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375ml
Bottle:
$34.95
12 bottles:
$32.30
Sweet, rich orange marmalade flavors, maybe not as imposingly powerful as Guiraud can be, but still with a great...
375ml
Bottle:
$35.20
12 bottles:
$34.50
Tasted as part of a vertical held at the chateau. It is clear that the aromatics on the 2008 are a little simpler and...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$74.85
The 2009 Guiraud is one of the gems of Sauternes this vintage, one of the finest offerings in recent years. It has a...
375ml
Bottle:
$29.94
$33.20
Barrel Sample. This wine is packed with dry botrytis flavor, but also a bright freshness. Together they give an...
375ml
Bottle:
$35.90
12 bottles:
$35.18
One of the top Sauternes in this report is the 2016 Château Guiraud, a brilliant wine from a more challenging...
375ml
Bottle:
$42.94
12 bottles:
$42.08
Barrel Sample. Ripe, botrytized fruit currently dominates this wine with its rich concentration. It is a full and...
750ml
Bottle:
$54.94
$59.20
Barrel Sample. Ripe, botrytized fruit currently dominates this wine with its rich concentration. It is a full and...
375ml
Bottle:
$29.90
$32.20
12 bottles:
$29.45
Apricots, honeysuckle, lemons, mango crumble, earl grey and vanilla beans on the nose. Pretty spice notes that keep...
750ml
Bottle:
$51.94
$57.20
Apricots, honeysuckle, lemons, mango crumble, earl grey and vanilla beans on the nose. Pretty spice notes that keep...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$49.94
Wow. This has a seamless texture and wonderful depth of fruit with dried pineapple, pear and hints of honey. Full...
750ml
Bottle:
$33.94
12 bottles:
$33.26
Brilliant golden robe. Attractive complex nose of acacias, white flowers, lemon, and a touch of honey. Light, fruity...
375ml
Bottle:
$20.94
Brilliant golden robe. Attractive complex nose of acacias, white flowers, lemon, and a touch of honey. Light, fruity...
750ml
Bottle:
$38.25
12 bottles:
$37.49
Pale to medium gold colored, the 2009 Carmes de Rieussec opens with evolving honey-coated almonds, lemon pie and...
375ml
Bottle:
$19.94
12 bottles:
$19.54
90-91 A pretty second wine of Rieussec with creamy, cooked pear and apple character. Some soufflé character, too....
375ml
Bottle:
$18.13
12 bottles:
$17.22
Full nose with notes of jammy white fruit, which evolve towards bitter orange. The initial impression is delicate,...
750ml
Bottle:
$123.12
$136.80
Captivating, tangy aromas of vineyard peach, pear, white flowers and curry powder. Supple and very concentrated;...
750ml
Bottle:
$81.00
$90.00
93-96 Balanced and very spicy, with almond paste and apricot. Full-bodied, medium sweet, with a long, fruity, tangy...
Grappa Jacquere Negramoll Primitivo Semillon/sauvignon Blanc
Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.
Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.
As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.
Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.