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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $67.94
Aalto was established in 1999 by Mariano Garcia, winemaker for 30 years at Vega Sicilia. His philosophy was minimal...
12 FREE
DC
95
VM
94
Red
375ml
Bottle: $61.50
12 bottles: $60.27
Gorgeous perfumes of plums, berries, light chocolate and walnut follow through to a medium body, fine tannins and...
12 FREE
JS
95
DC
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.90
The bottled 2021 Valdeginés showed much better than the unbottled sample I tasted last time. The wine is a little...
12 FREE
WA
94
VM
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $55.90
Lots of vanilla extract and minty oak to the creamy blackberries, Spanish chocolate and cinnamon spices. Juicy and...
12 FREE
JS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $64.94
12 bottles: $63.64
Ribera benefited from regular seasons and a very cold winter in 2018, according to Xavier Ausàs, which is why he's...
12 FREE
DC
96
WA
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $55.90 $61.20
A balanced, medium-bodied red, with a pleasing, plush texture, this shows a well-knit range of ripe cherry and black...
12 FREE
WS
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $74.95
6 bottles: $73.45
The classic take on Rioja from Benjamín Romeo is the 2010 Carmen Gran Reserva and it blends all of the traditional...
12 FREE
WA
96
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $73.43
A beautiful second wine with black olives, tapenade, black berries, plums and chocolate. Medium to full body. Lovely...
12 FREE
JS
95
JD
93
White
750ml
Bottle: $69.95
6 bottles: $68.55
The NV El Tresillo Amontillado Fino is from the El Tresillo solera (hence the same name as the 1874 Amontillado). It...
12 FREE
WA
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $59.93 $64.79
The NV Villapanes Oloroso wears a dark amber-brown robe and has a very intense nose, showing some marmalade, dark...
12 FREE
WA
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $58.53
6 bottles: $57.60
#90 Spanish Wine Of 2022. A deep and ambitiously structured Rioja with an array of fresh blue and black fruit, as...
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JS
94
WS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
12 bottles: $68.54
Tobacco, mocha, morello cherry and floral nose. Big and delicious in the mouth with a marked oak character and a long...
12 FREE
DC
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $52.50
Dried violet and rose-like florals with bracken and some leafy nuances. The palate has a firm core of ripe, polished...
12 FREE
JS
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $61.94
6 bottles: $60.70
This inky violet-red wine offers aromas of black cherry, white chocolate and baking spices. Chewy tannins coat the...
12 FREE
WE
94
JS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $59.50
12 bottles: $58.31
Tempranillo from the Buhl Memorial Vineyard, Willcox, in the Kansas Settlement of Cochise County. Spanish style red....
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $59.94
The 2005 Château Barde-Haut showed beautifully and was one of the gems in the lineup. Offers loads of ripe dark...
12 FREE
JD
95
WA
92
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $55.88 $57.20
12 bottles: $54.76
Even better than the 2009, the 2010 Château Barde-Haut offers the same sexy, extroverted style yet has slightly more...
12 FREE
JD
96
WS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $51.30
12 bottles: $47.60
Showing brilliantly, the 2018 Château Barde-Haut comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir on the eastern side of...
12 FREE
JD
95
DC
94
Red
375ml
Bottle: $55.35
12 bottles: $54.24
This offers up a small plume of cocoa before steering back to more typical dark currant and black cherry fruit notes,...
12 FREE
WS
92
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $74.94 $80.70
This estate makes an incredibly classic, elegant Saint-Emilion. The 2018 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is based on 80%...
12 FREE
VM
96
WE
96

Red Bordeaux Semillon Sherry Tempranillo

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.

Semillon was, at one point not so long ago, widely believed to be one of the most grown grape varietals in the world. Whilst today the numbers of Semillon grapes has dropped considerably, it remains a widely planted grape with vineyards all over Europe and the New World dedicated to making the most of this special and flavorful varietal. The grapes are recognizable by their golden color, and the fact that they can take on a pinkish hue in particularly warm climates. The wines the Semillon grape produces are notably varied, and are often very crisp and dry, or sweet and soft, full of a wide range of flavors Commonly, dry Semillon wines are particularly citrus in flavor, with a delicate and summery bouquet. The vine is hardy and vigorous, and notable for being easy to grow and produce high yields from.

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.

There are plenty of notable native Spanish grapes which have made a big impression on the wine world at large, but none are as renowned or as widely loved as the Tempranillo varietal. This black skinned grape has been used for wine making for centuries, with several ancient civilizations noticing the fact that it is highly versatile and holds some delicious flavors and aromas, perfect for those looking for a powerful yet elegant grape for their wines. Tempranillo often causes winemakers some trouble, however, as it is highly susceptible to many diseases. Despite this, plenty continue to persevere with this varietal, as it is perfect for producing delicious and complex single variety and blended wines, packed full of classic Spanish flavors and plenty of aromatic and intense surprises.