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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.99
The wine has a deep, rich purple color. Intense red fruits are on the nose, with black pepper spice and a touch of...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.99
Red plum, currants and cedar aromas with a touch of earthy goodness. This wine is medium to full-bodied and...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.69
12 bottles: $38.90
Aromas of currants, cedar and violets follow through to a medium body and fine tannins with a lovely, light velvety...
12 FREE
VM
92
JS
92
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $52.94
12 bottles: $51.88
Tightly focused and refined for a Zinfandel, this version packs in deep flavors of black cherry, licorice and roasted...
12 FREE
WS
94
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.87
12 bottles: $21.43
Dynamic and generous, this Zin combines old-school briar with sleek suppleness, serving up stylish flavors of...
WS
93
VM
90
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.94
This full-bodied, hardy red maintains an element of freshness throughout. An underlying herbaceous and earthy tone...
WE
88
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.99
A brilliant crimson hue in the glass hints at this Merlot’s generous palate of rich, ripe red fruit. Notes of...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.94
12 bottles: $39.14
Eye: Garnet core, pink rose rim. Nose: Kumquat, exotic spice, wild strawberries, raspberries, Rainier cherry. Time...
12 FREE
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $26.93 $28.80
"Bambino" comes from a ten-acre block planted on Old Hill in 1998. This young-vine field blend is patterned after the...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $10.99
Wonderfully aromatic and fruity, blending silky flavors of blackberry, cherry, and blackcurrant.
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $6.99
With a soft and elegant mouthfeel, this wine has deep flavors of rich cherries and jammy blackberries, followed by...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $37.80
12 bottles: $37.04
The 2020 Laroque is even better than the en primeur sample. Dark and enveloping, with tons of class, Laroque is a...
12 FREE
VM
96
JD
95
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $10.45 $11.00
Chateau Souverain Merlot opens with dark red fruit aromas reminiscent of black cherry, plum, and fresh blueberries...
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $10.45 $11.00
This medium-bodied Merlot delivers aromas of spice, plum and blackberry with the perfect balance of earth, cocoa and...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $23.90
12 bottles: $23.42
This vibrant and alluring Merlot draws you in with fragrances of ripe raspberry, Bing cherry and red currant, as well...
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Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $35.93 $37.20
12 bottles: $35.34
The 2022 Santorini Assyrtiko, the flagship 100% Assyrtiko (usually producing around 100,000 bottles), is unoaked and...
WA
94
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.85
12 bottles: $14.55
This is a vibrant white showing aromas of pears, white flowers, puffed rice and lemon verbena. Medium-bodied, so...
JS
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $10.94
This Merlot opens with aromas of blueberry, subtle spice and rose petals with hints of cocoa. Balanced in style, this...
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.54 $26.39
A briar patch in a bottle, this hearty red abounds with bold raspberry, roasted anise and smoky black pepper flavors...
WS
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $46.87 $50.40
A well-rounded, velvety and flavorful merlot with dark cherries, grilled bell peppers and some baking spices. Supple...
12 FREE
JS
93

Assyrtiko Merlot Sherry Zinfandel Rapid Ship Wine

Cultivated since at least the middle of the Byzantine era, the Assyrtiko grape is generally considered to be one the finest of the Greek grape varietals, as a result of its multi-purpose properties and ability to flourish on a wide range of terrains. The ancient Byzantines used it in conjunction with Aidani and Athiri grapes for the production of their unusual and naturally sweet Vinsanto wines, which are still produced today in Santorini, and continue to be popular. However, the Assyrtiko grapes are used for many different AOC wines across Greece, and are favored by wine makers who want to maintain a dryness and acidic punch to their produce.

The Assyrtiko grapes are renowned for their ability to maintain their acidity as they ripen beneath the blazing Mediterranean sun, resulting in wines which have a distinctive dryness and a range of citrus fruit aromas, as well as great structure and high tannins. Often, Assyrtiko grapes will produce wines which leave an unusual after-taste reminiscent of the mineral rich, volcanic soils they are grown in on the slopes of Santorini, making them a favorite for wine drinkers looking for something full of character and interesting attributes. The past twenty five years have seen Assyrtiko vines planted all over the Greek mainland, and even in Attica and Macedonia, where the softer terrain often produces more fruit forward wines with a milder, less astringent character. However, wherever this fine grape varietal is grown, it is rare the results will be anything less than excellent.

Additional Information on Greek Wines


Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.

Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.

The precise origins of what became known as the Zinfandel grape variety are uncertain, although it has clear genetic equivalents in both Puglia and Croatia. However, when it was brought to the New World in the mid 19th century, it became known as the Zinfandel, and has been consistently popular and widely grown ever since. These very dark and very round grapes have a remarkably high sugar content, resulting in relatively high levels of alcohol in the wines they are made into, with bottles often displaying as much as fifteen percent. What makes the Zinfandel such an interesting grape, though, is the fact that the flavors produced by this varietal vary considerably depending on the climate they are grown in. In cooler valley regions, the Zinfandel grapes result in wines which hold strong flavors of tart and sweet fruits; raspberry, redcurrant and sweet cherry, held in a very smooth and silky liquid. Conversely, warmer regions result in more complex and spicy notes, including anise, pepper and hedgerow berries.