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700ml
Bottle:
$78.66
$82.80
This whisky has an elegant nose, with faint whispers of baked apple, buttercream, and dried lemon peel. The palate is...
500ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$56.81
750ml
Bottle:
$69.23
Ambrosial notes of sprouted grain, honey, bacon fat and orange blossom accompany deeper notes of toasted hazelnut....
750ml
Bottle:
$74.79
$78.73
This unique expression was developed in 2013 as a result of Nikka's continuous experiments to widen the variety and...
750ml
Bottle:
$46.46
$48.91
An accomplished blend packed with appealing flavors from Miyagikyo and Yoichi Distilleries. Honey, baked lemon,...
750ml
Bottle:
$79.94
$89.94
Number 1 in the 2018 Top 20. Notably balanced and elegant, the colorful palette of whiskies combines for tremendous...
750ml
Bottle:
$88.06
$92.70
A smoky nose rises from the glass, but immediately finds harmony with spicy and bold flavors on the palate. Gorgeous...
750ml
Bottle:
$110.91
$116.75
This is a single malt from the Yoichi distillery, Nikka’s first distillery built in 1934. The founder Masataka...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.90
$22.80
12 bottles:
$21.66
Black Muscat, another under appreciated muscat variety, is known in Europe as a table grape variety, Muscat Hamburg,...
750ml
Bottle:
$23.90
12 bottles:
$23.42
Essensia is a full-bodied sweet wine made with Orange Muscat grapes. The experience of Essensia is unmistakable: a...
375ml
Bottle:
$84.94
The 2012 Vin Santo is compelling, as it so often is. Caramel, honey, brown sugar and kirsch are some of the many...
375ml
Bottle:
$22.84
$23.75
12 bottles:
$22.38
This is a Vin Santo that is traditional both in its blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes as well as in its method...
750ml
Bottle:
$93.94
12 bottles:
$92.06
The 2019 Graacher Domprobst Riesling Beerenauslese is coolish, flinty and floral on the precise and aromatic nose...
375ml
Bottle:
$118.95
Balls-to-the-wall power here, an enveloping BA that's elegant and not voluptuous, with creamy-malty flavors but even...
375ml
Bottle:
$105.94
The Selbachs’ 2006 Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Beerenauslese smells of resin, caramel, white raisins, and...
Dessert Wine Ice Wine Japanese Whiskey Mavrodaphne
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.
In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.
Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.
Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.
Additional Information on Greek Wines
Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?