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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $45.60
12 bottles: $39.90
Hennessy Very Special (V.S) is one of the most popular cognacs in the world. Matured in new oak barrels, Hennessy V.S...
12 FREE
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $250.79 $263.99
Figgy pudding and date syrup are sweet but not cloying on the nose. The flavors are soft and subtle, layered with...
12 FREE
VM
93
UBC
93
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $33.47
Aromas of apricot, honeysuckle, and fresh fig overlie rich buttery, baked notes on the nose. The palate presents as a...
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UBC
95
VM
92
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $65.44 $68.88
6 bottles: $61.20
A blend of Grande and Petite Champagne with an average age of seven years. Deep copper with aromas of maple and...
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VM
92
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $95.71 $102.91
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $64.94 $69.80
Dark golden yellow, amber. Delicate vanilla oak scent, touch of port wine. Rose and violet. Fruity and jamy: apricot...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.32 $19.28
12 bottles: $14.00
Big, inky-black fruit, spice and white pepper; layered and rich in the mouth with jammy black cherries, truffles,...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.24
12 bottles: $15.92
Deep ruby red with violet reflections. Intense fruity bouquet with notes of plum and cherry, hints of Mediterranean...
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $217.96
12 bottles: $136.80
The wonderful bouquet offers scents of walnuts, dried flowers, dried pears and white raisins. Palate entry is...
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WE
100
VM
96
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $52.90 $55.68
12 bottles: $33.73
Stewed sweet plum, baked raisin, pie crust, and vanillin lead elegant nose of this refined Cognac. The palate has...
UBC
90
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $30.42
12 bottles: $25.32
Excellent, Highly Recommended (Tried & True) - 2020 ULTIMATE SPIRITS CHALLENGE
UBC
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $45.21 $51.67
Excellent, Highly Recommended (Tried & True) - 2020 ULTIMATE SPIRITS CHALLENGE
UBC
92
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $262.54
12 bottles: $231.08
The opening whiffs find scents of pears, grapes, and mature oily, buttery, aromas; in the second sniffing round the...
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WE
95
VM
93
Sale
Rapid Ship
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $102.60 $108.00
Martingale is fresh, fragrant, and refined; offering an exquisite balance of complexity and smoothness. True to...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.94
6 bottles: $16.60
A balanced, medium-bodied red, with light tannins and a subtle underpinning of fresh, loamy earth layered with...
WS
88
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.41 $15.17
12 bottles: $12.36
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.34 $15.59
12 bottles: $14.05
Dense ruby red with a purplish rim, it is immediately intense on the nose with marked aromas of ripe and fleshy red...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.73
12 bottles: $13.99
Dark, brooding and spicy, the 2019 Primitivo di Manduria lifts up with notes of crushed rocks, cardamom and black...
VM
89
JS
88
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.90 $18.00
Raspberry coulis and fresh soil with grass popping through on the nose turns to an almost cake-like raspberry and...
WE
91
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $43.89 $46.79
12 FREE

Altesse Cognac Mencia Primitivo

For over three hundred years, Cognac has enjoyed its reputation as the king of brandies. Indeed, it is widely regarded as the finest drink to be distilled from grapes to be found anywhere in the world, and it is a testament to its producers and the master craftsmen who make it that this reputation has never faltered, and remains as strong as ever to this day.

Cognac is produced solely in the beautiful towns of Cognac and Jarnac, found about fifty miles north of Bordeaux, on the west coast of France. Here, around six thousand grape growers work exclusively in the production of white wine, used for the Cognac distilleries which are scattered throughout the region. The wines are made primarily from the Ugni Blanc or Trebbiano grape - one of the most commonly planted grape varietals in the world - which benefit from the cool, coastal climate and mineral rich soils which are found there. The wines themselves wouldn’t be suitable for drinking in themselves, as they are high in acid and low in alcohol, but this makes them ideal for distillation, and they can impart their wonderful, complex, rich flavors to the brandy.

Cognac varies quite significantly from bottle to bottle, depending on how long it has been aged for, and which appellation it comes from. The Cognac region is split into six separate Crus, all with their own distinctive characteristics, and the spirit can be aged from two years (VS) to six (Hors d’Age and Napoleon) and longer.

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.