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Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.20
12 bottles: $22.80
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.60
12 bottles: $26.22
SP68 is a road but it is also a young wine. Cool and pleasant, with a delicate taste that it brings the flavour of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $20.95
12 bottles: $20.53
Pignatello aka Perricone and Nero d'Avola from 2ha of vineyards, planted 2003-2013. Guyot + Alberello. 140m asl....
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.95
12 bottles: $29.35
The 2020 Cerasuolo di Vitoria is peppery and perfumed, with a dusting of autumnal spices giving way to red currants...
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VM
89
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.10 $18.00
Savory and soulful, this lithe red opens with earthy aromas of tilled earth, eucalyptus oil, blue flower, game and...
WE
90
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.94 $32.00
Dynamite example of old vines from Etna. Structured and intense without being too tight to drink young. Bouquet of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.94
12 bottles: $13.66
COLOR: Intense, dark ruby red. NOSE: Notes of black fruit, blackberry and strawberries, flowers and herbs. FLAVOR:...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.94 $20.72
COLOR: Ruby red color with purple highlights. NOSE: The bouquet on the nose is intense and rich, with luscious fruity...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.93 $29.60
12 bottles: $28.35
Red
750ml
Bottle: $48.90
12 bottles: $47.92
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.75 $35.28
6 bottles: $31.20
Single-crop Nerello Mascalese, native variety grown in free-standing and espalier over 12 hectares of vines at an...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.10
6 bottles: $48.11
This shows crazy aromas of blueberry, jasmine, elderberries, minerals and nutmeg. Medium-bodied with lots of crunchy...
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JS
94
WE
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.75 $55.28
Smoked meat, volcanic ash, licorice and wild cherries. It’s medium-bodied with fine, silky tannins. Delightfully...
JS
93
WS
92
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.31
12 bottles: $21.86
Lots of blackberry and asphalt aromas and flavors. Medium body, round and creamy tannins and a juicy finish....
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JS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $99.94
3 bottles: $97.94
Orange peel and candied cherry with subtle salted caramel aromas follow through to a medium body, with fine and...
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JS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $47.93
6 bottles: $46.97
The 2019 Tancredi Dolce & Gabbana is dark and intense, with an air of smoky crushed rocks and savory herbs that gives...
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VM
93
WE
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $98.50
6 bottles: $96.53
Dried roses and spices with dried cherries and other flowers. Some honeysuckle. Medium to full body, with firm and...
12 FREE
JS
94
WE
93
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.60
Pale ruby red, Sul Vulcano offers an elegant bouquet with notes of wild berries (strawberry and red currant) and...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $30.54 $34.00
A light- to medium-bodied red, with citrusy acidity and savory hints of loamy earth and smoke underscoring flavors of...
WS
89
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.94 $23.52
6 bottles: $22.80
The 2018 Cerasuolo di Vittoria Giambattista Valli is understated yet refined, featuring purple-tinged flowers,...
VM
92
WS
90

Italian Red Blends Japanese Whiskey Red Bordeaux Italy Sicily

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.

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.

There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.

The beautiful island of Sicily has been growing grapevines and producing wines for thousands of years, ever since the ancient Greeks first landed on its golden shores and noticed the island's true potential as a haven for quality grapes. Today, the island is one of Italy's primary wine regions, and even though over eighty percent of Sicily's grapevines are used for the production of sweet fortified wines, the remaining wineries making other wine styles are renowned around the world for their quality and character. Indeed, Sicilian wineries are famed for their ability to capture something of the sun-drenched region in their wines, and the vines they cultivate benefit enormously from the almost constant sunshine and the incredibly fertile volcanic soils which typify the island.