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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $159.94
Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard is deep garnet-purple in color....
12 FREE
WA
97
VM
97
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $104.57 $109.20
12 bottles: $103.74
The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a charming, sweetly fruited effort with loads of character. First produced in 1985 and...
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JD
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.93
The 2018 Atlas Peak AVA Cabernet Sauvignon is stunning, displaying a deep garnet color that immediately captures the...
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Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.27 $30.40
This Cabernet Sauvignon is a perfect representation of the glorious conditions Mother Nature provided us. The wine is...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $73.89
12 bottles: $72.41
Shows steeped plum and blackberry fruit that is dark and brooding in profile, while bittersweet cocoa, warm cast iron...
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WS
93
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.94
Redcurrant and tile with some clove. Dark stone, too. Medium-bodied with some fresh herbs and dried thyme. Medium,...
WS
92
JS
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $59.39 $64.00
A very attractive red now, with complexity and yummy drinkability. It’s medium-bodied with medium, round tannins...
12 FREE
JS
95
WE
94
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $32.18 $34.60
Golden apple, yellow plums, and a touch of banana peel followed by chamomile tea leaves, hawthorn, browned toast and...
JS
96
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $26.89
12 bottles: $25.92
Spiced cocoa beans, red chili pepper and creamy blackberries. Medium body and supple with flavorful currants and...
WS
91
JS
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $74.92 $76.80
Dense, concentrated aromas of ripe boysenberry, blackberry, dark plum and cassis, with a hint of spice, preface...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $129.94
Lots of plums, darker cherries, currants, tobacco, and graphite-like notes emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon...
12 FREE
JD
94
JS
93
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $44.94
Our 2022 Napa Valley Chardonnay displays fresh, forward, ripe Granny Smith apple, pear and melon fruit accented by...
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Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $346.95 $359.60
Wonderful aromas of blackcurrants, dark plums, mint, sage, and dried wood. Some sandalwood. Full- to medium-bodied...
12 FREE
JS
97
DC
96
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $89.28 $96.00
Plush, caressing style, with creamed boysenberry and blackberry flavors liberally laced with mocha and singed...
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WS
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $59.82 $64.00
Nose: Bright gold in color and incredibly aromatic, the ripeness of the vintage is most pronounced initially; melon,...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.00
Fresh, lifted aromas of black cherry tinged with savoury black olive, liquorice and cedar. Full-bodied and plush with...
12 FREE
DC
94
JS
94
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $124.94
Our flagship offering, Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, strikes a tightrope balance of youthful energy, structure, and...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $317.94
Aromas of blackcurrants, black cherries, hints of graphite, wet earth, and lavender. Sandalwood. Full-bodied with an...
12 FREE
JS
98
WNR
96
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $96.35 $103.60
Very expressive, with alluring warmed cassis and steeped plum aromas and flavors taking the lead, while anise,...
12 FREE
WS
93
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.40
12 bottles: $19.99
Aromas of honeysuckle mingle with pink grapefruit and zesty key lime on the nose. On the palate, bright notes of...

Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay United States California Napa Valley Rapid Ship

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.

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.

When it comes to New World wines, and especially wines from the United States of America, Napa Valley is something of a standard bearer. Over its relatively short history, it has managed to transform itself from being a fairly insignificant region, to becoming one of the most important and highly regarding wine locations on earth. With an ideal climate for viticulture, blazing sunshine and a low level of rainfall, this valley is shielded on many sides by mountain ranges which help it maintain a consistent level of heat, light and moisture throughout the year. Today, Napa Valley is a home of innovation and quality, with dozens of grape varietals thriving in the fertile soils. However, the main varietals grown there have always been Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandel, and the wines they produce are constantly lauded by critics and competitions across the globe.