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750ml
Bottle:
$47.16
$52.40
Colour: Lively, deep ruby-red; nature's gift.
Perfume: Complex scent of ripe red fruit (mainly black cherry), spices,...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.64
$19.60
12 bottles:
$15.83
A clean, simple Gavi with sliced apples and hints of stones and white almonds. Crisp, dry and light on the palate...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.94
12 bottles:
$29.34
• 100% Carignan.
• Practicing Organic.
• Poor Ranch Vyd (mult-generational family owned on benchland outside...
750ml
Bottle:
$40.91
6 bottles:
$40.09
COLOR: Pale straw yellow with green reflections.
NOSE: Rich and intense bouquet on the nose, with complex fragrances...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.90
$15.08
12 bottles:
$13.59
A complexity of honeydew melon, apple, pear and acacia with a salty mineral crunch, racy acidity and an almond...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.94
6 bottles:
$29.34
Colour: Deep, almost solid ruby red.
Nose: Intense fruity notes of blackberry, blueberry, vanilla, myrtle, leather...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.93
$20.40
12 bottles:
$18.55
100% Cortese from Ulivi's estate vines in and around Gavi. As always, the fruit was destemmed and spontaneously...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.41
12 bottles:
$12.16
COLOR: Pale yellow with green reflections.
NOSE: Fresh nose with grapefruit notes and underlying minerality.
FLAVOR:...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.65
12 bottles:
$15.34
Light and clear with a heavenly bouquet reminiscent of almond trees in blossom. Dry and harmonious with a final...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.94
$18.40
The Cortese grape always makes for etched and sharp white wines with a strong salty mineral component. That's exactly...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.94
12 bottles:
$21.50
Eye: Limpid and garnet-coloured, darkened by purple tints. The coloured legs run slowly and cling to the glass. Nose:...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$18.13
Big raspberry and plum aromas on the nose as well as a hint of eucalyptus and liquorice. The wine is rich and mouth...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$16.85
Roasted coffee and liquorice on the nose with some blackberry notes and a light smokiness showing the age of the...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.93
12 bottles:
$13.65
All old vine Carignan, the 2019 Côtes Catalanes Tessellae from Jean-Marc Lafage offers a beautifully pure nose of...
Albarossa Carignan Cortese Japanese Whiskey
Carignan is an ancient blue-skinned grape varietal, thought to be indigenous to the Aragon region of Spain. However, today it is most commonly associated with the fine wines of southern France, and has been grown in many countries around the world which have the warm and dry conditions it requires to thrive. Carignan is recognized as being quite a sensitive vine, highly susceptible to all kinds of rot and mildew, although producing excellent results when given the right conditions and handled correctly. Its high tannin levels and acidity make the Carignan grapes very astringent, and as such, they are often used as a blending grape to give body to other, lesser bodied varietals. Despite this, with careful treatment, Carignan can produce superb single varietal wines packed full of character and unique attributes.
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.
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.