Do we ship to you?.
750ml
Bottle:
$11.31
$12.57
• 100% Loureiro from choice, south-facing parcels on granite in the Lima Valley.
• Hand-harvested.
• Fermented...
750ml
Bottle:
$27.94
12 bottles:
$27.38
Melissae is named after the nymphs of honey. The wine shows intense flowery aromatics reminiscent of nectar, making...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.62
$16.25
Crystaline citrus color. Delicate tangerine and lime zest in a mineral, elegant, low alcohol profile where a touch of...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.94
12 bottles:
$17.58
Bright pale yellow citrus hue. A wine with the backbone of granite minerality, were the aromas dominated by fruits...
![Aphros Loureiro [Amphora] 'Phaunus' 2022 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/4f/4fb59c52c8a45085a3451527ec5303d8.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$23.94
12 bottles:
$23.46
This delicious wine is bright, lively and balanced. With flavors of citrus fruits, and apple aromas, this wine pairs...
![Aphros Palhete [Amphora] 'Phaunus' 2020 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/fc/fc9129046d0ff5547826b6070cf04bd0.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$22.94
12 bottles:
$22.48
Loureiro and Vinhão. Harvested and destemmed manually before spontaneous fermentation with the skins in...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.94
12 bottles:
$19.54
Ruby red in color with aromas of wild blackberry and ripe plum. Intense and elegant on the palate with notes of red...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.00
12 bottles:
$14.25
Intense aromas of marasca cherry and redcurrant with hints of blackberry jelly. Dynamic and enveloping on the palate...
750ml
Bottle:
$24.90
Cannonau is a typical grapevine in Sardinia that here in Usini assumes unique organoleptic nuances that are found in...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.25
12 bottles:
$15.93
Known in France as Grenache, this classic Cannonau is full-bodied, pure and authentic. It is a brilliant Ruby red and...
700ml
Bottle:
$91.20
12 bottles:
$80.94
Fukano Blonde—an all-new, limited expression from the famed distillery—is bottled to showcase the beauty of...
700ml
Bottle:
$93.48
$98.40
12 bottles:
$88.92
Texturally robust and aromatically refined, Fukano’s Sherry Cask whisky feels and tastes downright luxurious....
700ml
Bottle:
$79.80
$84.00
Each individual cask displays Fukano’s signature aromas of ripe fruit and toasted baking spice—think...
Blaterle Grenache Japanese Whiskey Loureiro Piedirosso
The Grenache grape holds the honor of being the most widely planted wine grape varietal on earth. It has a long and impressive history, and has been the backbone of the some of the planet’s most respected and famed wine regions, blended with Syrah in regions such as Chateauneuf du Pape, and in certain other Loire and Languedoc regions where it reigns supreme as a single varietal wine grape. In other key areas, such as Spain’s La Rioja (where it is known as Garnacha Tinta), it is blended with Tempranillo to make that country’s signature red wine, and is widely used as a blending grape in other old and new world countries, due to its unique character and jammy, fruit forward character.
For a long time, the Grenache grape was somewhat looked down upon as an ignoble varietal, incapable of producing wines of any particular interest. However, times are very much changing - in the right hands, Grenache grapes result in astonishingly intense and complex wines, full of fascinating features, and capable of achieving plenty of expression. For a while now, Grenache has been a major player in Australian wines. While not yet quite as extensively planted down under as Shiraz is, the Barossa Valley is bringing out some of the finest examples of this grape’s wines in recent years.
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.