×
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $39.94 $43.20
24 bottles: $39.90
Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2016 Climens is a little youthfully mute, revealing notions of ripe peaches, mango and...
WA
96
DC
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $58.75
12 bottles: $57.58
Medium yellow-gold. Restrained aromas of peach and spices offer good lift. Very ripe and thick, with strong acidity...
12 FREE
VM
94
WS
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $49.90
12 bottles: $48.90
12 FREE
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $57.95
6 bottles: $56.79
The 2010 Coutet has quite an intense bouquet with linseed oil and wax resin infusing the dried honey aromas, then...
12 FREE
VM
95
WS
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $23.94 $26.20
One of the top sweet wines in this report is the 2016 Château Coutet, which has the vintage’s plush, opulent style...
WE
97
JD
97
Case only
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml - Case of 24
Bottle: $30.78
Barrel Sample. This wine shows great balance and poised elegance. Its botrytis fruit gives it rich intensity, with a...
WE
97
JS
96
Rapid Ship
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $23.90
The pale lemon-gold colored 2019 Coutet is a thrill ride from the get-go, exploding from the glass with fantastically...
WA
97
JS
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $2235.00
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $432.18 $480.20
Served from an ex-chateau bottle. The 1995 Chateau d’Yquem is moving into its secondary aroma phase. A deep golden...
12 FREE
WA
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $1299.95
Pale gold. Knockout aromas of creme brulee, coconut, vanilla bean, honey and orange peel. Lush and seductively silky...
WA
95
VM
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $500.60
12 bottles: $474.91
Pale gold. Knockout aromas of creme brulee, coconut, vanilla bean, honey and orange peel. Lush and seductively silky...
12 FREE
WA
95
VM
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $479.94 $523.20
Things were more difficult in Sauternes than in the rest of Bordeaux in the 2000 vintage, with a brilliant first...
12 FREE
DC
96
WS
92
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $436.68 $485.20
A massive Yquem, this has a dense palate that is almost chewy like a red. Full and very sweet, with notes of dried...
12 FREE
JS
98
WS
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $287.73 $319.70
This isn't sweet, but just so wonderfully rich. It's the concentration of botrytis that makes the wine. The texture...
12 FREE
WE
97
WS
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $427.95 $475.50
This isn't sweet, but just so wonderfully rich. It's the concentration of botrytis that makes the wine. The texture...
12 FREE
WE
97
WS
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $244.83 $253.50
12 bottles: $239.40
Barrel sample. This is the rich wine of the vintage. With its intense fruit, piles of spice, but excellent balance,...
12 FREE
WE
96
WS
96
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $390.15 $433.50
Barrel sample. This is the rich wine of the vintage. With its intense fruit, piles of spice, but excellent balance,...
12 FREE
WE
96
WS
96
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $244.95 $252.00
Befitting a glorious Sauternes vintage, the 2007 Yquem stood out in this tasting like a beacon. Sandrine Garbay notes...
12 FREE
DC
98
WA
98
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $480.60 $534.00
Befitting a glorious Sauternes vintage, the 2007 Yquem stood out in this tasting like a beacon. Sandrine Garbay notes...
12 FREE
DC
98
WA
98
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $414.18 $460.20
Barrel sample. Impressively balanced, with the fruit rich, intense with a golden glow. The acidity is as important as...
12 FREE
WE
98
WA
95

Lambrusco Mencia Semillon/sauvignon Blanc Verdelho

Some grape species are distinct and unique varietals, clearly separate from each of their cousins. Others, like Lambrusco and Muscat, are more like umbrella terms, featuring several subspecies which show slight differences from each other from region to region. Indeed, there are astonishingly more than 60 identified varieties of Lambrusco vines, and they are almost all used in the production of characterful Italian sparkling wines. They are distinguishable by their deep ruby blush, caused by strong pigments present in their skins, and their intensely perfumed character.


Lambrusco vines are grown in several Italian regions, although we most closely associate this varietal with Piedmont and Basilicata. It has also been grown successfully in Argentina and Australia. The varietal suffered from a fairly lowly reputation in the late 20th century, due to bulk, low cost production of Lambrusco sparkling wines, aimed at markets across northern Europe and America. However, things are rapidly changing, and the older, more traditional methods of bottle fermentation are returning, along with a higher level of quality and expression, as consumers become more discerning and demanding. Many of the Lambrusco sub-varieties have their own established DOC, such as Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Modena, where new regulations are keeping standards high and methods traditional.