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750ml
Bottle:
$32.61
12 bottles:
$31.96
Firm tannins are holding everything in place right now. There's a tiny dip through the mid-palate before the fruit...
750ml
Bottle:
$633.15
$703.50
Exotically perfumed, with ripe, lushly textured fruit. A complete and showy example of great, polished modern claret...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$316.20
6 bottles:
$312.00
93-95 Barrel sample. This is a smooth, rich wine that's intensely concentrated and packed with great black-currant...
750ml
Bottle:
$154.94
$157.20
93-95 Barrel sample. This is a smooth, rich wine that's intensely concentrated and packed with great black-currant...
750ml
Bottle:
$70.56
$78.40
Barrel sample. Full of ripe Cabernet tannins, this is a structured wine that's chunky in character. It elegantly...
750ml
Bottle:
$114.95
12 bottles:
$112.65
Tasted from several bottles in recent months, the 2012 Canon is a stupendous wine for the vintage and if anything, it...
750ml
Bottle:
$59.89
$64.59
Barrel sample. A solid effort, this is a wine with great fruit and firm structure to support it. Ripe and full in the...
375ml
Bottle:
$325.35
$361.50
The 2012 Cheval Blanc boasts stunning power and a vertical, imposing sense of structure that is quite rare in this...
750ml
Bottle:
$622.35
$691.50
The 2012 Cheval Blanc boasts stunning power and a vertical, imposing sense of structure that is quite rare in this...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$25.32
From the Castillon outpost of Gérard and Chantal Perse, this blend of 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 10%...
750ml
Bottle:
$174.15
$193.50
Always excellent for the vintage. What a nose with currants, blackberries, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stones and wet earth...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$46.99
La Gabare de Croizet-Bages is the second wine of Chateau Croizet-Bages and is made up of the Château’s younger...
750ml
Bottle:
$82.94
This is very polished and refined with blackcurrant, raspberry and citrus-peel undertones. Full body, extremely fine...
750ml
Bottle:
$60.88
Barrel sample. This is a dense, complex wine that's full of dark tannins piled atop ripe black-plum fruits. The wine...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$69.80
Barrel sample. This firm, dry wine is solidly rich and full in the mouth. With fine acidity and black currant fruit...
750ml
Bottle:
$58.24
12 bottles:
$57.08
Barrel sample. Solid and concentrated, this wine certainly shows great dryness as well as fruit. It has power and...
750ml
Bottle:
$35.40
12 bottles:
$34.69
Barrel sample. This concentrated wine is packed with new wood as well as dark chocolate flavors. The palate is dense...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$498.95
6 bottles:
$492.00
The 1986 Grand-Puy-Lacoste has an intriguing nose, much richer and more opulent than I expected (reminiscent of the...
750ml
Bottle:
$524.95
$567.00
A big, powerful wine, the 2012 Haut-Brion possesses stunning richness and intensity, with all of the depth that is...
Chardonnay Red Bordeaux 1986 2012
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.
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.