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Red
375ml
Bottle: $20.80
12 bottles: $20.38
There is a rustic, iron-like, rugged quality to this full-bodied and firmly tannic wine that will mellow somewhat...
JS
93
Red
375ml
Bottle: $32.00
12 bottles: $31.36
Alluring aromas and flavors of cherry, raspberry, leafy underbrush, tar, iron and hay mark this luscious red, which...
12 FREE
VM
95
WS
95
Red
375ml
Bottle: $31.94
12 bottles: $31.30
A beautiful Barolo here with a touch of dried spices to the grapefruit citrus, minerals, camphor and dried flowers....
12 FREE
JS
94
WA
92
Red
375ml
Bottle: $19.94
12 bottles: $19.54
Ruby red with garnet shades, beautiful clarity. The nose is delicate and complex: the essence of Nebbiolo. The...
12 FREE
Red
375ml
Bottle: $23.94
12 bottles: $23.46
Nervy minerality with fresh raspberries, strawberries and white pepper. Medium body with juicy, chalky tannins and a...
12 FREE
JS
93
JD
93
Red
375ml
Bottle: $19.60
12 bottles: $19.21
A restrained Barolo with garnet color, offering notes of dried cherries, dried orange peel and hints of cocoa and...
JS
92
Red
375ml
Bottle: $17.94
12 bottles: $17.58
Alluring aromas of menthol, red berry, rose and herb lift out of the glass. The rounded solid palate offers...
Red
375ml
Bottle: $39.93
12 bottles: $39.13
Racy and focused. I like the aromas of lavender, violet and white roses alongside strawberry, cranberry and stone....
12 FREE
JS
94
VM
93

Japanese Whiskey Nebbiolo Refosco Mencia 375ml

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.

The Nebbiolo grape varietal is widely understood to be the fruit responsible for Italy's finest aged wines. However, its popularity and reliability as a grape which gives out outstanding flavors and aromas has led it to be planted in many countries around the world, with much success. These purple grapes are distinguishable by the fact that they take on a milky dust as they begin to reach maturity, leading many to claim that this is the reason for their unusual name, which means 'fog' in Italian. Nebbiolo grapes produce wines which have a wide range of beautiful and fascinating flavors, the most common of which are rich, dark and complex, such as violet, truffle, tobacco and prunes. They are generally aged for many years to balance out their characteristics, as their natural tannin levels tend to be very high.