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Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $109.95
Slightly cooked fruit on the nose, with a toasted oak and meaty character. Full bodied, with round and chewy tannins...
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93
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93
Red
375ml
Bottle: $49.83
Very fruity with strawberry and currants on the nose. Full bodied, with silky tannins and a long, fruity finish....
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WS
91
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91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $153.00
12 bottles: $144.78
Blackberry and licorice aromas, with full body, very fine tannins and a long finish. Very silky. So much for jammy...
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92
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91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $1579.23 $1754.70
The 2003 Lafite Rothschild comes as close to perfection as any of the great Lafites made over the past three decades...
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WA
100
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98
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $278.52
Expressive aromas of smoked plum, roast coffee, nuts and game. Lush, dense and smooth; currant, cedar and leather...
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WA
90
VM
90
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $286.74 $318.60
This is more exotic and monstrous than the 2000. It is like a muscle builder, with lots of round and rich tannins and...
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JS
97
DC
96
Red
375ml
Bottle: $31.29
One of the nine crus bourgeois exceptionnel, this estate is under the ownership of the Cazes family of Château...
WE
93
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90
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $1032.44
Amazing! The limestone soils of Ausone appear to have been the perfect foil for resisting the extreme heat and...
WA
100
WS
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $101.06
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $362.49
Loads of crushed berries, with mineral, lightly toasted oak and licorice. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins and...
WS
95
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94
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $167.55
Loads of crushed berries, with mineral, lightly toasted oak and licorice. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins and...
WS
95
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94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $180.70
Loads of crushed berries, with mineral, lightly toasted oak and licorice. Full-bodied, with big, velvety tannins and...
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95
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94
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $60.78
This is a ripe, complete wine, full of black fruits, spicy wood and solid tannins. Over five-10 years, it will...
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89
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $118.12
Loads of blackberry, toasted oak and chocolate here. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and lots of fruit. This is a...
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91
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $224.53
A dense and powerful wine as always with very ripe fruit yet an underlying freshness and complexity with tobacco,...
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98
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96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $316.37
A dense and powerful wine as always with very ripe fruit yet an underlying freshness and complexity with tobacco,...
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98
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96
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $188.66
Very fruity with strawberry and currants on the nose. Full bodied, with silky tannins and a long, fruity finish....
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91
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91
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Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $112.30
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $71.95
At 33% Cab Franc, this is atypical of the Left Bank but not for du Tertre, which is blessed with high-quality, old...
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93
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92
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $207.94
Lots of aromas of roasted fruit, such as blueberries and raisins, and spices. It has full body with plenty of velvety...
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94
WS
94

Champange Blend Nero D'avola Red Bordeaux Zinfandel 1997 2003

Italy’s largest island, Sicily, has a wine producing history that can put most other European regions to shame. It was producing quality wines before the days of the Roman empire, and even the Ancient Greeks were not the first to cultivate vines on the island. For as long as anyone knows, the key grape varietal of Sicily has been Nero d’Avola, the beautiful, deep blue skinned grape which produces the region’s characterful, powerful red wines. While in the past, Nero d’Avola was mainly used as a blending grape, due to its deep color and intensely full body, it is today being increasingly celebrated as a single varietal wine grape, and is perfect for those who like their wines boisterous, loud and strong.



Nero d’Avola is grown pretty much everywhere on Sicily, as demand for wines made from this grape have never been higher. Despite its power and body, it is quite a versatile grape - it can be aged in oak barrels, which produces a dense and dark wine which puts its intense characteristics to good use, but it is also often drunk quite young, which allows its jammy, plummy character to come forward. It is also used to make rose wines in some appellations of Sicily, demonstrating a softer side to this otherwise heavy, deeply flavorful grape.

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.

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.