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Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $37.94 $40.00
A well-mannered wine with a crunchy red berry, mint, star anise and angelica nose and palate. Elegant and posed on...
12 FREE
DC
92
WS
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $25.19 $28.79
In 1955, a group of wine growers from the village of Mardeuil, a small village on the hillsides of Epernay, joined...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $25.84 $28.80
100% Chenin Blanc. From 10-15-year-old, certified-organic vines on clay-limestone soils. Fermented to dryness (2...
Sale
Sparkling
375ml
Bottle: $50.15 $52.79
12 bottles: $49.40
Aromas of plum , banana and summer flowers; a very complete style, more citric than anything; steely but focused....
12 FREE
DC
91
VM
91
Sparkling
375ml
Bottle: $42.55
12 bottles: $41.70
Mineral, textured, rich and full of white-fruit flavors, this wine is taut and nervy with intense acidity that is...
12 FREE
WE
91
WS
91
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $46.85
6 bottles: $45.91
Mineral, textured, rich and full of white-fruit flavors, this wine is taut and nervy with intense acidity that is...
12 FREE
WE
91
WS
91
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $92.80
6 bottles: $92.00
Pronounced chalky and floral nose. Palate is tight and linear with some verbena and mandarin. Impressive salinity on...
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DC
93
WA
93
Sale
Sparkling
12 FREE
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $74.94
6 bottles: $73.44
Minerally on the nose, with a fine mousse and subtle notes of peach skin, pink grapefruit pith, oyster shell and...
12 FREE
WS
91
DC
90
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $74.00
6 bottles: $72.52
Disgorged in October 2015 and tasted in October 2018 from lot L6S920703 again, the golden-yellow NV Cuvée des Moines...
12 FREE
WA
92
WE
90
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $48.85
12 bottles: $47.87
Brisk, with a bracing structure and citrus flavors, this Champagne rounds out midpalate for an instant before the...
12 FREE
WS
88
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $81.55
A gorgeous rosé Champagne with sliced strawberries, orange peel and hints of cream and pie crust. Medium body, tight...
12 FREE
JS
94
DC
93
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $15.05
12 bottles: $14.75
A classic dry and crisp Brut from clay and chalk soil vineyards in the Anjou and Touraine regions of the Loire Valley...
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Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $15.41
12 bottles: $15.10
A classic dry and crisp Brut Rosé made of 100% Cabernet Franc from clay and chalk soil vineyards in the Anjou and...
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $47.88
Liquorice aromatic notes with resonant plum and red apple. Deep, exuberant, mouth-filling, vigorous and long, this is...
DC
97
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $61.20
Discreet strawberry plum, verbena and angelica nose. Notes of herbs, spice and strawberry follow through int he...
DC
93
VM
91
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $79.94
This blend includes 50 percent pinot noir, 10 percent meunier and 40 percent chardonnay, aged seven years on the...
12 FREE
W&S
91
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $114.94
Aged for 15 years on its lees, this mature Champagne is toasty, sheding its bright fruitiness while gaining a richer,...
12 FREE
WE
94
VM
92
Sale
Sparkling
12 FREE
Sale
Sparkling
375ml
Bottle: $48.94 $54.00
A beautiful, transparent pink-gold rosé, this wine feels effortless. Five percent red wine grown in Verzenay and Aÿ...
W&S
94
WS
93

Champagne Blend Chenin Blanc Italian Red Blends Rum France

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn't unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as 'blanc de blanc', meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or 'blanc de noir', which is made solely with Pinot Noir.

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.

It is difficult to categorize rum as a single spirit, because of all the spirits found around the globe, rum is perhaps the one which varies most dramatically from place to place. Clear, white rum - a favorite for cocktail drinkers - is perhaps the most prevalent example found today, but there is a whole world of darker, spiced and molasses-rich rums to explore, thanks to the fascinating history and wide reach this drink has.

Rum came about during the colonial times, when sugar was a huge and world-changing business. The molasses left over from the sugar production industry could easily be distilled into a delicious alcoholic drink, and provided extra income for the sugar traders. Before long, it became a favorite of sailors and transatlantic merchants, and it quickly spread across the Caribbean and Latin America, where it remains highly popular today.

The production of rum is a basic and simple one - you take your molasses, add yeast and water, and then ferment and distil the mixture. However, as is often the case, the devil is in the detail. The variation in yeasts found from place to place, the maturation period, the length of the fermentation and the type of stills and barrels used provide the rainbow-colored variation that gives rum its spectrum of styles and characteristics.

Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.