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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.89 $17.09
12 bottles: $15.57
‘Telleira’ is the Galician word for tile factory. In the past, tiles were made in this plot with the clay from...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.92
12 bottles: $17.56
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.94
12 bottles: $31.30
• Varietal Mencía from a few parcels, some younger and some up to 100 years old. • Spontaneous fermentation in...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.94
12 bottles: $18.56
There is a note of dry hay and esparto grass in the 2022 Fusco, which made me think of some wines from Douro in...
WA
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.31 $12.57
Our wine stands out because of its marked fruity character which brings out all the qualities and characteristics of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.00
12 bottles: $34.20
A new paraje bottling from Antoine Graillot, the 2021 Encinas La Rata is from just below El Rapolao, on clay-rich...
WA
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.89 $26.40
12 bottles: $25.37
The 2021 Encinas feels cleaner and less reductive than previous years but still has the earthy rusticity that seems...
WA
93
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $21.50
A vin de soif, made in a light, refreshing style. Earthy with some smoked meat aromas on the nose. The palate is...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $19.01
A vin de soif, made in a light, refreshing style. Earthy with some smoked meat aromas on the nose. The palate is...
Case only
Spirits
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $45.03
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
Again, the cooler 2021 seems to have worked nicely for the 2021 Ultreia Cova de la Raposa, which compensates for the...
12 FREE
WA
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
The nose of the 2021 Ultreia Petra is completely different from the rest of the Ultreia range. This is only two...
12 FREE
WA
96
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.87 $19.60
The biggest volume of the winery is the 2021 Ultreia Saint Jacques, which represents some 170,000 bottles, and...
WA
93
WS
91
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $18.94
Aromas of yellow peach, Golden Delicious apple and white flowers waft from the glass of this wine. Fresh and easy on...
WE
88
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.50
12 bottles: $24.99
The young red 2020 Castro Candaz, from a very warm vintage in Ribeira Sacra, is quite fruit-driven, straightforward...
12 FREE
WA
90
Red
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.00
A seamless red, medium-bodied and lightly chalky in texture, with fine tannins enmeshed with flavors of mulled cherry...
12 FREE
WS
91
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $20.80
Clear, lustrous straw yellow in colour. The aroma is flowery, fine-grained and delicate, with notes of acacia blossom...
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $63.00 $72.00
I was blown away by the 2020 wines in barrel in June 2021 and found the 2020 Villa de Corullón very ready, open,...
WA
97
JS
95
Red
375ml
Bottle: $32.00
12 bottles: $31.36
The vino de villa village red 2021 Corullón is extremely floral and elegant, clean, precise, fresh and very complete...
12 FREE
WA
97
JS
95

Japanese Whiskey Mencia Ribolla Gialla Savatiano

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.

Savatiano is probably Greece's most well known and most widely grown grape varietal, as it is the primary grape used in the production of Retsina, where the fermenting juices of the Savatiano varietal are flavored with pine resin in order to make this distinctive and famous wine. One of the reasons for the wide cultivation of this grape is due to its hardiness, and resistance to drought conditions. In the sun-drenched and dry, rocky Greek landscapes, this makes it an ideal vine to grow for wine-makers who require a strong and bounteous yield each year.

However, there are plenty of examples of Greek white wines which use the Savatiano grape but withhold from the addition the pine resin flavoring, allowing the true characteristics of this varietal to shine through. The result is often very pleasing indeed, with Savatiano grapes generally producing extremely well balanced and rounded white wines, with a juicily fruity flavor. Their aromas can vary quite a lot, with many Savatiano wines bearing the fragrance of citrus fruits, and also occasionally having a strong floral aroma reminiscent of elder and rose. Due to the relatively low acidity of Savatiano grapes, the wines which use them (including Retsina) generally bolster themselves with the addition of smaller quantities of more acidic varieties, such as Assyrtiko or Rhoditis, in order to improve their sometimes weak structure.

Additional Information on Greek Wines


Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?