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750ml
Bottle:
$13.84
12 bottles:
$13.56
Spiced red fruit with plums, strawberries and red cherries. A hint of grilled tarragon. Juicy, medium-bodied palate...
750ml
Bottle:
$37.80
$42.00
The top-of-the-range 2020 Luz Carménère feels closed, serious and austere, even in a warm and dry year like 2020....
750ml
Bottle:
$18.00
12 bottles:
$17.10
The 2020 Carménère Massal 1945 from Almahue, Cachapoal, was made in used barrels and foudres for 12 months. Garnet...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.63
6 bottles:
$33.94
Aromas of black fruit, green herbs, smoked meat, oyster and lemon zest. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm,...
750ml
Bottle:
$89.94
6 bottles:
$88.14
This is a very sophisticated Kai with aromas of blackberries, blueberries, violets and graphite that follow through...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.94
$17.50
12 bottles:
$15.44
Tightly wound for Carmenere, but slowly reveals subtle dusty cocoa, petrichor and spice notes up front, joining black...
750ml
Bottle:
$76.72
3 bottles:
$76.00
From the moment I tilt the glass, the 2016 Carmenere makes itself known with an intensely spicy and pungently floral...
750ml
Bottle:
$93.50
6 bottles:
$89.42
Gold color. Aromas and flavors of honey and toasted vienna malt, white flowers and oak dust, orange marmalade, and...
750ml
Bottle:
$78.17
$82.28
This was aged in Japan's rare Mizunara oak for the entirety of its maturation, which includes three-month ocean...
750ml
Bottle:
$86.82
$91.39
The lightly smoky sea-breeze aroma entices on the nose. The palate opens with bolder peat smoke underpinned by...
750ml
Bottle:
$71.82
$75.60
Sandalwood aromas are robust and exhilarating on the nose. The cedar cask influence is immediately apparent in the...
750ml
Bottle:
$49.98
6 bottles:
$41.40
Get back to nature; this is a whisky to savor during a spectacular sunrise. Lychee, edamame, pea shoots, green apple,...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.34
12 bottles:
$17.42
A medium-to full-bodied carmenere with lots of dark, grilled cumin, black beans, olives and smoked meat. Dry and...
750ml
Bottle:
$148.50
$199.94
Prunes, forest honey, vanilla seeds, dark chocolate cookies, and Brazil nut, with hints of chocolate orange and...
750ml
Bottle:
$32.36
$34.80
12 bottles:
$30.78
Number 19 in the 2020 Top 20. This new, higher proof Iwai (pronounced EE-why) was designed for cocktails; however,...
700ml
Bottle:
$126.54
$133.20
Honey-tinged and citrus-laden nose with subtle suggestions of yellow apple skin, cherry compote, and maple. Fresh...
750ml
Bottle:
$249.94
$349.94
Showing an attractive straw-gold color, this mature whisky has bright flavors of baked cereal grains, toasted vanilla...
700ml
Bottle:
$99.18
$104.40
A very soft and alluring nose reveals an elegant whisky that has myriad flavors of gingerbread, pound cake, malt...
700ml
Bottle:
$78.66
$82.80
Kurayoshi Distillery lies between Osaka and Hiroshima in the foothills of Mount Daisen, where it produces single malt...
700ml
Bottle:
$78.66
$82.80
This whisky has an elegant nose, with faint whispers of baked apple, buttercream, and dried lemon peel. The palate is...
Carmenere Japanese Whiskey Mencia
The deep blue colored grapes of the Carmenere varietal have their origins in France, where they are still listed as one of the elite grape varietals allowed by French law for the use in Bordeaux wines, generally regarded to be the finest in the world. However, the use of Carmenere grapes in France has been dwindling for many decades now, and it has been in several New World countries where they have seen their renaissance. Although still mostly used as a blending grape, single variety Carmenere wines are greatly sought after as a result of their deep, complex aromas, stunning blood red color and the fact that the grapes, when processed at optimum ripeness, carry some fascinating flavors, including chocolate, tobacco, and spicy cherry notes.
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.