Vanilla, meringue, honey, and fruit...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
Pour a glass and you’ll discover a brilliant golden liquid overflowing with aromas of crisp citrus, green apple,...
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.94
12 bottles: $39.14
Musky apricot pit, peach and spicy vanillin oak on the nose. Densely packed but quite suave and fine-grained in spite...
12 FREE
VM
93
JD
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $34.69
12 bottles: $34.00
Bright straw-yellow. Rather wild scents of peach pit, strawberry, lime peel, hazelnut and musky lees. Rich and dense...
12 FREE
VM
92
WE
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $47.94
12 bottles: $46.98
A delicate bouquet of white tea, orange blossom and toasted almond build into captivating aromas. Opening with...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.48
12 bottles: $14.25
Fields of exuberant yellow straw come to mind when describing this chardonnay’s color. On the nose, a bouquet of...
White
750ml
Bottle: $23.94
12 bottles: $22.13
Bright and citrusy with a lemon-rind scent and broader, more apple like flavors, this wine’s texture, with its...
W&S
91

Chardonnay Rolle Mencia Tequila

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

Tequila is probably Mexico’s greatest gift to the world of fine spirits, and is also possibly one of the most underestimated and misunderstood drinks in the world. Widely used for shots and slammers, and more often than not associated with parties and hangovers, Tequila is in fact a wonderful drink full of subtleties and expression of terroir, that is highly rewarding for those who look into its finer points.

One of the special things about Tequila is the fact that it is capable of expressing the fine nuances and subtle notes of its raw material, far more so than other, similar spirits. That raw material is, of course, the Blue Agave - not a cactus, as is commonly believed, but rather a succulent quite like a lily, which grows in the deserts of Mexico mainly around the province of Jalisco. The Blue Agave takes a decade to mature, and during those ten years, it takes in many of the features of its surroundings, just like a grapevine would. This is why Tequila varies in flavor and aroma from region to region, from the earthier Tequilas of the lowlands, to the more delicate and floral examples from areas of a higher altitude.

The picking and peeling of the spiky Agave, and the distillation process of Tequila is a complicated one, and one which is carried out with enormous skill by the jimadors and master craftsmen who produce the spirit. Steam cooking of the body of the plant is followed by crushing, then fermentation and distillation completes the process. The end product is categorized according to whether or not it is made with pure (‘puro’) agave, or blended with other sugars, and according to how long the spirit is aged for.