Half Bottles

Winemaker Description 

Leonor is a 12 year old Palo Cortado Sherry and described as the wild child of Jerez. It shows a light mahogany color with golden tones and a slight orange rim. On the nose intense and complex with notes of hazlenut perfectly balanced with aromas of bitter orange and mature oak. On the palate powerful and intense with toasted notes yet smooth and silky. Due to its power and structure this wine is perfect with mature cheeses and stong meats such as venison. Serve chilled.

Expert Reviews 

93 Points James Suckling | A very elegant example of this rare type of Sherry, which combines the best of Fino freshness with Oloroso richness. Long finish with delicate dried-fruit and toasted-nut character. Drink now. Aged for 12 years in cask. Drink now.

92 Points Wine Spectator | Bright, with fennel seed, Brazil nut, green tea, ginger and hazelnut husk notes that are racy and dry from start to finish. Dried green fig accents add a subtle seduction on the finish.

91 Points Decanter | Aromas of caramel and curry spices. Milk chocolate on the palate with a soft texture and delicate body. A very harmonious wine with a long and spicy finish.

91 Points Wine & Spirits | Elegant and refined, with soft touches of candied cherries, walnuts and almonds, this is a textbook Palo Cortado. Aged 12 years in botas, it falls halfway between Amontillado and Oloroso in flavor, but much closer to the former. It needs only smoked trout.

90 Points Wine Enthusiast | This dry Sherry is a touch hot, with alcohol swirling around the glass, but there’s also complex, welcoming aromas of almond, apricot and toffee. The palate is appropriately rich, with flavors of caramel, toasted nuts and buttered toast. A finish with walnut, truffle and mushroom flavors urges contemplation.

Producer Description 

The life of the party, the Don Julio Silver Tequila combines sweet earth with mouth searing minerality; this is a rather formidable and bright Tequila.

The treasures of El Maestro Sierra are many. From the back of their building they have a clear view of the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1832 the master carpenter José Antonio Sierra founded El Maestro Sierra. As one of the top coopers in the area, José Antonio was the person who made the barrels for all of the big Sherry houses. After years of making barrels for everyone else, he came to the conclusion that he could produce Sherries that were better than what the big Sherry houses were cranking out, so he went about opening up his own little winery.

This little up-start Sherry producer was not welcomed in the world of nobility-owned Sherry houses and so the local gentry did everything they could to stop him. Fortunately the quality of his sherry prevailed over their efforts and José Antonio Sierra became one of the top Almacenistas (stockholders) of high-quality Sherries. Poking fun at his struggle, the label depicts an allegorical fox hunt with the nobles hunting El Maestro Sierra’s fox.

This Amontillado is aged for a total of 12 years under flor and oxidatively in American oak casks. Very explosive aromas of salts and almonds. The palate offers similar flavors in a very elegant framework.

González Byass Solera 1847 is a sweet Cream with aromas of figs and raisins and touches of wood and vanilla. The palate is velvety, with notes of caramel and well-integrated wood. Winemaker Description. 

Producer Description 

Cocchi Americano is an aromatized wine created in 1891 by Giulio Cocchi, and since then produced without interruption according to the original recipe. The name "Americano" is both due to the alcohol made bitter ("amaricato") by the addition of herbs and spices, and to the American habit of drinking vermouth with ice and soda.

In Cocchi Americano Rosa, the Brachetto d'Acqui wine base provides the white rose and rich berry notes typical of the famous sparkling wine of the same variety, while the addition of rose and ginger to the traditional bitter base provides a rounder profile. Just add club soda or sparkling wine, or add a splash to a Paloma.

Utter succulence. Distilled from old-vine grapes, all apricot & peach/pear. The 2001 release from these grapes was awarded the highest score The Wine Enthusiast has ever given a grappa: 97. “Very floral, surprisingly delicate, noticeably smooth” – Press Democrat 2013

Expert Review

Wine Enthusiast 91 Points | Sip or mix this deep brown liqueur. The scent is sweet and coffee-like, interwoven with hints of dark chocolate and blackberry. The palate surprises with a distinct, assertive anise twang. Finishes long, with anise, espresso and dark chocolate.

Produced Description 

True Italian espresso liqueur made with two types of espresso beans: Robusta from Kenya and Arabica from Columbia for an invigorating bold flavor. Producer Description.

Expert Reviews 

Wine Spectator 91 Points | Takes a flattering approach, featuring a lightly sweet, rounded edge to the date, blood orange, toasted pecan and fruitcake aromas and flavors, with toasted marshmallow and bourbon-glazed peach notes on the finish. Drink now.

Wine Enthusiast 93 Points | Aromas of burnt orange and baking spices are upright and snappy for a Sherry that s fairly creamy. Fine acidity is what keeps this on an even keel and what gives lift to flavors of caramel, brown sugar and candied walnut. This is full and voluminous on the finish. 

Producer Description 

Gordon's London Dry Gin - The world's No. 1 London Dry Gin is carefully distilled to the original secret recipe. A unique blend of juniper berries, citrus and other rare herbs and spices combine to give Gordon's Gin its distinctive crisp taste and fragrant aroma. 

Producer Description 

Drambuie is a whisky liqueur. A blend of aged Scotch whisky, spices, herbs and heather honey. Its origins can be traced to a secret recipe created for Bonnie Prince Charlie by his Royal Apothecary in the 18th Century. 

Winemaker Description

Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc is a stunningly crafted white wine, sourced from vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley, including their Horse Heaven Estate Vineyard. Crisp, vibrant and delicate in flavor, this Sauvignon Blanc white wine brims with the cool freshness of citrus and herbs that pair particularly well with light seafood and vegetable dishes. 

Brilliant straw robe. Lovely, fruity nose of white peaches, citrus, and beeswax. Elegant, charming palate with good fruit flavors and a smooth buttery finish.

A lovely dry wine that is very refreshing. Serve chilled with seafood, pasta, chicken, veal, and pork. Winemaker Description. 

Sinewy and graceful, minerally with plenty of ravishing botrytis. It is a habit-forming aperitif that marries better with cheeses than most reds. The French are known to admire it with Sunday’s roast chicken. With dessert? Yes. As dessert? Yes. Winemaker Description. 

A versatile and ductile Marsala Superiore Secco, suitable for everyday occasions.

Amber to light brown, with hints of raisins and vanilla; dry, full, harmonic and fervent. The Marsala of choice for fish, poultry and meat preparation. An elegant aperitif to serve with cheese. Winemaker Description.

Producer Description 

B&B By Bénédictine is one of the oldest premixed cocktails. In the 1930s, during Prohibition in the United States, a barman at Club 21 in Manhattan came up with the idea of mixing brandy with Bénédictine. 

In 1937, Le Palais Bénédictine decided to produce this by blending 60% Bénédictine with 40% fine French Brandy, allowing the flavors to rest and harmonize in small, vintage French oak barrels that have previously been used to age only the finest cognacs. 

COLOR
Coppery with golden highlights 

NOSE
Light herbal and spicy fragrance with pleasant aromas of dried fruits 

TASTE
Drier palate with soft woody notes with a mild finish of honey 

This Winery has been in the family for 6 generations and sits on a small hill overlooking the famous Chateau d'Yquem. It has just 14 hectares making it the smallest of the premier cru classe properties. A simple yet pretty sauternes that has good concentration and notes of coconut, marmalade, dried fruits and a long rich finish. A wine that is crying out for some blue cheese. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

A Columbia Valley Cabernet crafted to highlight concentrated Washington red fruit in an accessible style. This is an inviting Cab with plenty of complexity and structure with silky tannins.

It’s also very versatile with food. Enjoy it with beef tenderloin or pasta.

Expert Rating

90 Points Wine & Spirits - Best Buy | Straight-ahead red, this wine is dark and lean, offering scents of caramel, cedar, plum and mint. It’s a steal for the price, with firm, slightly bitter tannins to put up against a smash burger. (2020). 

Winemaker Description

A deep ruby color, with a garnet rim. A classic bouquet, on which the liveliness of young fruit produces a delicate balance. Firm and powerful in the mouth, it shows flavors of fresh fruit and delivers a long and harmonious finish. 

Founded by a German family of the same name in 1638, Kopke is likely the oldest Port house in existence today. Aged in oak casks before bottling, this is a young, fruity port with a vibrant, sweet feel. This crowd-pleaser features plum and bright cherry flavors.

Expert Reviews

Wine Spectator 98 Points | Superb, but I have had an even better bottle of this wine; usually it's worth two points more. Equal in quality to the perfect 1961. Thick and rich, with berry, cherry and tobacco character, it shows layers of ripe fruit and velvety tannins that go on and on at the finish. Exciting wine. --Latour vertical. Drink now.  (8/2000).

Wine Advocate 96 Points Dark garnet with an amber edge, the 1959 Latour reveals a touch of volatile acidity in the nose, along with aromas of melted caramel, tobacco, and jammy red and black fruits. As the wine sat in the glass, notes of minerals, coffee, spice, and underbrush emerged. There is still copious tannin in the finish (I am not sure it will ever be fully resolved), but this sumptuous, complex, fragrant, super-rich Latour cuts a broad swath across the palate. Fully mature, it is best consumed over the next decade.  6/2000) 

40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon and 20% Muscadelle.  The wine is aged on the lees for about 3 weeks, which accounts for its round, smooth, and remarkably fruity flavor. The wine is gold with green highlights. Floral aromas and fruity aromas (hawthorn, grape fruit). Round and fresh, slightly pearly wine. A crisp and long finish. This wine is aged on the lees for about 3 weeks, which accounts for its round, smooth, and remarkably fruity flavor.

Food Pairing: It is ideal as an aperitif, or with fish, seafood (a must with oysters), and cheese.

Located southwest of Bordeaux in the commune of Haux, Château Lamothe has crafted estate-bottled wine since the 16th century. For four generations succession was passed down on the mother’s side and since 1956 the estate has been run by the Néel-Chombart family. Over the past 60 years the family has amassed prime vineyard land which now spans 80 hectares of clay and limestone slopes on the Right Bank. Additionally, they restored the distinctive façade of the historic chateau (now pictured on all Lamothe labels) and renovated the 17th century limestone quarries into underground cellars ideal for aging. 

Vigneron Damien Chombart believes that sustainable farming is not only stewardship of the land, but also as a way to enhance the life of farmers, communities and society. It is a holistic challenge the connects economic success in agriculture with environmental and social responsibilities for all involved. 

Expert Reviews 

95 Points Wine & Spirits | Inocente is Valdespino’s flagship, a wine from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, where the soil is pure white albariza. It ferments in 600-liter wooden casks without added yeasts, a practice that has become increasingly rare in Jerez. The intensity of the wine’s salinity is remarkable—iodine and salt—coming together with ripe white fruit, scents of nuts and exotic spices. The structure is dry and austere, like drinking the juice of stones. This will last for a decade in the cellar, but it’s impossible to hold onto a bottle if there’s raw seafood nearby.

94+ Points Robert Parker | As with many other wines from the José Estévez group, there is a special bottling of Valdespino's flagship NV Fino Inocente in magnum, but in this case they have kept the bottles for six months as the wine is from the saca otoño 2016, the autumn bottling from 2016. So the wine is offered with some extra bottle age. It has all that you expect from Inocente, a long aging wine fermented in bota from grapes grown exclusively in the Macharnudo Alto vineyard and bottled with an average age of ten years. All the textbook aromas and flavors are there, coupled with the elegance and mineral intensity the Macharnudo white chalky soils provide. Customers who purchase one of this scarce magnums probably know Inocente already. This will have a longer development in bottle.

Producer Description 

Blue Plum Brandy, known as Slivovitz in much of Eastern Europe, in France as Quetsch and in Germany as Zwetschgenwasser, is pot distilled from a pure fermented mash of Italian Blue plums grown in the Pacific Northwest.

Clear Creek makes it much as it has been made in Europe for centuries and believe the result is smoother, more aromatic, and more sophisticated than any European Blue Plum Brandy. It makes a great sorbet. 

Expert Review

Jeb Dunnuck 91 Points | The 2018 Muga Reserva is a similar blend and has pretty, slightly fresher notes of darker, almost blue fruits as well as violets, spring flowers, and cedary oak. More medium-bodied on the palate, it shows the fresher, elegant style of the vintage, has beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and outstanding length on the finish.