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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.94 $18.00
From one of Margaret River's longstanding family-owned and operated wineries, this is a charming Shiraz. It's...
WE
89
Red
750ml
Bottle: $54.72
12 bottles: $53.63
Occidental Hills Syrah is a single-vineyard bottling from our 0.21 acre Syrah planting at English Hill Vineyard....
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.90
12 bottles: $19.50
A rich, medium- to full-bodied red, with an underpinning of mesquite smoke and loamy earth and flavors of fig cake,...
WS
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $56.90 $61.20
Dense, with toothsome tannins that add a firm background to tangy blackberry and blueberry flavors, with notes of...
12 FREE
WS
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $148.95
3 bottles: $145.97
Ripe black cherries, wild blackberries, blackcurrants, nutmeg, licorice, mahogany, musk and some dried thyme on the...
12 FREE
JS
98
WA
96
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $107.90
97-99 I was blown away by the 2018 Côte Rôtie Château D'Ampuis, which is certainly in the same league as the famed...
12 FREE
JD
99
JS
96
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $368.64 $409.60
Rated 97-100 - A barrel sample that just about made my eyes roll back in my head, the 2019 Ermitage Ex Voto has...
12 FREE
JD
98
WA
97
Red
750ml
Bottle: $71.94
Moving to the Hermitage releases, the 2018 Hermitage is terrific, and readers will love to have bottles in the...
12 FREE
WS
94
JS
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $98.15
6 bottles: $96.19
A savoury, red-fruited quality to the fruit with spiced plums and raspberry jam. Powerful, supercharged in the mouth,...
12 FREE
DC
96
WA
96
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $13.70
Deep intense ruby red in color. Marvelous and well defined nuances of cherry and plum aromas with a touch of spice....
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.01
12 bottles: $18.62
This shiraz is a bright and youthful red colour with some rich purple hues. On the nose are aromas of plum,...
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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.94 $32.00
#97 of Top 100: 2020. Blackberry and huckleberry flavors are concentrated and plump, with appealing details of black...
WS
90
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $42.00
This wine comes from one of the most isolated single-vineyards in the world and from a fantastic Shiraz vintage. The...
12 FREE
WE
95
JS
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.94 $35.60
6 bottles: $34.24
Tasting of dark chocolate, blackberry syrup and tree bark, this leathery, full-bodied wine is textured and thick in...
12 FREE
WE
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $229.94
6 bottles: $225.34
First bottled in 1952 by Stephen Henschke's father Cyril, this reknowned cuvée is likely Australia's longest...
12 FREE
DC
98
WA
96
Red
750ml
Bottle: $159.94
6 bottles: $156.74
An enticing and perfumed nose of heather, dried herbs and lavender with roasted spices, peppercorns and ripe, fresh...
12 FREE
JS
96
DC
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.90
12 bottles: $19.50
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $61.20
#49 of Top 100, 2021. A rich, succulent mix of dark chocolate, spiced plum, wild blackberry and black licorice notes....
12 FREE
WS
95
VM
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.50
12 bottles: $33.81
The 2018 Saint Joseph is almost Côte Rôtie-like in its black raspberry, spicy, and floral aromatics. These all...
12 FREE
WA
91
WE
91
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $88.45
This inky, intensely plummy Syrah balances rich, pulsating black-fruit flavors against lip-smacking cassis and...
12 FREE
WE
96
VM
95

Japanese Whiskey Refosco Mencia Syrah 2018

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.

Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet's most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn't easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.