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Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $88.88
12 bottles: $87.10
Lemon, honey, mineral and light spice. Very attractive aromas. Full-bodied, with fresh acidity and a long finish...
12 FREE
WS
95
WA
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $93.00
12 bottles: $87.78
Beautiful aromas of orange zest are followed by gingerbread, caramel and crème brûlée flavors. This is a...
12 FREE
WE
96
WA
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $113.40
12 bottles: $111.13
Tasted single blind against its peers. This has a very well -defined nose of dried pineapple, quince and vanilla pod...
12 FREE
WA
93
VM
93
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $54.94
Pale gold, the 2009 Climens offers up a fabulously fragrant nose of green tea, chamomile, powdered ginger, lemon...
12 FREE
DC
97
WA
97
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $97.20
12 bottles: $91.20
Pale gold, the 2009 Climens offers up a fabulously fragrant nose of green tea, chamomile, powdered ginger, lemon...
12 FREE
DC
97
WA
97
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $39.94 $43.20
24 bottles: $39.90
Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2016 Climens is a little youthfully mute, revealing notions of ripe peaches, mango and...
WA
96
DC
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $44.95 $48.60
Medium yellow-gold. Restrained aromas of peach and spices offer good lift. Very ripe and thick, with strong acidity...
VM
94
WS
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $49.90
12 bottles: $48.90
12 FREE
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $59.94
6 bottles: $58.74
The 2010 Coutet has quite an intense bouquet with linseed oil and wax resin infusing the dried honey aromas, then...
12 FREE
VM
95
WS
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $23.94 $26.20
One of the top sweet wines in this report is the 2016 Château Coutet, which has the vintage’s plush, opulent style...
WE
97
JD
97
Case only
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml - Case of 24
Bottle: $30.78
Barrel Sample. This wine shows great balance and poised elegance. Its botrytis fruit gives it rich intensity, with a...
WE
97
JS
96
Rapid Ship
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $23.90
The pale lemon-gold colored 2019 Coutet is a thrill ride from the get-go, exploding from the glass with fantastically...
WA
97
JS
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $171.30
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $78.53
Toffee, dried lemon rind and tropical fruit on the nose. Full-bodied and very sweet, with a dense palate of candied...
WS
95
WA
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $63.95
Beautiful aromas of orange zest are followed by gingerbread, caramel and crème brûlée flavors. This is a...
WE
96
WA
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $212.98
Tasted single blind against its peers. Chateau Climens always tends to go into its shell after bottling, which is...
WA
98
WE
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $73.95
Tasted single blind against its peers. This has a very well -defined nose of dried pineapple, quince and vanilla pod...
WA
93
VM
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $85.44
Pale gold, the 2009 Climens offers up a fabulously fragrant nose of green tea, chamomile, powdered ginger, lemon...
DC
97
WA
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $87.31
Pale gold, the 2009 Climens offers up a fabulously fragrant nose of green tea, chamomile, powdered ginger, lemon...
DC
97
WA
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $74.53
#4 Top 100, 2016. There's loads here, with apricot, nectarine and clementine flavors stitched with a racy orange zest...
WS
97
WA
95

Cortese Lambrusco Mencia Semillon/sauvignon Blanc France Bordeaux Barsac

The Cortese white wine grape varietal has been grown in and around south Piedmont, Italy, for at least five hundred years. Its delicate nature and moderate acidity have made it a favorite with people around the world, and it is most commonly served alongside the excellent seafood and shellfish dishes of the part of Italy it is traditionally grown in. Cortese grapes are easily identifiable by their lime and greengage flavors, and their generally delicate and medium bodied character. Cortese wines are also notable for their freshness and crispness, again, making them an ideal match for seafood. Whilst colder years often produce harsher, more acidic Cortese wines, practices such as allowing malolactic fermentation can solve any such problems and still produce delicious white wines made from this varietal.

Some grape species are distinct and unique varietals, clearly separate from each of their cousins. Others, like Lambrusco and Muscat, are more like umbrella terms, featuring several subspecies which show slight differences from each other from region to region. Indeed, there are astonishingly more than 60 identified varieties of Lambrusco vines, and they are almost all used in the production of characterful Italian sparkling wines. They are distinguishable by their deep ruby blush, caused by strong pigments present in their skins, and their intensely perfumed character.


Lambrusco vines are grown in several Italian regions, although we most closely associate this varietal with Piedmont and Basilicata. It has also been grown successfully in Argentina and Australia. The varietal suffered from a fairly lowly reputation in the late 20th century, due to bulk, low cost production of Lambrusco sparkling wines, aimed at markets across northern Europe and America. However, things are rapidly changing, and the older, more traditional methods of bottle fermentation are returning, along with a higher level of quality and expression, as consumers become more discerning and demanding. Many of the Lambrusco sub-varieties have their own established DOC, such as Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Modena, where new regulations are keeping standards high and methods traditional.

Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.

There are few wine regions in the world with a reputation as glowing and well established as that of the Bordeaux, in France. Situated mainly around the Dordogne and Gironde rivers, Bordeaux makes the most of its humid climate and rich, clay and gravel based soils to grow some of the finest examples of red and white grape varietals on earth. Wineries in this region have been in operation for hundreds of years, and have carefully developed the expertise required for the production of carefully balanced and utterly delicious blended red and white wines, alongside some exceptional single variety bottles. Many of the chateaux found in Bordeaux have become household names, due to their prestige and the excellence of their products, grown with love and dedication by heritage wineries in this beautiful and special region.