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Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $77.09
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $57.62
Blackberries, blackcurrants, dark plums, Chinese spices and hints of vanilla. Full body, incredibly structured...
JS
95
WS
93
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $73.28
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $73.28
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $86.45
This is a pure merlot with violets, blueberries and hints of minerals and black truffles. Black olives, too....
JS
97
WA
92
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $58.14
Now in its third vintage, the Castello dei Rampolla 2020 Liù is a fine and impeccably detailed wine. You taste...
WA
94
WE
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $166.46
One of the greatest Italian Merlots, the pedigree of L'Apparita is evident the minute you raise the glass to your...
WE
97
VM
95
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $242.65
Ama's 2010 L'Apparita is super-intriguing from the very first taste. With each passing vintage, it seems like...
VM
96
WA
94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $225.95
A deep and beautiful red with ripe berry, plum and orange peel character. Almost exotic in style. Full body,...
JS
98
WA
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $157.95
The 2013 L’Apparita gets this tasting off to a very strong start. Fresh, perfumed and totally sensual, the 2013...
VM
98
JS
94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $240.68
Ama's 2015 L'Apparita is shaping up to be phenomenal. That is the good news. But readers are going to have to give...
VM
98
WA
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $208.95
The 2016 L'Apparita, 100% Merlot, is a breathtaking, riveting wine that captures all the potential of the vintage. In...
VM
100
WA
99
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $167.95
Intense and exotic on the nose with blackberry, blueberry, violet and walnut aromas that follow through to a full...
JS
97
WA
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $211.73
The 2018 L'Apparita is a total stunner. Ama's 100% Merlot is usually a wine of bombastic intensity, but the 2018...
WA
99
VM
99
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $243.95
A viscous, salted licoricetinged red, with plum, earth and spice flavors. Reveals a solid grip of tannins lining the...
WS
95
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $80.50
The 2016 Laroque is blended of 95% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.5% Cabernet Sauvignon from vines more than 50...
WA
94
VM
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $54.62
Composed of 99% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Laroque sports a deep garnet-purple color and is redolent of...
WA
93
VM
93
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $104.67
This estate is in a cool, limestone terroir on the eastern side of Saint- Emilion, and it's been firing on all...
JD
96
WA
95
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $38.28
This estate is in a cool, limestone terroir on the eastern side of Saint- Emilion, and it's been firing on all...
JD
96
WA
95
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $44.50
I continue to just love this château, which is located in one of the cooler terroirs in the appellation, sitting on...
JD
95
WA
94

White Rhone Blends Melon de Bourgogne Merlot Mencia Pre-Arrival

Viognier, an exotic, elusive varietal, originally comes from the Northern Rhone Valley of France, and has captured the fascination of the U.S. wine-drinking public. At its finest, it is full-bodied and nearly golden in color, with a haunting bouquet of peaches, apricots and pears, and a floral quality like no other wine in the world. Many vintners are trying their hand at this varietal, spreading from its American beginnings in Napa Valley and Santa Barbara County to wineries as far away as Virginia. Marsanne and Rousanne, two other important varieties from the Rhone Valley are making waves in the U.S., particularly on the Central Coast of California.

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.