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750ml
Bottle:
$40.08
12 bottles:
$39.28
A honeycomb sweetness with a hint of oaky caramel leads in this stylish white. It’s broad and ripe, but the apple...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$182.20
3 bottles:
$179.20
Montelena's 2016 Chardonnay is terrific. Fresh, nuanced and light on its feet, the 2016 is striking for its freshness...
750ml
Bottle:
$93.94
Montelena's 2016 Chardonnay is terrific. Fresh, nuanced and light on its feet, the 2016 is striking for its freshness...
750ml
Bottle:
$36.96
6 bottles:
$36.22
Aromatically this wine shows deeply concentrated flavors of lemongrass, citrus peel, and faint honey notes, with a...
750ml
Bottle:
$33.06
$34.80
12 bottles:
$30.40
This has cleverly curated aromas of peach and grapefruit with flinty, winemaking complexity and hazelnut-like oak...
500ml
Bottle:
$63.93
$66.00
The 2016 Vin de Constance contains 165g/L of residual sugar. This has a wonderful bouquet with layers of wild honey...
750ml
Bottle:
$72.79
6 bottles:
$72.00
The barrique-aged Cantina Tramin 2016 Alto Adige Chardonnay Riserva Troy is a real beauty. This wine will appeal to...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$210.95
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Arnaud Ente Bourgogne Chardonnay 2016
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$278.95
A touch of matchstick character blends with notes of pear, apple and lemon peel. The supple, vibrant and utterly...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$194.41
Bright medium yellow. Deep scents of apricot, very ripe peach, hazelnut and nutmeg; distinctly yellow in its fruit...
![Ballot Millot Meursault Les Narvaux [Lieu-Dit] 2016 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/98/98cf6454f5a87eb654ea864775d7d9c0.jpg){kind=small}
Chardonnay Muscat Tequila
Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.
One of the most widely grown and easily recognized wine grape varietals in the world is the Muscat, an ancient grape with an exceptional amount of versatility. For centuries, Muscat varietal grapes have been used all over Europe for the production of wonderfully fruity wines of many different shades and colors, which, with their strong 'grapey' flavor have come to be known as a quintessential fine wine grape. Their relatively high acidity also means they are ideal for the production of sparkling wines, and the fizzy Muscat wines of Italy are widely agreed to be amongst the best in the world. In more recent years, New World countries have shown a huge amount of flair when it comes to the Muscat grape, and have had plenty of success in allowing its natural and vibrant character to come through in the bottle.
Tequila is probably Mexico’s greatest gift to the world of fine spirits, and is also possibly one of the most underestimated and misunderstood drinks in the world. Widely used for shots and slammers, and more often than not associated with parties and hangovers, Tequila is in fact a wonderful drink full of subtleties and expression of terroir, that is highly rewarding for those who look into its finer points.
One of the special things about Tequila is the fact that it is capable of expressing the fine nuances and subtle notes of its raw material, far more so than other, similar spirits. That raw material is, of course, the Blue Agave - not a cactus, as is commonly believed, but rather a succulent quite like a lily, which grows in the deserts of Mexico mainly around the province of Jalisco. The Blue Agave takes a decade to mature, and during those ten years, it takes in many of the features of its surroundings, just like a grapevine would. This is why Tequila varies in flavor and aroma from region to region, from the earthier Tequilas of the lowlands, to the more delicate and floral examples from areas of a higher altitude.
The picking and peeling of the spiky Agave, and the distillation process of Tequila is a complicated one, and one which is carried out with enormous skill by the jimadors and master craftsmen who produce the spirit. Steam cooking of the body of the plant is followed by crushing, then fermentation and distillation completes the process. The end product is categorized according to whether or not it is made with pure (‘puro’) agave, or blended with other sugars, and according to how long the spirit is aged for.