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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...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.44
$21.60
12 bottles:
$17.10
Beautiful, broad and plush, this structured but charming wine overflows with red fruits and baking spices, with a...
750ml
Bottle:
$27.90
12 bottles:
$27.34
The 2016 Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard is medium garnet-purple in color and opens with notions of raspberry tart,...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.94
$18.33
12 bottles:
$16.63
Lively lavender aromas elevate the dark berry and thyme scents on the nose of this bottling. The core of blueberry...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.89
$17.49
12 bottles:
$15.83
This is a very successful Zinfandel, blending earth, spice and fruit into a savory, yet thirst-quenching package....
750ml
Bottle:
$50.40
6 bottles:
$45.60
The 2019 Zinfandel Cat's Cradle is similarly hued but has a purer, crisper, more youthful vibe as well as ample plum...
750ml
Bottle:
$43.20
$48.00
6 bottles:
$34.40
Dark plum and black-cherry flavors show great richness and breadth in this mouth-filling, slightly tannic wine as it...
187ml
Bottle:
$6.99
Bright cherry, ripe plum, milk chocolate, red apple, and vanilla bean flavors combine for this wine’s decadent...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.94
$12.57
12 bottles:
$9.51
Bright cherry, ripe plum, milk chocolate, red apple, and vanilla bean flavors combine for this wine’s decadent...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$68.93
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Merlot bursts with notes of baked black plums, boysenberry preserves, and black...
750ml
Bottle:
$68.94
$73.20
Rated 97 - This Barone Ricasoli 2018 Casalferro is a selection of the best Merlot from three different vineyards with...
750ml
Bottle:
$79.94
6 bottles:
$78.34
A rich, dark expression of Merlot, this red walks the line between austerity and generosity, the latter gaining...
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...
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...
750ml
Bottle:
$98.89
12 bottles:
$96.91
A pretty red with aromas of blueberries, plums, incense and tea leaves. Full-bodied and structured with a creamy...
750ml
Bottle:
$69.94
6 bottles:
$68.54
The 2019 Merlot Liu' is another outrageously beautiful wine from Rampolla. Deep, inky and explosive, the 2019...
750ml
Bottle:
$31.75
$35.28
12 bottles:
$25.08
Captivating violet and rose petal aromas lead to fresh, light blackberry and black cherry flavors on a texture of...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.94
$15.17
12 bottles:
$13.66
Lots of blackberry and tar character with medium body, firm tannins and a tangy finish. Drink after 2023.
750ml
Bottle:
$57.90
12 bottles:
$51.87
The 2019 Château Lafleur-Gazin showed nicely, with an elegant, seamless, classy style as well as textbook Pomerol...
750ml
Bottle:
$49.80
12 bottles:
$48.80
I continue to just love this château, which is located in one of the cooler terroirs in the appellation, sitting on...
White Rhone Blends Melon de Bourgogne Merlot Zinfandel
Viognier, an exotic, elusive varietal, originally comes from the Northern Rhone Valley of France, and has captured the fascination of the U.S. wine-drinking public. At its finest, it is full-bodied and nearly golden in color, with a haunting bouquet of peaches, apricots and pears, and a floral quality like no other wine in the world. Many vintners are trying their hand at this varietal, spreading from its American beginnings in Napa Valley and Santa Barbara County to wineries as far away as Virginia. Marsanne and Rousanne, two other important varieties from the Rhone Valley are making waves in the U.S., particularly on the Central Coast of California.
One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.
Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.
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.
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.